Fighting relegation & eyeing promotion? Championship set for six-team play-offsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Hull City’s play-off win was the seventh time a sixth-placed side has gained promotion from the ChampionshipByGlenn SpellerBBC Sport journalistPublished1 hour agoDerby County, Millwall (twice), Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers all have something in common which could be worth in the region of £150m this season.Across the past five seasons those teams finished eighth in the Championship table – a decent year but with no reward at the end of it. All that will change for the upcoming 2026-27 campaign with seventh and eighth being enough to get you into the play-offs for a shot at reaching the Premier League.Clubs finishing third and fourth will progress directly to the semi-final – as has been the case in previous seasons – while a one-legged quarter-final will be played with fifth at home to eighth and sixth hosting seventh.Semi-finals will remain as two legs and the final will still take place at Wembley at the end of May.Will this new format change the way teams approach the season which gets under way on Friday? How likely is it a side finishing seventh or eighth will actually win through? And, is it fair?Fewer dead rubbers?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Phil Parkinson (left) and John Eustace led Wrexham to seventh and eighth place respectively last seasonWhen announcing the decision to extend the Championship play-offs in March, the English Football League mentioned the aim was to “increase the number of competitive fixtures during the closing stages of the season”.
Last season, three teams went into the final day of the campaign vying for the sixth and final play-off spot. The top eight was already decided with just the order to be sorted. As it turned out, Wrexham finished seventh and Derby eighth.
On the last weekend of the 2024-25 season, five sides had a shot at the last two play-off berths but only Middlesbrough, who were ninth, would have had a chance of breaking into the top eight had they been working under the new rules.
Staying with the new regulations, had they been in place for the 2023-24 season only ninth-placed Coventry City would have been in with a shout of overhauling Middlesbrough in eighth.
Of course, managers might change their approach if there is more chance of snagging a play-off spot as the season progresses – picking different players or making alternative signings in January if a top-eight finish is still realistic.
“I thought the system worked pretty well previously – I think we’ll have to see how it pans out,” Portsmouth boss John Mousinho mentioned.
“I didn’t think there was an issue but we’ll see how it goes. I think since the introduction of the play-off system, it’s been wildly successful.”
