It’s common for there to be very little left at stake by the final day of the Sky Bet EFL's regular season but all three divisions are far from concluded, with one champion, three automatic promotion places, six play-off spots and three relegations all still be confirmed.
After 45 rounds of fixtures the 2025/26 campaign will reach a thrilling conclusion on Saturday – thrilling being the operative word.
Championship top 2 finish odds
- Ipswich - 1/4
- Millwall - 11/4
- Middlesbrough - 33/1
We've seen plenty of dramatic finales in the Championship over the years and the promotion race is teed up for a tantalising crescendo.
Jack Clarke’s late equaliser at Southampton on Tuesday denied us the perfect scenario of Ipswich, Millwall, Middlesbrough and Saints all battling it out for automatic promotion at Saturday lunchtime. While the Tractor Boys winger did consign Southampton to the play-offs, mercifully he then twice went agonisingly close, rather than scoring a winning goal that would've killed this narrative completely.
And now, despite winning just once in five matches, Ipswich’s fate remains in their own hands.
Victory over QPR will confirm an immediate Premier League return for Kieran McKenna’s side. Fail to win and they will open the door for Millwall and Middlesbrough.
For the Lions to reach the top flight for the first time since 1990 they must beat already-relegated Oxford and hope Ipswich drop points – only this scenario will do because of their vastly inferior goal difference.
From Boro's perspective, Clarke’s equaliser has left them needing a miracle.
Like Millwall, they must win. They then require an Ipswich defeat and Lions draw or defeat.
An Ipswich draw doesn’t quite mathematically rule them out, but Boro must then overhaul five goals, with the added challenge of travelling to sixth-placed Wrexham, who are in their own battle…
Championship top 6 finish odds
- Hull - 11/10
- Wrexham - 11/8
- Derby - 7/2
The play-offs is where it could get really dramatic, reflected by the fact the bookies have seventh-placed Hull as favourites, and eighth-placed Derby just 7/2 to make the top six.
Wrexham are currently sixth, above Hull by just one on goal difference – incidentally the Tigers have in fact scored one more goal should that end up as the tie-breaker between the clubs.
Wrexham face an incredibly tough game at home to Middlesbrough, but Hull also have a very tricky fixture.
They take on a Norwich team who have collected the second-most points in the division since early December. Had the Canaries not surprisingly drawn with Portsmouth and Swansea in recent home games they too would be in this battle.
While Norwich couldn't quite drag themselves into final-day contention, Derby have.
The Rams trail by just a point heading into a home game with on-the-beach Sheffield United, whose results have been poor in 2026.
John Eustace’s men possess a significantly superior goal difference to their sixth-placed rivals too.
Derby may be the outsiders with the bookmakers but with the most winnable game they have an incredible opportunity to gatecrash the top six at the last possible moment.
League One top 6 finish odds
- Stockport – 1/50
- Bradford – 1/16
- Stevenage – 4/11
- Luton – 11/4
- Plymouth – 4/1
There is plenty to be decided further down the pyramid as well.
League One’s top two and bottom three are confirmed, but elsewhere it's far from cut and dried.
Superb late-season form from Luton and Plymouth has dragged them into contention to make the play-offs, with Stockport’s shock home defeat by already-relegated Port Vale on Tuesday meaning only third-placed Bolton are confirmed in the top six.
Five teams will battle for three spots, with lots of permutations.
- Bolton 15:00 Luton
- Barnsley 15:00 Stockport
- Stevenage 15:00 Wigan
- Northampton 15:00 Plymouth
- Exeter 15:00 Bradford
Stevenage and Stockport ought to finish the job as they face respective home and away games against mid-table Wigan and Barnsley – both of whom have nothing to play for.
A point will do for Stockport and Bradford (at Exeter - more on that later) but Stevenage are likely to need a win as should they draw, wins for Luton and/or Plymouth would see them overtake Boro on goal difference.
Luton only need to better Stevenage's result to overtake them, but a draw for the Hatters at third-placed Bolton would then leave them at risk of being overtaken by Argyle, who have the easiest final-day assignment.
Plymouth are rightly considered the outsiders but have the advantage of playing already-relegated Northampton, a team that have lost almost every game this calendar year. Combine that with the challenging fixtures of Luton and Bradford, and they will fancy their chances.
Bradford face the five-hour journey to a sold-out St James’ Park, where a resurgent Exeter (one defeat in six) are fighting for their lives.
The Grecians occupy the final relegation place and need the combination of victory and a Leyton Orient failure to beat Burton at home.
Last but not least, League Two has lots still to tie up too, with a remarkable nine of the 12 fixtures having something at stake.
Having already secured promotion, one of MK Dons (3/10) and Bromley (5/2) will be crowned champions.
The third automatic spot is then between Cambridge (2/9), Salford (evens) and Notts County (9/4).
At first glance it may seem as though Barnet are still in the race, and that Grimsby have not yet secured their spot, but a tantalising final-day meeting between Swindon and Chesterfield means it's all over the Bees, and all that's to be decided for the Mariners is exactly whereabouts in the top-seven they finish.
- Fleetwood 15:00 MK Dons
- Bromley 15:00 Walsall
- Crewe 15:00 Cambridge
- Crawley 15:00 Salford
- Notts County 15:00 Bristol Rovers
- Swindon 15:00 Chesterfield
- Tranmere 15:00 Grimsby
- Harrogate 15:00 Barnet
- Barrow 15:00 Newport
League Two final-day fixtures in full
At the other end, quite remarkably, despite several different clubs appearing to be doomed at various points this season, five can still be relegated.
Bottom-club Barrow require a minor miracle to overturn a three-point deficit and significant goal difference inferiority on both Harrogate and Crawley, so realistically there is one place to be filled.
Harrogate are the team currently in 23rd, with Crawley, Newport and Tranmere all within a point.
Town have made a habit of somehow scraping to safety in the EFL; beating Barnet to secure safety would be quite the way to pull off another survival.
Odds correct at 15:00 BST (29/4/26)
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