Sheffield United
Position: 1st
Promotion Odds: No longer being offered
Home games left: Millwall, Coventry City, Bradford City, Chesterfield
Away games left: Oldham Athletic, Northampton Town, Port Vale, MK Dons
League top-scorer: Billy Sharp 26
James Shield, The Sheffield Star
Key Man: Billy Sharp. It wasn't as easy a choice as some might think. United's midfield has also been outstanding this season while Chris Basham has been really effective in recent months. Kieron Freeman, warming the bench on loan at Portsmouth last season, has probably been the most improved player at Bramall Lane.
Strength: Their lack of one outstanding key man. Sharp would obviously be missed if unavailable but James Hanson, Caolan Lavery and Marc McNulty are all capable of scoring goals. Even wing-back Freeman is on nine goals. John Fleck and Paul Coutts have been excellent in midfield.
Weakness: United score lots of goals but this sometimes comes at a defensive cost. They really should keep more clean sheets than they do although some of the goals scored against them in recent weeks have been impossible to stop. Individual errors cost them dear at the start of the season when, effectively, they gave the rest of the division a four-game head start.
Champions: Sheffield United
Runners-up: Bolton Wanderers
Play-offs: City, Millwall, Scunthorpe, Fleetwood Town
Winner: Can't split City or Millwall
Bolton Wanderers
Position: 2nd
Promotion odds: 1/7
Home games left: Chesterfield, Bury, Peterborough
Away games left: Shrewsbury, Southend, Oldham, Scunthorpe, Port Vale
League top-scorer: Josh Vela 10
Marc Iles, Bolton News
Key man: Filipe Morais. Released by direct rival Bradford City, the former Valley Parade winger has been an inspirational signing. With seven assists and two goals in his last three games, his quality from the right has also brought out the best in fans' favourite Adam Le Fondre.
Strength: Set-pieces. With Morais' consistent delivery and some real height and power in the team, every corner, free-kick and long throw is a potent weapon at the moment. Phil Parkinson invests a lot of time and effort into making sure his players know the drill - there are few sides in League One who have the same aerial threats.
Weakness: There is pressure on Bolton to go up at the first time of asking. With 17 players out of contract in the summer and an edict from the chairman that costs will be brought under control regardless of the division they play in, there is a lot riding on this for each player involved.
Champions: Sheffield United
Runners-up: Bolton Wanderers
Play-offs: City, Fleetwood, Millwall, Southend United.
Winner: City
Fleetwood Town
Position: 3rd
Promotion odds: 2/1
Home games left: Swindon, Millwall, Port Vale
Away games left: Bury, Oxford, Oldham, Peterborough, Gillingham
League top-scorer: David Ball 12
Rosie Swarbrick, Fleetwood Weekly News
Key man: Cian Bolger. Town have only lost one of their last 21 games with 12 clean sheets in a run that was built on a solid defence. Bolger is a towering figure in the centre of a back three - with vital clearances and a handy knack for netting important goals like in the 1-0 wins at Coventry, MK and Walsall.
Strength: A rock-solid defence and the ability to score from everywhere. Town have only failed to fire in three league games so far with Bury, Rochdale and most recently AFC Wimbledon parking the bus at Highbury to stop their attack. But one of the big bonuses of Uwe Rosler's side is that they do not rely on one 20-goal forward. David Ball has netted 12 with Ash Hunter and Bobby Grant chipping in with seven. The stats do not lie in regard to Town's defence - 12 clean sheets in their last 21 games.
Weakness: A lack of strength in depth. Six first-teamers are in the treatment room. Rosler only had two of his four strikers - Ball and Hunter - fit enough to feature in the 0-0 draw with AFC Wimbledon on Saturday. A feature of Town's success has been superior fitness levels and an ability to shake things up with 30 minutes to go and throw on fresh legs - but with Wes Burns and Cole unable to feature in recent games it has forced them to push midfielder Grant into a forward role.
Champions: Sheffield United
Runners-up: Fleetwood
Play-offs: Bolton, City, Scunthorpe, Southend
Winners: City
BRADFORD CITY
Position: 4th
Promotion odds: 5/2
Home games left: Walsall,
Oxford, Wimbledon
Away games left: Scunthorpe,
Bury, Sheffield United, Rochdale
League top-scorer: Jordy Hiwula 8
Simon Parker, Bradford Telegraph & Argus
Key man: Mark Marshall. His game has been rejuvenated this season since Stuart McCall took over and he gives City an attacking impetus with his speed and directness. He is equally comfortable on his left or right foot which gives the Bantams the option of playing him on either wing with the same effect. Should score more but always willing to have a crack at goal.
