Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
The season may be over for 20 of the teams in the second tier, but there’s still the small matter of the Championship play-offs to resolve.
For much of the season, Sheffield United looked like they could secure automatic promotion, but they fell at the final hurdle after a dip in form in April.
Sunderland, meanwhile, have been in the top six all year, but have become complacent of late and will need to pick themselves back up.
On the final day of the season, we saw Coventry City and Bristol City clinch their place in the top six and thus book their spot in the Championship play-offs.
But, as we look ahead to the impending semi-finals, we’ve taken the time to dissect each of the teams’ form over the last ten matches to determine which club is in the strongest position to go all the way and make it to the Premier League via this route.
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Sheffield United’s last ten matches
The Blades go into the play-offs as the favourites on paper, given the quality of their squad and the fact they finished third in the final Championship table.
However, as we mentioned previously, that dip in form in April really hurt them. They lost three games on the spin against Oxford United, Millwall, and Plymouth Argyle, which saw them lose pace with the leading pack.
Granted, they’ve picked it back up again with wins over Cardiff and Stoke City since, and a draw against Blackburn Rovers on the final day.
In total, Chris Wilder’s men racked up 14 points from their last ten games. That’s pretty good going, and makes them the second-best in-form team in the play-offs at the moment.
The only issue is, Sheffield United’s play-offs record is abysmal, with eight failures out of eight attempts. Can Wilder finally break the curse this year?
Sunderland’s last ten matches
Sunderland have had their play-off spot pretty much guaranteed since the turn of the year, and in many ways that has hurt them, with many claiming the Black Cats got complacent.
Regis Le Bris’ side have lost five on the bounce heading into the play-offs, and they’ve not even scored in their last three matches.
You have to go back to the start of April for their last win, a 1-0 victory away at West Brom, which is one of just two wins in their last ten games.
With eight points from the last ten matches, Sunderland are struggling, to say the least. That said, Sunderland have tasted play-off success before, and anything could happen in these next few games.
Coventry City’s last ten matches
You’d be forgiven for thinking Coventry City go into the play-offs with the most momentum, and to be fair, after that final day triumph over Middlesbrough, it does feel like they have the wind in their sails.
Frank Lampard steered Coventry on a record-breaking run earlier this year with nine wins out of ten in January and February. The Sky Blues have been a little less consistent of late, though.
They’ve picked up 13 points from the last ten games, and while defeats to Derby County, Sheffield United, Plymouth, and Luton have hurt them, they’re still looking fairly strong.
Coventry suffered defeat in the play-offs in 2023, and will be looking to put that right this time around.
Bristol City’s last ten matches
Believe it or not, based on points accrued, Bristol City go into the play-offs in the best form over the last ten games.
Liam Manning’s men have quietly gone about their business all season, and while Bristol City are the underdogs still, they could surprise us all in the play-offs.
The Robins have suffered three defeats in the last ten, but also picked up wins against Norwich, Watford, West Brom, and Sunderland to propel themselves into the top six. Bristol City also have a formidable home record this year, too, that Sheffield United will have to look out for.
They’ve picked up 15 points from their last ten games, and should not be underestimated.