The 2022/23 Championship season is entering its second act and a number of sides are marking down dates for the play-offs at the end of the regular campaign.
Automatic promotion to the Premier League is guaranteed by finishing in the top two, leaving those who finish slightly below to scrap it out in two-legged semi finals and then a final played at Wembley.
Play-offs have delivered extraordinary drama in the past – we all remember that Manuel Almunia penalty save and that Troy Deeney strike – and 2023 will hopefully deliver more of the same. Here’s what you need to know about the process.
Three teams are promoted from the Championship to the Premier League each season. The title winners and runners-up go up automatically with the final place determined by two-legged semi finals and a final at Wembley. Those three teams are replaced by sides relegated from the Premier League.
The three teams that finish 22nd, 23rd and 24th drop out of the Championship and down to League One, which sends up another three sides as their replacements.
The final day of the 2022/23 Championship season will take place on 6/7 May. Once the regular season table is finalised, the semi final dates will be announced. The semi finals normally kick off around a week after the final league fixtures, so the first legs should take place on the weekend of May 13/14.
The team that finishes third takes on sixth place, leaving a more balanced tie between fourth and fifth.
When is the 2023 Championship play-off final?
The winners of those two-legged clashes will face off at Wembley for the chance to reach the Premier League. The EFL has confirmed the playoff final will be played between May 27 and May 29, with an afternoon kick off expected to be confirmed.
No teams have yet qualified for the playoffs with around half a season still to play. Given the notoriously competitive nature of the Championship, it’s no surprise a number of teams are in contention to finish the play-off spots, which are third, fourth, fifth and sixth.
Burnley and Sheffield United are the runaway favourites for automatic promotion as things stand, with both holding points buffers over current third-place outfit Blackburn. Watford, Middlesbrough and Millwall currently take the other play-off spots, though decent runs of form could propel sides from the bottom half of the table into contention.
|
Position |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goal difference |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Burnley |
26 |
16 |
8 |
2 |
+27 |
56 |
|
2 |
Sheffield United |
26 |
15 |
6 |
5 |
+21 |
51 |
|
3 |
Blackburn Rovers |
26 |
14 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
42 |
|
4 |
Watford |
|
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