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'Character' is one of those buzzwords you always hear in sport, but tonight we saw plenty of examples where teams had to dig deep and produce the goods when things weren't going swimmingly.

Leeds had the character to keep hammering away when Preston North End put the shutters down, and while it took a red card for the game to break, Patrick Bamford showed his mettle to end a four-game drought and seal the win.

Bristol City showed character to hang on, having gone 3-0 up against West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies also showed heart and belief to keep going, forcing the score back to 3-2 and set up a late flurry.

Whoever has the heart, the talent, and the quality going into the final weeks of the season will have the key to success, whether it's beating the drop or climbing to promotion.

Tomorrow promises equal excitement - can the likes of Norwich and Sheffield United match the drama and excitement?

Join us to find out. Until then, goodnight.

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It's a full round of fixtures in the Championship this midweek, so we're back again TOMORROW from 19:15 BST to see who blinks next in the race for the Premier League.

Sheffield United - now two points behind second-placed Leeds - head to Birmingham, while leaders Norwich can take another step towards the top flight against relegation-battling Reading.

Rotherham - who are mired in a relegation battle themselves - are the team tasked with ending Aston Villa's six-match winning streak when Dean Smith's play-off chasers visit the New York Stadium.

Oh, and there's Brentford v Ipswich, Hull v Wigan and Millwall v QPR.

So a heck of a lot to pack in. Again.

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Leeds are back up to second for 24 hours at least after that win at Preston.

But it looks like the best West Brom can now hope for is a play-off place, surely meaning it's now a shoot-out between Norwich, Leeds and Sheffield United for those two automatic promotion places.

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Bristol City did their hopes of finishing in the top six no harm with that win over West Brom.

But those victories for Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday leave both still dreaming of extending their seasons. Over to Aston Villa on Wednesday night...

Let's take a look at what tonight's results have done to the Championship promotion race...

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• Two goals from Patrick Bamford sees Leeds win at 10-man Preston to climb back to second in the table.
• Bristol City hold on to beat West Brom 3-2 after the Baggies fight back from three down at the break.
• Derby's play-off hopes suffer a blow as they are beaten at Blackburn.
• But Sheffield Wednesday's are still alive as they score three second-half goals to go ninth with victory over Nottingham Forest.
• Middlesbrough end their six-match losing run as Ashley Fletcher scores twice to beat relegation-threatened Bolton.
• Swansea ease to victory over Stoke, who finish with nine men after having Bruno Martins Indi and Tom Edwards sent off.

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Sunderland are into the League One automatic promotion spots after a 1-1 draw with Burton, while Charlton are just four points behind them thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 win at Wycombe.

Rochdale secured a crucial 1-0 victory at Accrington to climb out of the relegation zone and level on points with their opponents.

Macclesfield are out of the League Two relegation zone after Sol Campbell's side came from behind twice to win 3-2 against play-off-chasing Exeter.

The division's other game ended Newport 0-0 Swindon.

With all the full-time whistles having blown, let's take a look at the night's headlines, starting in Leagues One and Two.

Middlesbrough apply the jump start to their promotion bid thanks to two goals from boyhood Wanderers fan Ashley Fletcher, while strugglers Bolton's place in the Championship grows increasingly precarious after their 25th defeat of the season.

Bolton enjoying a purple patch in terms of pressure on the Middlesbrough goal, Josh Magennis looping one over the top in injury time.

Sammy Ameobi hits the bar!

Joshua Longmore: Are West Brom looking over their shoulders and getting worried now?

That's back-to-back defeats for the Baggies and in-form Villa and Bristol City are closing in. We'll bring you an updated table on how the top of the league looks shortly.

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Two goals from Patrick Bamford put Leeds back into the top two against 10-man Preston North End, who had Ben Pearson sent off.

Lovely rolled ball into the box sees Jayden Stockley get ahead of his marker and turn it towards goal but it flicks up off a Leeds boot and out.

The corner is no danger.

Into six minutes of injury time at Deepdale, and Mateusz Klich's curling effort causes no problems for Preston keeper Declan Rudd.

Leeds cruising now. Into the top two.

What a ridiculous moment of football.

Patrick Bamford rode a challenge and sauntered away to go one-on-one with the goalkeeper Declan Rudd.

However, he took too long and Alan Browne came charging into make the challenge. He tumbled like a unsteady toddler, looking for the penalty.

Nothing came. He took far too long.

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Stoke's run of clean sheets as goals from Daniel James, Mike van der Hoorn and Oli McBurnie gives Swansea a comfortable win against a Potters side that finished with nine men.

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Big win for Bristol City who having raced into a 3-0 lead, had to withstand a late fightback from West Brom to win 3-2.

Great scenes at the final whistle, as the Robins fans celebrated a thrilling win. Keeps City in the mix and in turn, keeps West Brom looking nervously over their shoulders in the run-in.

Blackburn take a deserved three points against a lacklustre Derby to dent their opponents' play-off push, and edge themselves closer to safety by moving onto 50 points.

Joe Rothwell's deft chip broke the deadlock after the break - his first goal in his 32nd game for the club - before an injury-time tap-in from Bradley Dack made sure.

Marco Matias scores twice for Wednesday in the second half, his first a 25-yard strike and his second a tap-in after a bizarre ricochet, either side of George Boyd's crisp drive from just outside the box.

It leaves Steve Bruce's side in with a faint chance of making the top six.

Bristol City fans breathe a sigh of relief as Max O'Leary gets down to a Kieran Gibbs header to save. Denies the visitors a precious equaliser.

Time running out...