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As we head into the business end of the season, the Championship is well and truly heating up with promotion places, playoff spots and relegation scraps to be decided.
England's second division is often the most dramatic in the Football League with so much at stake. This season Frank Lampard's Coventry look in pole position to reach the promised land of the Premier League while Wrexham's Hollywood story could still see a fourth straight promotion.
Here's everything you need to know from the Championship.
The Championship promotion race could go right down to the wire. Getty Images
Who's going up as things stand?
The current state of play sees Coventry and Middlesbrough occupy the automatic promotion spots, with Ipswich Town lurking two points behind the latter having played one game fewer.
Frank Lampard has spearheaded Coventry's title charge this term after guiding them to the playoff semifinals last season despite being appointed with the club in relegation trouble early on in the 2024-25 campaign.
The likes of Victor Torp, Ellis Simms, Haji Wright and Brandon Thomas-Asante in Coventry's forward line have torn up the league at times with Lampard's side having been the top goalscorers in the division throughout.
That frontline was in sparkling form once again on Saturday as Coventry ran out 3-0 winners at Swansea to go nine points clear at the top of the table.
Rob Edwards' move to Wolves in November left Middlesbrough in a difficult position but Kim Hellberg has since kept the momentum going in what is his first managerial job in England.
Ipswich and Millwall's 1-1 draw on Saturday saw them both miss out on the chance to put further pressure on Boro, but both teams remain a threat heading into the season's run-in.
We could have a top-two battle for the ages on our hands with Boro failing to make certain the spot they have made their own for such large parts of this season.
Who looks good for a playoff spot?
Millwall are in fourth, two points behind Middlesbrough but have claimed just one point from their last two games having won the previous four. They have never graced the riches of the league since its formation in 1992, they'll be hoping arch-rivals West Ham can stave off relegation fears to lock in two truly blockbuster derbies next season, should they make it up.
Kieran McKenna's Ipswich have Premier League pedigree having been in the top-flight last term finishing 19th, they now look nailed on to secure at least a playoff spot in their attempt to make an immediate return, sitting just outside the top two.
Hull City have been away from the Premier League since 2017 but are fifth.
And sitting precariously in the playoff mix, for now, is Southampton. The Saints suffered a difficult start to the season and sacked manager Will Still in November, but have roared back into contention under his replacement, Tonda Eckert, and have won five of their last six in the league. Wrexham are just outside in seventh, despite beating Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Often regarded as football's most lucrative single game with not only the reward of Premier League football but a sum upwards of £100 million ($136m) on the line, getting to the playoff final is the goal for those who finish 3rd to 6th, but with so much time left in the season, many will still harbour ambitions of an automatic promotion spot.
When are the playoffs?
After the final day of the Championship season on May 2, clubs that have secured their spot in the top six will have one week before the all-action playoffs begin.
6th vs 3rd will play their first leg on Friday May 8 and the second leg on Monday May 11, both evening kick-offs (8 p.m. GMT).
5th vs 4th will play their first leg on Saturday May 9 and the second leg on Tuesday May 12.
The side that finishes lower in the regular season will host the first leg while the team with the higher league position earns a home game for the all-important second leg.
There is a sizeable gap between the semifinals and final though, with football's most lucrative game gracing the sunshine of Wembley once again on Saturday May 23, almost two weeks after the semifinals are completed.
Who else is in the hunt?
The two sides that will head to Wembley in May to fight for the third and final Premier League spot are far from confirmed yet.
Ipswich Town, Hull City, Millwall and Southampton are currently the favourites to secure a playoff spot, but with a long way still to go this season, there will be turnover in the top six.
The league as competitive as it has ever been, leading to the EFL announcing that the Championship playoffs will now be expanded to six teams, rather than the usual four, from the 2026-27 season.
Southampton are only above seventh-placed Wrexham on goal difference, and everyone down to Watford in ninth will harbour hopes of a late-season surge that pushes them into playoff contention.
The playoff semifinals are pre-seeded with third playing sixth and fourth playing fifth.
Wrexham watch
Despite currently sitting outside the playoff spots on goal difference, there is the sense that anything other than a top-six finish would be a huge missed opportunity for Wrexham. They are sitting on a commercial and footballing goldmine and a fourth straight promotion into the Premier League would launch the club well and truly into the stratosphere.
The Welsh side are on the cusp of the Premier League, here's all the latest coming out of the Racecourse.
- Swansea raise concern after Wrexham coverage: We felt like 'afterthought'
Swansea will raise concerns over television coverage of their all-Welsh affair against Wrexham with the EFL after saying the team owned by Hollywood stars Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds "were given priority at every opportunity."
- Wrexham boost playoff hopes with comeback win over Sheffield United
Wrexham came from behind to strengthen their Championship play-off hopes with a 2-1 win at Sheffield United.
- After five years of Reynolds and Mac, Wrexham are on cusp of Premier League
It has taken five years to get to this point, but Wrexham might now reach their ultimate destination in less than five months.
- Wrexham boss Parkinson welcomes Mac's backing in club's 'fantastic story'
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has welcomed co-owner Rob Mac's suggestion that he has the job for life, revelling in his role in the club's "fantastic story."
- Live from Wrexham: Ryan Reynolds, Rob Mac commentate win vs. Swansea
Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have ventured into yet another new role, swapping the director's box for the commentary booth.
- Ben Foster: Wrexham's journey under Ryan Reynolds, Rob Mac 'ridiculous'
Ben Foster has hailed Wrexham's "ridiculous" journey as Hollywood owners Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds celebrate their fifth anniversary in charge of the Welsh club.
The relegation battle
From one end of the Championship table to the other, just like the fight to get out of the league, the battle to stay in England's second division will go right down to the wire.
One side who won't be involved in the drama though are Sheffield Wednesday. The Owls sit rock bottom in 24th and are miles away from ever leaving the foot of the table after having 18 points deducted this season for financial breaches linked to previous owner Dejphon Chansiri. They remain in administration and in the process of finding a buyer and defeat against bitter rivals Sheffield United on Feb. 22 saw them relegated in record time. They have -6 points.
The sides who are still fighting for their lives, though, are Oxford United, Leicester City, Portsmouth, West Brom, and Blackburn Rovers.
Former Premier League winners Leicester (and at one point in time, European regulars) the Foxes find themselves in danger of dropping down to England's third division after being docked six points for EFL financial breaches, just five years after finishing fifth in the top-flight. They sit inside the drop zone and the tight nature of the battle at the foot of the table mean the Foxes will retain hope of making it out but the points deduction has made that much more difficult than anticipated.
It is a battle that will likely go down to the final day in May, when we could see an English giant drop into League One.
What are the next key games on the calendar?
April 3 -- Middlesbrough vs Millwall
April 3 -- West Brom vs Wrexham
April 3 -- Coventry vs Derby County
April 6 -- Hull City vs Coventry
April 7 -- Wrexham vs Southampton
April 19 -- Ipswich vs Middlesborough