The Championship play-offs are finally starting to take shape after a decisive Easter weekend.

Midlands rivals Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion confirmed their top-six place, with Villa beating Millwall 1-0 and Albion drawing 0-0 with Reading.

Leeds also look set for the play-offs after their automatic promotion bid was derailed when they suffered back-to-back defeats against Wigan and Brentford.

Elsewhere, Derby boosted their play-off hopes with a late 2-0 victory over QPR, while rivals Middlesbrough fell to a 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

Villa and West Brom have looked set for the play-offs for some time, with Dean Smith’s side winning a record-breaking ten consecutive matches while the Baggies have been competing in the upper echelons of the table all season.

This will give the Midlands sides a significant psychological boost ahead of the semi-finals, which get underway on May 11th.

It is hugely important that sides enter the play-offs in good form, and Villa have peaked at exactly the right time to embark on a stunning run of form.

Smith's men have developed a winning formula with the likes of Jack Grealish and 25-goal man Tammy Abraham spearheading their promotion challenge.

West Brom have also started resting players to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead, with Dwight Gayle starting on the bench for the Baggies’ latest clash with Reading.

Meanwhile, Leeds’ main aim all season has been automatic promotion. However, their miserable Easter weekend has all-but-confirmed that this is now out of the question, which will be a huge blow to the players’ mind-sets.

It will be extremely difficult for them to bounce back from this disappointment to compete at a high standard in the play-offs, even though Marcelo Bielsa’s side have proven their undeniable quality over the course of the season.

Derby and Middlesbrough also still face huge uncertainty over their play-off place, which will also make it difficult for them to compete with Villa and Albion’s high level of preparation.

Villa are the team to beat in the play-offs, given their excellent winning streak.

Leeds have performed consistently over the whole season, but have suffered a major blip in form at the wrong moment. This could prove detrimental to their promotion hopes.

They will find definitely struggle to re-adjust in order compete with the preparation level of Villa and Albion.