EFL final day permutations for Championship, League One and League Two | OneFootball

Title races, automatic promotion battles, play-off tussles and relegation fights will all be decided in a dramatic last round of games

There is still so much to be decided ahead of the final day of the 2024/25 EFL season this afternoon.

The final round of Championship fixtures kick off at 12:30pm BST on Saturday, followed by 3pm kicks-offs in both League One and League Two. Here is all you need to know for the final day.

Championship permutations

Title winner

Leeds and Burnley are currently level on 97 points each heading into the final day, where a thrilling battle to clinch the Championship title awaits.

Leeds’ goal difference is much better than Burnley’s (+64 compared to +51), so they sit top and have a clear advantage going into their final game away against a Plymouth side who need a miracle to avoid relegation straight back to League One.

Scott Parker’s Burnley are at home to play-off chasing Millwall and have to hope that Leeds slip up at Home Park and they can take advantage.

For Daniel Farke’s men, they just have to ensure that they match the Clarets’ result at Turf Moor to seal the trophy given that a 13-goal swing is obviously extremely unlikely.

Job not done: Promoted Burnley will still hope to pip Leeds to the Championship title on the final day

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Automatic promotion

Leeds and Burnley both secured automatic qualification to the Premier League after respective wins over Stoke and third-place Sheffield United on Easter Monday, so that particular race is now firmly over.

Play-offs

After the pain of missing out on an immediate automatic return to the top-flight, Sheffield United are now preparing for the play-offs. A seven-point buffer to fourth means they are already guaranteed third spot and a semi-final match-up against the team that finishes sixth regardless of their result at home to Blackburn, with the all-important second leg at Bramall Lane.

Likewise, Sunderland are locked into fourth spot with a nine-point gap and will play the team that finishes fifth in the play-offs, with the second leg at home at the Stadium of Light.

The last two play-off slots in the Championship are still yet to be settled though, with five teams battling it out on the final day.

It’s a case of win and in for Bristol City who, after a 4-0 drubbing by Leeds, currently occupy fifth spot on 67 points before the visit of relegation-battling Preston to Ashton Gate, one ahead of Coventry in sixth and the chasing pack comprised of Millwall, Blackburn and Middlesbrough.

Coventry and Millwall are both on 66 points, with Frank Lampard’s side currently clinging on to sixth by virtue of their superior goal difference (+4 compared to 0).

Resurgence: Frank Lampard has been successfully rebuilding his managerial career at Coventry

Barrington Coombs/PA Wire

Blackburn are on 65 points in eighth, with Middlesbrough on 64 points in ninth and boasting by far the best goal difference of the group. Blackburn’s is also much better than Millwall’s and one up on Coventry’s.

To make matters more interesting still, Coventry are at home to Middlesbrough on the final day, while Millwall go to promoted Burnley and Blackburn head to third-place Sheffield United.

Relegation

Cardiff were relegated to League One with a goalless draw against West Brom last weekend that also curtailed the latter’s play-off hopes.

23rd-place Plymouth aren’t officially down yet, but despite their home win over Preston last time out will need a miracle to avoid the drop after Luton’s victory against Coventry.

The Pilgrims are three points adrift of safety ahead of promoted Leeds’ visit but with a goal difference that stands at -36, much, much worse than all the teams around them and comfortably the lowest in the division that gives them no realistic shot of last-gasp survival.

The only real jeopardy is on the final place in the bottom three, with Hull currently occupying 22nd spot after a damaging 1-0 home defeat by relegation rivals Derby.

They are a point adrift of Luton, who are separated from Preston and Derby in the two places above due to their heavily inferior goal difference. A point above them - with a goal difference better than Luton’s but worse than Preston, Derby and Hull - is Stoke, who are not safe after losing to Sheffield United last Friday and head to Derby on the final day.

Vital result: Derby boosted their Championship survival hopes with a crucial win away at Hull

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Hull are away at Portsmouth, whose fans would no doubt delight in the misfortunes of a former Southampton manager in Ruben Selles, while Luton are on the road at West Brom and Preston travel to Bristol City.

Everyone from Oxford and above is safe, with Gary Rowett’s side having secured a second straight Championship season by beating Sunderland 2-0.

