In short, all five teams in contention need to win to be guaranteed a playoff place. But a draw or even a defeat could be enough for some teams. The fact two of the contenders have extremely tough games – Millwall are at Burnley, Blackburn at Sheff Utd – means even ninth-placed Middlesbrough have a realistic chance of qualifying if they win at Coventry.
Bristol City are in pole position, aka fifth, and will be guaranteed a playoff semi-final against Sunderland if they win. They could theoretically lose and still make the cut.
As I type, Ben Fisher is doing an EFL Q&A over on our matchday live blog. Pop along if you’d like to ask him any questions.
Mind the trapdoor
The ones in bold are our featured games.
Bristol City v Preston North End
Burnley v Millwall
Coventry v Middlesbrough
Derby v Stoke
Norwich v Cardiff
Plymouth v Leeds
Portsmouth v Hull
Sheff Utd v Blackburn
Sunderland v QPR
Swansea v Oxford Utd
Watford v Sheff Wed
West Brom v Luton
Twelve out of 24 ain’t bad. That’s how many teams have something significant to play for on the last day of the regular Championship season. All 12 games kick off at 12.30pm, and we’ll be following all the action here. Before we look at the fixtures, let’s see what’s at stake.
Title Leeds and Burnley are aiming to become champions.
Playoffs Two of Bristol City, Coventry, Millwall, Blackburn and Middlesbrough will join Sheffield United and Sunderland in the playoffs.
Relegation One of Hull City, Luton Town, Preston North End, Derby County and Stoke City will join Cardiff and Plymouth in League One next season.
Look, one way or another, it’s going to be dramatic.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds | 45 | 64 | 97 |
| 2 | Burnley | 45 | 51 | 97 |
| 3 | Sheff Utd | 45 | 27 | 89 |
| 4 | Sunderland | 45 | 15 | 76 |
| 5 | Bristol City | 45 | 4 | 67 |
| 6 | Coventry | 45 | 4 | 66 |
| 7 | Millwall | 45 | 0 | 66 |
| 8 | Blackburn | 45 | 5 | 65 |
| 9 | Middlesbrough | 45 | 10 | 64 |
| 10 | West Brom | 45 | 8 | 61 |
| 11 | Swansea | 45 | -5 | 60 |
| 12 | Sheff Wed | 45 | -9 | 57 |
| 13 | Watford | 45 | -8 | 56 |
| 14 | Norwich | 45 | 1 | 54 |
| 15 | QPR | 45 | -11 | 53 |
| 16 | Portsmouth | 45 | -13 | 53 |
| 17 | Oxford Utd | 45 | -16 | 52 |
| 18 | Stoke | 45 | -17 | 50 |
| 19 | Derby | 45 | -8 | 49 |
| 20 | Preston North End | 45 | -11 | 49 |
| 21 | Luton | 45 | -22 | 49 |
| 22 | Hull | 45 | -10 | 48 |
| 23 | Plymouth | 45 | -36 | 46 |
| 24 | Cardiff | 45 | -23 | 44 |