Championship round-up: Dwight Gayle hat-trick keeps West Brom on fringes of the top three while Aston Villa maintain play-off momentum with win over Bristol City West Brom remain on fringes of Championship's top three after big Preston win Dwight Gayle netted a hat-trick as the Baggies aim for last ditch automatics bid Aston Villa kept up their play-off momentum with a crucial win over Bristol City Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest continue to struggle while Bolton face the drop By Press Association Reporter Published: 19:17 BST, 13 April 2019 | Updated: 19:17 BST, 13 April 2019 Viewcomments West Brom remain on the fringes of the top three in the Championship after they thumped outside Preston 4-0 at the Hawthorns. Despite their recent inconsistencies, Dwight Gayle treble and a strike from Jay Rodriquez. Aston Villa's perfectly-timed run of form continued as they beat Bristol City 2-1, Tammy Abraham scoring from the spot against his old side and Conor Hourihane adding a second before Famara Diedhiou pulled one back. West Brom remain on the fringes of Championship's top three after big win over Preston Aston Villa maintained their excellent form with a crucial win over playoff rivals Bristol City Middlesbrough kept their play-off chances alive and perhaps ended Hull's as they won 1-0 at the Riverside thanks to Britt Assombalonga's strike. Martin O'Neill continues to find life at Nottingham Forest hard as they lost 2-1 at home to Blackburn. Joe Rothwell (29) and Danny Graham (49) put Rovers comfortably ahead, before Elliott Bennett's own goal give Forest a lifeline they were unable to take. Beleaguered QPR gave their long-suffering fans something to cheer, beating Swansea 4-0 in a shock result. Phil Parkinson's Bolton are staring relegation in the face after their defeat at Derby County Darnell Furlong and Tomer Hemed had them two goals up inside five minutes, with Hemed again and Mass Luongo adding further efforts. Rotherham remain in the bottom three, but they closed the gap on Wigan, who host leaders Norwich on Sunday, to a point thanks to a 2-2 draw at Stoke. Sam Vokes and Sam Clucas scored inside three first-half minutes for Stoke before Will Vaulks and Matt Crooks replied for the Millers. With Ipswich down, cash-strapped Bolton will likely soon follow them, nine points adrift with four games left after a 4-0 beating at Derby, Mason Mount's terrific hat-trick adding to Craig Bryson's opener. A brace from Yakou Meite helped Reading ease their drop fears as they beat Brentford 2-1, Neal Maupay netting for the Bees. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility