Championship leaders Norwich City on the brink of promotion to Premier League after Derby County win

London: Norwich are on the brink of promotion to the Premier League after the Championship leaders beat Derby 1-0 on Saturday. Daniel Farke’s side were denied the chance to go up on Saturday as promotion rivals Brentford and Swansea both won. But the Canaries are still firmly on course for an immediate return to the top flight after last season’s relegation. They are 17 points ahead of third-placed Brentford and need just two points from their remaining five games to confirm automatic promotion. Kieran Dowell’s free-kick was the difference at Pride Park, but Norwich had to hang on in the second half, with Tim Krul making key saves before almost gifting Graeme Shinnie a stoppage-time equaliser. Norwich hold an eight-point advantage over second-placed Watford, who beat Reading 2-0 on Friday. The Hornets have a nine-point cushion in the race for the second automatic promotion spot after poor recent runs for both Brentford and Swansea. Brentford got back on track with a 5-0 rout of Preston at Deepdale. Bryan Mbuemo and Marcus Forss had the Bees in control before the break, while Ivan Toney, Sergi Canos and Emiliano Marcondes all scored in the final 15 minutes. Swansea, having gone four games without a goal, won 3-0 at Millwall, with Jamal Lowe scoring a second-half brace after Andre Ayew ended their scoring drought just before the break. Fifth-placed Barnsley are a further three points behind the Swans, having played a game more, after Alex Mowatt and Daryl Dike scored in a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at Oakwell. Bournemouth capitalised on Reading’s defeat as they climbed into the final play-off place with a 4-1 win over struggling Coventry. Birmingham moved another step closer to safety as Lukas Jutkiewicz’s double secured a 2-0 win over Stoke. Victory lifted Blues nine points clear of the bottom three and above Huddersfield who were held to a goalless draw at home to Rotherham. Second-bottom Sheffield Wednesday are deep in trouble after a 4-1 loss at QPR left them seven points adrift of safety with six matches remaining. Bottom-of-the-table Wycombe lost 3-1 at home to Luton, who scored three times in the final 10 minutes. Blackburn and Cardiff drew 2-2, while Bristol City shared a goalless stalemate with Nottingham Forest.