Sky Bet EFL play-offs schedule: Fixtures, schedule & promotion odds ahead of the EFL play-offs

The final day of the EFL season has come and gone, and now we enter the nerve-jangling couple of weeks that are the Sky Bet EFL play-offs.

Relegation issues have been sorted out, but promotion is still up for grabs, including the four Sky Bet Championship hopefuls who will be fighting it out tooth and nail to reach the promised land of the Premier League.

Fulham are the 13/8 favourites with Sky Bet as they go up against Derby in the semi-finals, but there’s stiff competition also waiting in the final as Middlesbrough or Aston Villa will be in opposition at Wembley.

The first legs of the Sky Bet Championship play-offs take place on May 11 and 12, with the return legs three days later on May 14 and 15.

Four hopefuls from League One and League Two will also be chasing their promotion dreams - Charlton take on Shrewsbury and Scunthorpe face Rotherham in League One, while in League Two it’s Lincoln v Exeter and Coventry v Notts County.

Sky Bet Championship play-offs

• 13/8 Fulham
• 11/4 Aston Villa
• 11/4 Middlesbrough
• 9/2 Derby

Derby v Fulham (Match Odds: Home 19/10 Draw 23/10 Away 7/5)

• This will be the 62nd meeting between these two clubs in all competitions, with Derby winning 22 times (D20 L19). However, this will be first meeting between the two clubs in the play-offs.
• Derby have lost just two of their last 12 home games against Fulham in all competitions (W7 D3).
• However, Fulham did win their away league trip to Pride Park earlier this season, winning 2-1 in March with first half goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ryan Sessegnon securing the points.
• The team to finish sixth in the Championship has won promotion via the play-offs in just one of the last 12 seasons – Blackpool in 2009-10.
• The side to finish third in the second tier has won promotion through the play-offs (current format) on 10 occasions (34%), more than any other position.
• This will be Derby’s seventh venture into the second tier play-offs, only Ipswich Town (8) have taken part in more. They’ve only won promotion once in those previous six seasons in the second tier play-offs (in 2006-07).
• Fulham will compete in the Championship play-offs for the second consecutive season after losing out to Reading in the semi-finals last term. The Whites have failed to win promotion in all three of their previous seasons in the play-offs in the Football League (also 1988-89 and 1997-98).
• Derby’s Matej Vydra is the Championship’s top scorer this season with 21 goals from just 32 shots on target.
• Since making his Fulham debut in February, Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored more league goals than any other Championship player (12).

Middlesbrough v Aston Villa (Home 5/4 Draw 21/10 Away 12/5)

• These two sides met three times in all competitions this season with each side winning once on the road (D1). Including both legs of this season’s play-off tie, it will be the second time that both teams have faced each other five times in a single season – also 1949-50.
• The home team has failed to win any of the last 11 clashes between Middlesbrough and Aston Villa in all competitions, with the Villans being the last side to secure a home victory, in March 2005 in the Premier League (2-0).
• Aston Villa have lost just one of their last eight away games against Middlesbrough in all competitions and none of the last five (W4 D1).
• The team to finish in fourth place has won the second tier play-offs in two of the last four seasons (QPR in 2013-14 and Hull City in 2015-16), as many as in the previous 22 campaigns combined (Leicester City in 1993-94 and Charlton in 1997-98).
• Fifth-place Huddersfield won promotion last season, while the team in fifth hasn’t won the play-offs (current format) in consecutive second tier campaigns since 2001-02 (Birmingham City) and 2002-03 (Wolves).
• This will be Aston Villa’s first ever play-off match in the Football League, while Middlesbrough are competing in their fourth play-off campaign and first since 2014-15 when they lost in the Championship play-off final to Norwich City.
• Middlesbrough successfully gained promotion via the second tier play-offs in 1987-88, getting the better of top-flight Chelsea over two legs in the final. In 1990-91 they were eliminated by Neil Warnock’s Notts County in the semi-final, who went on to win promotion.
• Steve Bruce has won more promotions to the Premier League than any other manager (4). Indeed, two of those promotions have been via the play-offs - in 2001-02 with Birmingham City and 2015-16 with Hull City.
• Tony Pulis has led two teams to promotion in his managerial career in the Football League – finishing second with Gillingham in the fourth tier in 1995-96 and taking Stoke into the Premier League in 2007-08. However, Pulis’ only experience in the play-offs ended in a penalty shoot-out defeat for Gillingham against Man City in the third tier final in 1998-99.
• Middlesbrough have just two of their last 14 league games (W8 D4), while Aston Villa have won once in their last five on the road in the Championship (D1 L3).

Sky Bet League One play-offs

• 12/5 Charlton
• 12/5 Rotherham
• 11/4 Scunthorpe
• 10/3 Shrewsbury

Charlton v Shrewsbury (Home 23/20 Draw 21/10 Away 13/5)

• Both clashes between Charlton and Shrewsbury this season ended in a 2-0 win to the away side, with these two sides meeting as recently as April.
• Charlton finished sixth in League One this season. The team that has finished sixth has gone on to win the play-off final in each of the last two League One seasons.
• Indeed, the team finishing in third place has only gained promotion once in the previous seven seasons (Preston, 2014-15).
• Shrewsbury recorded the second-best defence in League One – conceding just 39 goals, with 12 of those goals coming in the first half – a league-low total.
• Since Lee Bowyer took charge of the Addicks in March, only fellow promotion hunters Scunthorpe (4) have conceded fewer goals than the south London side (5).
• The Shrews will be making their fourth appearance in the EFL play-offs, however, they’ve yet to gain promotion this way after losing in the League Two final in 2007 and 2009 and falling at the semi-final stage in 2011.
• In fact, Shrewsbury have only managed one goal in their last five play-off matches and none in their last three.
• This will be Charlton’s first venture in the play-offs since 2010, losing out to Swindon on penalties in the League One play-off semi-final. The Addicks’ previous play-off campaign before that came in 1998, famously winning the final 7-6 on penalties after a 4-4 draw with Sunderland to reach the Premier League.

