Championship permutations: What every team needs to win promotion or play-off spot to reach Premier League

The end of the season is fast approaching in England and while many eyes have been on the Premier League title fight of late, the usual almighty tussle is going on in the second tier to reach the top flight for 2024/25.

In fact, the Championship is currently locked in two massive, and distinct, battles for places: two automatic promotion spots and the four playoff places behind them. Some will be left disappointed after impressive seasons so far, but for others, a shot at some of the biggest clubs in the world lies ahead next year.

Here’s the lay of the land as four teams fight for the top two spots and the title, with another host of teams battling for the final play-off berths behind them – and what each of them need to happen to earn promotion. We’ll update this piece after every Championship match; join the discussion below with your predictions on who will be playing in the Premier League next season.

Two from four at the top

All season long there have been two main stories of league leaders in England’s second tier: Ipswich Town’s phenomenal start after only jumping up to the Championship from League One a year ago, and then Leicester City’s comeback story under Enzo Maresca – soured somewhat by the Foxes breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules. However, they will not be deducted points this term, the EFL has ruled. But two more clubs have entered the mix along the way.

Leeds United were hot on the heels of the other two anyway and have traded places with them regularly over the past couple of months – and now Southampton’s excellent mid-campaign run has also seen them propelled into the fray.

The situation is made all the more dramatic by the fact they have not played an equal number of matches, but only two points separates the first three – and Saints have a game in hand on leaders Ipswich.

Position

Played

Points (GD)

1. Ipswich

43

89 (32)

2. Leicester

42

88 (41)

3. Leeds United

43

87 (42)

4. Southampton

42

84 (30)

So, to what they need:

Leicesterwill be champions if they win out – they can currently reach 100 points, the most of any team. They’ll be guaranteed automatic promotion if they win three of their remaining four games.

Ipswichwill be automatically promoted if they win all three of their remaining matches, while two wins and a draw will be enough if both Leeds and Saints drop a single point. As those two clubs play each other on the final day, at least one of them is guaranteed to do so.

Leeds must first hope the clubs above them slip up and must of course likely beat Southamptonon the final day – while Saints’ relevance to the automatic race depends on their games in hand.

They beat Preston 3-0 at home on Tuesday 16 April in the first of those and face Leicester away on Tuesday 23 April. The latter will of course dictate the Foxes’ own chances of going straight up.

Playoff drama: who can stay the course?

Norwich’s form makes them a threat in the play-offs (Getty Images)

Naturally, two of the aforementioned quartet are going to fill half of the available play-off spots.

There is currently a gap of 12 points between fourth and fifth after Saints’ midweek win.

Battling for the two remaining play-off places are six clubs although Preston missed a golden opportunity to catapult themselves to seventh when they lost to Southampton.

Position

Played

Points (GD)

5. West Bromwich Albion

43

72 (24)

6. Norwich City

43

71 (16)

7. Hull City

42

65 (8)

8. Coventry City

42

63 (14)

9. Middlesbrough

43

63 (5)

10. Preston North End

43

63 (-4)

Norwich City are the form team in the Championship and have the third-best home record across the entire campaign, making them strong candidates to finish in the top six.

A total of 78 points will guarantee the Canaries and West Bromwich Albiona play-off place, so that’s just two wins needed for the Baggies – though as they face Leicester and Preston, it’s not a walkover run-in for them. Norwich play nobody in the top 11 and have two remaining matches at Carrow Road, where they are on an eight-match win streak.

From the chasing pack, Coventry and Hull meet on 24 April, while the Sky Blues are still in FA Cup action too and play Ipswich in their penultimate game.

Middlesbrough face an uphill climb with huge favours needed from above as their maximum is 72 points and Preston are in a similar position after the midweek defeat to Southampton. They face Leicester on their penultimate weekend so can still affect the title race however.

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