Simon Jordan has revealed the two clubs he feels will gain automatic promotion from the Championship to the Premier League.

Middlesbrough rose to the top of the table with a 2-1 win over Sheffield United on Monday, thanks to goals from Tommy Conway and Riley McGree.

Meanwhile, Coventry City, who have dropped to second place due to poor record, will face the new league leaders in a mouth-watering match on February 16.

Third-place Ipswich Town are also expected to have a significant say in the top-two competition, given they presently have a game in hand on both the Sky Blues and Boro.

Ipswich Town expected to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League

Kieran McKenna’s side would rather have an automatic promotion position with 16 Championship games remaining, but they are five points behind Frank Lampard’s side.

However, talkSPORT host Simon Jordan feels the Tractor Boys will finish in the top two this season, which will be great news for McKenna.

Jordan stated on broadcast on Tuesday that he still believes Ipswich will be promoted automatically.If Middlesbrough continues to perform well, and Ipswich is promoted, how can I expect Coventry to be promoted automatically?I’ll accept their advancement via the playoffs.”

Ipswich travel to Wrexham in the FA Cup on Friday, whereas Boro and Coventry have already been eliminated from the cup and do not have a fixture until their highly awaited Championship match.

The Tractor Boys face the Red Dragons in North Wales in the second division only eight days after their cup tie.

Coventry City must defeat Middlesbrough to regain confidence as the Championship promotion race heats up.

Coventry’s terrible form is summed up by the fact that they have won just two of their last eight Championship games, allowing Middlesbrough to leapfrog the Sky Blues, who were previously 10 points behind.

To make Jordan’s Ipswich forecast come true, Lampard’s team will need to endure more slip-ups, given their current five-point lead over the Tractor Boys.

Meanwhile, to get their automatic promotion bid and title challenge back on track, Coventry must defeat Middlesbrough next week to avoid extending their winless streak to four games.

The Sky Blues demonstrated the quality that remains among their ranks in recent victories over Midlands rivals Leicester City and play-off contenders Millwall, but defeats to Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers, as well as a 0-0 draw with Oxford United, followed.

If Boro overcome Lampard’s side, they will have won seven games in a row, adding to the evidence that Kim Hellberg’s side has what it takes to gain promotion to the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Ipswich stay on the Sky Blues’ heels after a 2-1 victory over Derby County on Saturday, and will be looking for more wins in their next games against Wrexham and Watford.