Scunthorpe v Rotherham (Home 7/5 Draw 9/4 Away 2/1)

• Rotherham won both league games against Scunthorpe this season, 2-0 at home and 2-1 at Glanford Park – their first league double since 1983-84.
• Rotherham finished fourth in League One this season. The team that has finished fourth has gone on to reach the play-off final in six of the last seven League One seasons, winning it on four occasions in this run.
• In contrast, the team that finished fifth haven’t won promotion via the play-offs since Barnsley in 2006 when they beat Swansea on penalties.
• Hakeeb Adelakun provided 11 assists during the League One 2017-18 season; only Graham Carey (12), Jack Payne (12), Stephen McLaughlin (13) and Marcus Maddison (16) recorded more.
• Michael Smith has scored six league goals for Rotherham since joining in January, more than any other Millers player in that period.
• Scunthorpe are in their third Football League play-off campaign in the third tier. The Iron lost out in 2017 to Millwall at the semi-final stage, although in 2009 they beat the Lions 3-2 in the final at Wembley.
• Rotherham’s only previous play-off appearance in the third tier was in 2014, beating Leyton Orient 4-3 on penalties to reach the Championship.

Sky Bet League Two play-offs

• 9/4 Coventry
• 9/4 Lincoln
• 3/1 Exeter
• 7/2 Notts County

Lincoln v Exeter (Home 4/5 Draw 12/5 Away 10/3)

• Both sides won a match apiece against each other in League Two this season, with Lincoln coming from behind to win their home game 3-2.
• Exeter have won four of their last five meetings with Lincoln, though they did lose the most recent encounter.
• This is Lincoln’s sixth appearance in the Football League play-offs – they’d previously appeared in five consecutive seasons in the fourth tier between 2002-03 and 2006-07, losing finals in 2003 and 2005.
• The team finishing seventh has won the play-offs in five of the last eight League Two campaigns, including each of the last two.
• This is Exeter’s second appearance in the Football League play-offs – they were losing finalists against Blackpool last season.
• The team finishing fourth has only won promotion to League One in one of the last nine seasons, with Fleetwood Town doing so in 2013-14.
• Exeter faced more shots than any other League Two side in 2017-18 (591) while Lincoln faced the fewest shots on target in the division (154).
• Jayden Stockley has scored seven goals in his last eight games for Exeter coming into the play-offs.

Coventry v Notts County (Home 21/20 Draw 23/10 Away 11/4)

• Both sides won one match apiece in League Two this season, with Coventry winning 3-0 at home on the opening weekend of the season thanks to a Jodi Jones hat-trick.
• Notts County have won two of their last four visits to the Ricoh Arena against Coventry, though they’ve lost both of the other two by a scoreline of 0-3.
• This is Coventry’s first ever appearance in the Football League play-offs. They’ve not been promoted from any division since winning the second tier in 1966-67.
• This will be Notts County’s fifth appearance in the Football League play-offs, but first since 1995-96. They’ve reached the final in each of their last three appearances, winning in the third tier in 1989-90, the second tier in 1990-91, but losing out in the third tier in 1995-96.
• The team finishing sixth has won promotion to League One just once in the last 10 seasons, with Stevenage doing so in 2010-11.
• Meanwhile, the team finishing fifth has won the play-offs just once in the last eight League Two campaigns, with Southend United doing so in 2014-15.
• The Sky Blues won just one of their last four home games in the regular League Two season (D1 L2), losing 2-6 vs Yeovil and 2-4 vs Lincoln in that run.
• Meanwhile, the Magpies won just two of their last 11 League Two away games in 2017-18 (D3 L6).

Sky Bet EFL play-off fixtures & schedule

Thu 10 – 7:45pm League One – first leg Charlton Athletic v Shrewsbury Town
Fri 11 – 7:45pm Championship – first leg Derby County v Fulham
Sat 12 – 12:30pm League One – first leg Scunthorpe United v Rotherham United
Sat 12 – 3pm League Two – first leg Lincoln City v Exeter City
Sat 12 – 5:15pm Championship – first leg Middlesbrough v Aston Villa
Sat 12 – 7:30pm League Two – first leg Coventry City v Notts County
Sun 13 – 5:15pm League One – second leg Shrewsbury Town v Charlton Athletic
Mon 14 – 7:45pm Championship – second leg Fulham v Derby County
Tue 15 – 7:45pm Championship – second leg Aston Villa v Middlesbrough
Wed 16 – 7:45pm League One – second leg Rotherham United v Scunthorpe United
Thu 17 – 7:45pm League Two – second leg Exeter City v Lincoln City
Fri 18 – 7:45pm League Two – second leg Notts County v Coventry City

Play-off finals

Saturday May 26: Championship Final – 3pm

Sunday May 27: League One Final – 3pm

Monday May 28: League Two Final – 3pm

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