Championship leaders Newcastle United face a third top six side in the space of seven days when they visit Reading on a busy night of action in the second tier this evening.

Rafa Benitez’s side have beaten Brighton and Huddersfield Town in the last seven days, and will hope for a third successive win at the Madejski Stadium tonight against a Reading side currently fifth in the division, and having lost just twice at home all season.

Second place Brighton will be looking to benefit from any possible Magpies slip up when they travel to bottom side Rotherham United, who are all but down given that they are 18 points adrift of safety with just 11 games to go.

David Wagner’s Huddersfield will hope to get back to winning ways against a resurgent Aston Villa this evening, while it’s seventh versus fourth at Craven Cottage as Fulham host Garry Monk’s Leeds.

At the bottom, Warren Joyce’s Wigan Athletic go to struggling Birmingham, who have won just twice under Gianfranco Zola, while Bristol City, who currently sit 22nd in the division, face Alex Neil’s Norwich City at Ashton Gate, with the Canaries still harbouring ambitions of reaching the play-offs this term despite trailing sixth place Sheffield Wednesday by nine points.

Clearly, it is shaping up to be a fascinating night of action in the Championship, but here are THREE games in particular that you should keep an eye on this evening…

Fulham vs Leeds United

It’s seventh versus fourth in the Championship at Craven Cottage this evening as play-off chasers Fulham host Garry Monk’s Leeds.

Slavisa Jokanovic’s men are just five points adrift of the top six with a game in hand on the above three teams, and they go into tonight’s clash having won four of their last five games, including their last four at home.

And with just one league defeat at Craven Cottage since the start of October, Monk’s Leeds will have a battle on their hands this evening, although they themselves have put a decent run together since losing back-to-back games against Huddersfield and Cardiff in February.

The Yorkshire club have won three of their last four matches, and won 3-1 at Birmingham in their last away outing to consolidate their position in the play-off places.

Leeds have won eight of their 17 away Championship matches this term, but they will know the importance of this evening’s game, as defeat would put Fulham right in the hunt for a top six place.

Huddersfield Town vs Aston Villa

Three weeks ago, you would have said that this evening’s clash between Huddersfield Town and Aston Villa was a home banker.

However, David Wagner’s men have drawn at Barnsley and lost at home to Newcastle to derail their automatic promotion hopes, while Steve Bruce’s Villa have won their last three league games, having lost the preceding five before beating Derby 1-0 on February 25.

Nonetheless, the Terriers have won 12 of their 17 league matches at the John Smith’s Stadium this term, with their 3-1 loss to Rafa Benitez’s Magpies on Saturday their first defeat at home since the end of November.

Villa though beat bottom side Rotherham United 2-0 last time out to record just their third away league win of the campaign, and they’ll go into this evening’s encounter confident having won their last three league games, all without conceding a goal.

Nevertheless, Huddersfield need to get back to winning ways quickly if they are to maintain their automatic promotion challenge until the end of the season.

Reading vs Newcastle United

Championship leaders Newcastle United face a third top six side in the space of seven days when they visit fifth place Reading this evening.

Rafa Benitez’s side got past second place Brighton 2-1 at the AMEX Stadium this time last week, before producing another clinical display to see off third place Huddersfield 3-1 on Saturday.

It all means that the Magpies have opened up a five-point lead at the top of the division, and with an 11-point gap to the Terriers in third, they look set to make an immediate return to the Premier League.

However, they face a Reading side this evening that have lost just twice at home all season, and got back to winning ways on Saturday courtesy of a 2-1 success over struggling Wolves.

Jaap Stam’s men have picked up five wins and a draw at the Madejski Stadium over sides in the top nine of the Championship this term, and with Brighton the only team to have picked up more points at home this season than the Royals, Newcastle will know that they’ll need to be at their best tonight.

Nonetheless, the Magpies have picked up 41 points on their travels this term, 12 more than the next best Brighton, and they’ll be confident of picking up another three points tonight.