The EFL Championship season ended on Saturday with celebrations in Coventry, relief in Ipswich, and heartbreak in Wrexham. After 46 rounds and nine months of football, the table settled in the most dramatic fashion available: on goal difference, on the final day.
Coventry City: Champions at Last
Frank Lampard’s Coventry City won the Championship with 95 points and a goal difference of +52. They are champions. They are going to the Premier League. And they have not been in the top flight since 2001.
That is 25 years. The statistic does not need embellishment. A club that dropped as far as League One in 2012 and League Two in 2017, that played home matches at Birmingham’s ground, that spent a generation grinding back towards relevance, is now a Premier League club.
Lampard was named Championship Manager of the Season in April, and it is easy to see why. Coventry finished with 95 points, 11 clear of Ipswich in second. They were the dominant team in the division from the off. Lampard’s appointment transformed a club that had threatened promotion before but never delivered it.
The return to the Premier League after 25 years is not just a feel-good story. It is a significant market event. Coventry will need investment, squad rebuilding, and a clear idea of how to survive at the top level. For traders and analysts, they are among the most interesting clubs to assess heading into 2026-27.
Ipswich Town: Straight Back Up
Ipswich Town are also promoted, finishing second with 84 points after a 3-0 win over QPR on the final day. That victory confirmed their place in the Premier League.
The context here is unusual. Ipswich were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2024-25 season. They have come straight back up. One season down, one season back. The club will return to the top flight knowing the task ahead, having seen it close up just last year.
Ipswich finished 11 points behind Coventry and 1 point clear of third-placed Millwall. The automatic promotion picture required them to win, and they did.
The Playoff Picture
The four playoff semi-finalists are Millwall (3rd, 83 points), Southampton (4th, 80 points), Middlesbrough (5th, 80 points) and Hull City (6th, 73 points).
Semi-final first legs are scheduled as follows:
- Hull City vs Millwall: Friday 8 May, 20:00
- Middlesbrough vs Southampton: Saturday 9 May, 12:30
Second legs follow on Monday 11 May and Tuesday 12 May. The Championship playoff final takes place at Wembley on Saturday 23 May 2026.
Wrexham: Final Day Heartbreak
The most agonising story of the final day belongs to Wrexham. They drew 2-2 with Middlesbrough, which would have been enough to make the playoffs if Hull City dropped points. Hull did not. They beat Norwich City 2-1, with Oli McBurnie scoring twice to seal the win.
Wrexham finished 7th with 71 points and a goal difference of +4. Hull finished 6th with 73 points and a goal difference of +4. Hull edged them out on points. The margin was two points. The margin in goal difference was nothing. After a full season, it came down to two points on the final afternoon.
For a club that has risen from the National League in recent years, reaching 7th in the Championship is not failure. It will feel like failure today.
Relegated: Oxford, Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester
Three clubs go down to League One. Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, and most significantly, Leicester City. The Foxes were relegated from the Premier League in 2025 and have now suffered back-to-back relegations. Leicester City will play League One football next season for the first time in decades.
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