How Portsmouth, Oxford United, Hull City & Stoke City final 4 Championship fixtures compare | OneFootball

The four sides are currently hovering above the Championship drop zone

The last thing any side wants going into the final weekend of the season is to still be embroiled in a relegation battle.

Oxford United, Stoke City, Portsmouth and Hull City all picked up points last time out to push them further clear of the bottom three. They'll be looking to kick on over the Easter weekend to ensure that the final two weeks of the season are relatively stress-free.

With four games left, Football League World takes a look at the run-in for the four sides aiming to secure survival as soon as possible, seeing whether they can afford to be on the beach after the upcoming bank holiday weekend.

Oxford United - Current position: 17th, 48 points, currently six points above 22nd

Three wins in their last five games against both Sheffield clubs and Watford have Oxford United in a rather healthy position ahead of the upcoming Easter fixtures.

Now, Gary Rowett's side can almost take a home fixture on Good Friday against current league-leaders Leeds United as a free hit before they travel to southeast Wales to take on Cardiff City, who occupy the final relegation place at the moment.

Cardiff travel to Sheffield United on Good Friday too. If Oxford's result matches Cardiff's, then Oxford will go into Easter Monday knowing that a win against the Bluebirds will put them nine points ahead of their opponents with only six still to play for.

That will confirm safety for the U's unless either Luton Town or Plymouth Argyle were to win both of their games over the Easter weekend. If that were to be the case, then two points from their games against Sunderland and Swansea would be enough to mathematically confirm safety - and that would also require either Luton or Plymouth to win their final two games too.

So, if Oxford can get the job done in Cardiff on Monday, survival will be very likely.

Stoke City - Current position: 18th, 47 points, currently five points above 22nd

Stoke's late winner last time out against Cardiff will have had many Stoke fans breathing a huge sigh of relief.

If they held just a two-point gap between themselves and the bottom three, then they'd likely have needed to get something out of the next three games, which are on paper pretty tricky, before then travelling to fellow relegation-battlers Derby County on the final day.

Stoke still have to take on Leeds at Elland Road before welcoming Sheffield United to the bet365 Stadium. Before any of that though, they host Sheffield Wednesday on Good Friday, who have the best away record in the league outside of the current top-four.

Mark Robins' side may still need to pick up one or two points before the final day to ensure they're safe before their trip to Pride Park, but the best-case scenario will be that the sides currently in the bottom three pick up fewer or equal points than they do over the next three games.

Portsmouth - Current position: 19th, 46 points, currently four points above 22nd

Again, a late equaliser against a fellow relegation rival in Derby County on Saturday has Portsmouth in a fairly comfortable position with four games to go.

You can always count on them picking up points at Fratton Park, losing just five of their 21 home games this season. And their away games see them travel to two sides with little or nothing to play for in Norwich and Sheffield Wednesday, the latter of which are currently on a torrid five-game losing run at Hillsborough.

So, despite being the only side in this mini-four-team league without a win in their last three, you'd expect Pompey to pick up just enough points to avoid a final-day scrap with Hull City to avoid the drop.

Hull City - Current position: 20th, 45 points, currently three points above 22nd

With Derby County and Portsmouth as their final two games, all Hull likely need to do is win both of them to ensure they remain in the Championship next season. That is easier said than done, however, and many Tigers fans won't want to wait until the final weeks to secure survival.

Over the Easter weekend, they travel to a mid-table Swansea side who have outside hopes of a late top-six dash, before welcoming a Preston North End side who have won just three times on their travels this season.

Many have thought that Hull City have always had the quality to avoid the drop, with the Tigers consistently picking up one or two more points than those around them over long stretches since Ruben Selles became their manager, but just one win in their last five has slight alarm bells ringing at the MKM Stadium.

But, with Hull's defensive record, which sees them rarely concede more than one a game, their superior goal difference gives them an extra advantage over the surrounding teams, and you'd expect them to remain in enough games and pick up enough points between now and May 3rd.