WELCOME to the business end of the League One season.

With eight games to go, folk around the Macron are quietly confident that Phil Parkinson’s side can maintain their current form and secure automatic promotion.

Some are even predicting that leaders Sheffield United could be reined in over the coming weeks as the pressure builds.

But how do our rivals see the promotion battle shaping up?

We asked local media representatives of the top seven clubs in the table for their thoughts on how will go up, who will make the play-offs, and who will be the key men when the going gets tough.

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

Top scorer (league only): Billy Sharp 26

James Shields (The Sheffield Star) says...

Key man: Billy Sharp. It wasn’t as easy a choice as some might think. United’s midfield has been fantastic 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 be missed if unavailable but James Hanson, Caolan Lavery and Marc McNulty are all capable of scoring. 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: Bradford City, Millwall, Scunthorpe, Fleetwood Town

Winner: Can’t split Bradford 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

Top scorer (league only): Josh Vela 10

Marc Iles (chief football writer The Bolton News) says...

Key man: Ex-Lion 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: Bradford, Fleetwood, Millwall, Southend United.

Winner: Bradford

Fleetwood Town

Position: 3rd

Promotion odds: 2/1

Home games left: Swindon, Millwall, Port Vale

Away games left: Bury, Oxford, Oldham, Peterborough, Gillingham

Top scorer (league only): David Ball 12

Rosie Swarbrick (Lancs Evening Post) says...

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. 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, Bradford, Scunthorpe, Southend

Winners: Bradford

Bradford

Position: 4th

Promotion odds: 5/2

Home games left: Walsall,

Oxford, Wimbledon

Away games left: Scunthorpe,

Bury, Sheffield United, Rochdale

Top scorer (league only): Jordy Hiwula 8

Simon Parker (chief sports writer Bradford Telegraph & Argus) says...

Key man: Mark Marshall. His game has been rejuvenated this season since Stuart McCall took over and he gives Bradford an attacking impetus with his speed and directness. He is equally comfortable on his left or right foot which gives Bradford the option of playing him on either wing with the same effect. Strength: Home form. Bradford 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: Bradford 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, Bradford, Millwall, Southend

Winner: Bradford

Scunthorpe

Position: 5th

Promotion odds: 9/2

Home games left: Bradford, Bolton, Chesterfield, Coventry

Away games left: Millwall, MK Dons, Swindon

Top scorer (league only): Josh Morris 19

Paul Crute (Scunthorpe Telegraph) says...

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 goals that flowed at the start of the season have dried up, the Iron are conceding more, 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, Bradford, 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

Top scorer (league only): Simon Cox 12, pictured right

Chris Phillips (chief sports reporter Southend Echo) says...

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.

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, Bradford, 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

Top scorer (league only): Lee Gregory 15

Richard Cawley (sports editor South London Press) says...

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 up front 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 no doubt home support will turn up the volume levels for high-pressure encounters.

If they do succeed in reaching the play-offs their experience of reaching Wembley 12 months ago will be a driving force and 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