Blackburn catapulted themselves into automatic promotion contention with a battling 1-0 victory over Sheffield United in the Championship. A frantic encounter was settled by Harry Pickering’s first goal of the campaign in the fifth minute, capping off a fine counterattack. The win leaves Blackburn six points behind the Blades, who have played one game fewer. Head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson said his side were “now in an excellent position … but we all know we’re not favourites to go up and we’re not favourites to be around the playoffs. But we will chase it. I’m realistic about it – but are we ambitious? Of course we are.” Burnley extended their lead at the top to 13 points despite a frustrating 0-0 draw at Blackpool. Chris Maxwell, the home goalkeeper, made a string of fine saves for Blackpool, who battled bravely in their bid to avoid relegation. The draw meant the Clarets stretched their unbeaten league run to 14 games. Middlesbrough’s push for automatic promotion continued as they put on a show to thump Reading 5-0 in what was a miserable end to a difficult week for the visitors. Chuba Akpom, the Championship’s top scorer, and Aaron Ramsey, the Aston Villa loanee, both scored twice at the Riverside, with Marcus Forss also on target as Boro won at home for the seventh game in a row. They were always in control against the Royals, who endured a nightmare afternoon just days after discovering they are set to be deducted six points for historical breaches of profit and sustainability rules. Carlton Morris scored his 14th goal of the season as Luton heaped more misery on Swansea, who had manager Russell Martin sent off, with a 1-0 win at Kenilworth Road. The red card came late on after a mass brawl between the two benches, with Town assistant Richie Kyle also dismissed. Norwich moved up into the top six after coming from behind to win 3-2 at playoff rivals Millwall. Tom Bradshaw put the Lions in front in the 20th minute, but Jacob Sørensen had Norwich level before the break after a well-worked corner. The Canaries turned things around in the 55th minute when Bradshaw diverted Onel Hernández’s cross into the net for an own goal, with Gabriel Sara soon sweeping in a third. Zian Flemming headed in a corner with seven minutes left to set up a tense finale, but David Wagner’s men held out. Mark Robins returned to haunt Huddersfield as his Coventry side boosted their promotion bid with a 4-0 win. Robins, who took charge of the Terriers for 18 months after first leaving Coventry in 2013, saw Viktor Gyökeres score a double, with Gustavo Hamer and Tyler Walker also on target. Alex Neil celebrated a comprehensive 5-1 win on his return to Sunderland with Stoke, on a controversial afternoon at the Stadium of Light. A frustrated Tony Mowbray, who replaced Neil on Wearside last August following promotion, was cautioned for questioning the manner in which the Potters scored the opener four minutes before half-time through Josh Laurent. After that Stoke wrapped things up, with two second-half goals each for Tyrese Campbell and Dwight Gayle sealing a comfortable victory despite Alex Pritchard pulling one back in between for Sunderland. The stadium announcer also had to ask supporters not to throw missiles after something appeared to be thrown at Gayle, the former Newcastle striker, as he celebrated his first goal. Watford and Preston played out a tedious 0-0 draw at Vicarage Road that served neither side’s promotion ambitions. Chances were few and far between, with Freddie Woodman, the Preston keeper, producing the only two saves of note during 90 forgettable minutes. For the visitors it was a ninth goalless draw of the season, while Watford have now drawn four of their past six. QPR’s dire run of form continued as Rotherham leapfrogged them in the table with a 3-1 victory. Jordan Hugill, a former Rs loanee, netted twice to drag Gareth Ainsworth’s side deeper into a relegation battle. It ensured a fifth straight defeat for the Londoners and they now have just one win from 19 league outings. Cardiff scored two second-half goals to pick up a third win under Sabri Lamouchi, their new manager, as they beat Bristol City 2-0 to edge closer to safety at the bottom. Birmingham hit the same post three times in as many second-half minutes, including from the penalty spot, as they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by relegation-threatened Wigan. The visitors were ahead early on at the DW Stadium through Juninho Bacuna but that was cancelled out on the hour by Ashley Fletcher.