After Saturday’s drama-filled round of fixtures, the regular season of the 2025-26 Championship is over, with Coventry City and Ipswich Town securing automatic promotion to the Premier League courtesy of top-two finishes.
Whilst the majority of second-tier players fly off somewhere sunny on their well-earned breaks, four clubs remain in the heat of the promotion chase, battling over the next few weeks for one remaining place in the top flight.
Here, Sports Mole previews the Championship playoffs, in which Millwall, Southampton, Middlesbrough and Hull City will be fighting it out for the honour of joining the Sky Blues and the Tractor Boys in the Premier League.
MILLWALL – LIONS HUNTING PL DEBUT
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Last competing in the top flight of English football during the 1989-90 season, Millwall have never graced the pitches of the Premier League, however, Alex Neil‘s side are extremely well-placed to achieve that feat in the coming months.
With Queens Park Rangers rolling over for Ipswich on the final day of the regular season at Portman Road, the Lions were forced to settle for a third-placed finish despite comfortably beating Oxford United last time out.
That routine victory at the expense of the League One-bound U’s extended Millwall’s unbeaten run to five Championship matches (W3 D2), making them an in-form side heading into the playoffs.
Buoyed by positive momentum, the Lions possess a lot of the characteristics which contribute greatly towards playoff success, with the London club an extremely tough nut to crack, whilst also having top-flight ability at the top end of the pitch in the form of Femi Azeez.
SOUTHAMPTON – THE BIG DOGS ARE BACK
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On November 1, Southampton were languishing down in 21st spot in the Championship standings with a mere 12 points, earning victory from just two of their opening 13 league contests under the reign of Will Still.
Despite their terrible start, the Saints always possessed the quality to enter the promotion conversation once Tonda Eckert took charge, with the South Coast club losing just one of their past 23 competitive fixtures.
Unlike their playoff rivals, Southampton have experience of rubbing shoulders with Premier League teams in recent times, beating title favourites Arsenal at St Mary’s Stadium in the FA Cup last month before losing to Manchester City in the semi-finals at Wembley.
The Saints need to overcome Middlesbrough in the final four of the playoffs to make a second 2025-26 appearance at the national stadium, with an immediate return to the top flight becoming increasingly probable.
MIDDLESBROUGH – HELLBERG’S SINKING SHIP
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Ahead of the final day of the regular season, Middlesbrough (217) had spent more days in the top two of the Championship than runaway leaders Coventry (216), highlighting the severity of the last-season collapse on Teesside.
Winning just two of their past 10 second-tier matches, Boro need to break all of the playoff stereotypes surrounding momentum to reach the Premier League for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign.
A source of cautious optimism for Middlesbrough, last season’s playoff winners Sunderland lost five consecutive matches at the conclusion of the 46-match term before going on to shock Coventry and ultimately Sheffield United.
Picking up the Championship’s Player of the Season award, Boro’s star man Hayden Hackney is rushing back from injury, with the England Under-21 international missing the past eight matches due to a troublesome calf problem.
HULL CITY – THE STATISTICAL OUTLIERS
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In a disturbing alternate universe where the Championship table is determined on expected goals (xG), Hull City are in the process of packing their bags for a trip to League One alongside Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday.
Luckily for the Tigers, football is played in the real world opposed to on data sheets and in computer models, with the Humberside outfit defying pre-season expectations to squeeze into the top six on the final day ahead of Wrexham and Derby County.
Avoiding relegation on goal difference last season, Hull are the surprise name in the four-team playoff cohort, especially considering that they have been under a transfer-fee embargo during the past two windows.
Sergej Jakirovic’s side have relied on smart loan and free transfer arrivals to compete at the upper end of the Championship standings, with second-tier experts Oli McBurnie and Ryan Giles shining at the MKM Stadium.