Strength: Home form. City have not lost in the league at Valley Parade for over a year and the second largest home crowds in the division are a big advantage, especially kicking towards the Kop second half. Bradford have also got League One's best record for coming from behind so don't tend to panic when trailing.
Weakness: City don't always turn territorial domination into goals. They can play teams off the park and still not beat them - hence the ridiculous number of draws this season, especially at home. Scoring has been better with Charlie Wyke's arrival but can still be an issue.
Champions: Sheffield United
Runners-up: Bolton Wanderers
Play-offs: Fleetwood, City, Millwall, Southend
Winner: City
Scunthorpe
Position: 5th
Promotion odds: 9/2
Home games left: City, Bolton, Chesterfield, Coventry
Away games left: Millwall, MK Dons, Swindon
League top-scorer: Josh Morris 19
Paul Crute, Scunthorpe Telegraph
Key man: Paddy Madden. The Irishman had his early season disrupted by injury but now, after a run of games, looks back to his best. His total of 10 is a decent return for the amount of games he has missed. Also scores in bunches and with three in his last three games fans will be hoping he continues the run until the end of the season. Also has experience of promotion after going up to the Championship with Yeovil.
Strength: The strengths Scunthorpe have built their season on seem to have deserted them at the worst possible time. The goals that flowed at the start of the season have dried up, the Iron are conceding in greater numbers and after going more than a year unbeaten at home, they have only won one of their last five matches at Glanford Park. However, in Graham Alexander they have a manager who knows what it takes to get promotion and also have experience in the side that have won promotion before, which could prove invaluable.
Weakness: At the moment it is the defence. One clean sheet in their last 17 games tells its own story.
Champions: Sheffield United
Runners-up: Bolton Wanderers
Play-offs: Fleetwood, City, Scunthorpe, Millwall
Winner: Scunthorpe
Southend
Position: 6th
Promotion odds: 10/1
Home games left: Oldham, Bury, MK Dons, Bury
Away games left: AFC Wimbledon, Charlton, Chesterfield, Shrewsbury
League top-scorer: Simon Cox 12
Chris Phillips, Southend Echo
Key man: Ryan Leonard. The energetic midfielder sets the tone for the Shrimpers. Much of his work often goes unnoticed but Southend are far less of a side when he isn't in the starting line-up and he is by far their most influential player.
Strength: Their spirit and never-say-die attitude. Last weekend Southend fought back from 2-0 down to beat Walsall and have real togetherness in the team. They are also gathering momentum after a shocking start which saw them in the relegation zone after 11 games. They have been beaten just four times in their last 24 matches and have a settled side and style of play which was definitely not the case at the start of the season.
Weakness: Southend can often find it hard to break teams down when they pack men behind the ball. Quite a few of their remaining matches are against teams down towards the bottom and they will need to overcome this problem if they are to end the season in the play-offs.
Champions: Sheffield United
Runners-up: Bolton Wanderers
Play-offs: Fleetwood, City, Millwall, Southend
Winner: Fleetwood
Millwall
Position: 7th
Promotion odds: 3/1
Home games left: Scunthorpe, Northampton, Oxford
Away games left: Swindon, Sheffield United, Shrewsbury, Gillingham, Fleetwood, Bristol Rovers
League top-scorer: Lee Gregory 15
Richard Cawley, South London Press
Key man: Steve Morison. When the striker is on his A-game then he makes the whole Millwall system work more
smoothly. Not only a link man in terms of the attack but also able to unsettle
opposing defences with his no-nonsense approach. When not available the Lions lack the same kind of fluidity and savvy to their play.
Strength: The Den. Only three defeats there all season and there is absolutely no doubt that home support will turn up the volume levels when there are high-pressure encounters. If they do succeed in reaching the play-offs then their experience of reaching Wembley 12 months ago will be a driving force as well as a
learning experience. Towering centre-backs Byron Webster and Jake Cooper make them a potent set-piece threat.
Weakness: Have got an effective gameplan in terms of their direct style but when they can't find a breakthrough then perhaps lack a plan B. A number of sides have sat deep and soaked up pressure.
Champions: Sheffield United
Runners-up: Bolton Wanderers
Play-offs: Fleetwood, Bradford, Scunthorpe, Millwall.
Winner: Millwall
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