League One permutations

Title winner

Birmingham sealed the League One title on April 12 without kicking a ball after Wrexham failed to beat Wigan, having secured an immediate return to the Championship days before with a 2-1 victory at Peterborough - who got their revenge in the Vertu Trophy final at Wembley.

A 2-0 win at Blackpool on Wednesday saw Chris Davies’ dominant side break the EFL points record of 106 that had stood ever since Reading’s Championship-winning season of 2005/06 as they moved to 108, with a trip to relegated Cambridge offering a strong chance for a 34th league win of the season to finish on 111.

Automatic promotion

Wrexham and Wycombe had been embroiled in a fierce battle for the second automatic promotion slot behind Birmingham, with the former - owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - eventually becoming the first club ever to seal three successive promotions in the top five tiers of English football after a 3-0 home win over Charlton last weekend.

Moving on up: Wrexham have now sealed three successive promotions under Hollywood ownership

PA Wire

Play-offs

Three of the four play-off teams in League One are now confirmed, with Bolton and Huddersfield’s respective regressions over recent weeks meaning that sixth place is now a final day shootout between Leyton Orient and Reading, who are level on 75 points each.

The Os are in the driving seat with a much superior goal difference as they head to Huddersfield on Saturday, while Reading - who have defied ongoing crisis behind the scenes to stay in the mix under Noel Hunt - host mid-table Barnsley. Orient just need to match Reading’s result, with no chance of the Royals overturning their goal difference deficit.

Above them, Stockport now sit third after back-to-back wins, level on points with fourth-place Wycombe but above them by one goal in the GD column. To make matters more interesting, those two teams meet at Adams Park on the final day.

Charlton are fifth after that loss to Wrexham with a goal difference worse than that of both Stockport and Wycombe, so fourth is the best they can aim for as they host Burton at The Valley.

Defying the odds: Reading remain in the play-off hunt despite still not having a takeover confirmed

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Relegation

The relegation picture in League One has already been fully settled ahead of the final day, with Burton’s home draw against Wigan in midweek sealing their survival at the expense of both Crawley and Bristol Rovers.

Burton also relegated Cambridge by beating them last weekend, while Shrewsbury dropped on April 18 after Burton avoided defeat against Exeter.

League Two permutations

Title winner

Like in the Championship, the League Two title race will go right to the wire. Doncaster currently lead Port Vale by a point at the summit ahead of their trip to Notts County, while Vale host Gillingham. Doncaster’s goal difference is better by two ahead of kick-off.

Celebration: Doncaster have already earned promotion to League One, now they want the title

Ian Hodgson/PA Wire

Automatic promotion

Doncaster and Port Vale secured promotion with respective wins over Bradford and AFC Wimbledon last weekend.

But the third automatic promotion slot in the fourth tier is still very much up for grabs on the final day, with third-place Bradford leading Walsall by a point as things stand.

Notts County are three points behind Bradford in fifth but have the same goal difference as Walsall, which is two better than the Bantams’.

Notts County have a tough home clash with Doncaster, while Walsall head to mid-table Crewe and Bradford play host to Fleetwood.

Play-offs

The two clubs that miss out in that exciting three-way fight for the final automatic promotion slot in League Two are guaranteed to end up in the play-offs.

A draw will also be enough to secure a place in the lottery for AFC Wimbledon in sixth after a frustrating recent run of results saw them exit the automatic promotion picture, while Salford currently sit seventh in the final play-off position by virtue of a far better goal difference than Grimsby.

In position: Salford currently occupy the final play-off spot in League Two, ahead of Grimsby

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A point behind them is Chesterfield, whose goal difference is better than both, with Colchester still very much in the mix too another point further back in 10th.

Grimsby and AFC Wimbledon play each other at Blundell Park on Saturday, with Salford away at already-relegated Carlisle, Chesterfield heading to Accrington Stanley and Colchester entertaining Barrow.

Relegation

As in League One, the relegation battle in League Two is over. Rock-bottom Morecambe were relegated last month after a 3-1 loss at home to Salford and they will be joined in the National League by Mark Hughes’ Carlisle, whose second successive demotion was confirmed with a 3-2 defeat at Cheltenham last weekend.