Welcome to the latest edition of the EFL Championship Roundup, where hoddle headquarters takes a look at what’s going on in the second tier of the English football pyramid.
This time, we’ll be looking at the race for the playoffs. There are only 11-12 games left to play and a few teams are still jockeying for position. I see a smaller pool of candidates this year with #1-4 out of reach. There are also a lot of bad teams in the table this year.
So how many clubs are competing for the final two playoff spots? I count seven.
The inside track: Coventry (53 Pts), West Brom (52 Pts)
The two clubs which currently occupy the final two spots. First is Coventry, who have had a remarkable turnaround since Frank Lampard took over the club at the end of November. They’ve been one of the hottest clubs since January as well, going 8-2-1. One thing going in their favour: Josh Maja, who is third in the golden boot race with 12 goals.
And then there’s West Brom, who’ve seemed a bit wobbly since manager Carlos Cobreran left the club on 24 December. They’ve also got the most draws in the Championship at 16 (!).
Outside looking in: Blackburn (52 Pts), Middlesbrough (50 Pts)
This is becoming a familiar scene for Blackburn: Start strong and fade towards the end. They’re 4-6-2 in 2025 with a few bad losses against Oxford United, Swansea and QPR. They’ve been without last year’s star striker Sammie Szmodics, and it shows. Adreas Weimann currently leads their goal tally with six.
Boro are also in it, but I’m less convinced and don’t think they’ve been a serious playoff contender this entire season.
Also hanging around: Bristol City (49 Pts), Watford (49 Pts), Norwich City (48 Pts)
Four or five points adrift of sixth isn’t insurmountable, but I feel like it may as well be for these wildly inconsistent clubs. None are particularly inspiring and I can’t see them making a run.
Would it matter anyways? I guess any club that makes the playoffs has a chance at promotion (it’s only three wins, after all), but this year it really feels like it’ll come down to whichever of Leeds, Sheffield United, Burnley or Sunderland fail to obtain the automatic spots.
Top six:
Bottom three:
Fitzie’s track of the day: Funky But Chic, by David Johansen
And now for your links:
BBC: “Dele makes first squad in two years as Como lose at Roma”
The Athletic ($$): “How Tottenham became the biggest Premier League club on TikTok”
Dan KP: “Kevin Danso reveals rugby offers as new Tottenham hero reflects on start”