Find out who the beneficiaries of the Championship's new play-offs format would have been had the system been implemented for the 2025/26 campaign.
Earlier this year, EFL Clubs agreed an historic change to the format of the Championship play-offs, with six teams set to feature from next season (2026/27) onwards.
The decision is intended to increase the number of competitive fixtures during the closing stages of the campaign, while also giving two additional clubs the opportunity to reach the Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium and progress to the Premier League.
Speaking in March, EFL Chief Executive, Trevor Birch, said: "Since their introduction in 1986/87, the Play-Offs have become a highlight of the domestic football calendar, capturing the drama, suspense and jeopardy that make the EFL so special.
"Following several months of discussion with Clubs and other stakeholders, we are confident this change will further strengthen the Championship as a competition and give more Clubs and their supporters a genuine opportunity of achieving promotion."
Whilst the changes are being rolled out for the upcoming 2026/27 campaign, we take a look at how the play-offs picture would look had they been pushed through for the current season.
Which teams would have made the Championship play-offs this season?
Whilst Millwall, Southampton, Middlesbrough and Hull City filled the four available play-off spots, the new system would have meant that Wrexham and Derby County would have also made the cut.
Wrexham's home draw against Middlesbrough together with Derby's home loss against Sheffield United on the final day of the season meant they agonisingly missed out on a spot in the top six, with Hull doing just enough to edge the pair out in an absorbing battle over the final few weeks of the term.
The changes to the play-offs system, which, of course come into effect in 12 months time, will see teams finishing in seventh and eighth in the table play one-off fixtures at the grounds of the teams finishing sixth and fifth respectively.
It means that Millwall, in third, and Southampton, in fourth, would have advanced directly through to the semi-finals, with fifth-placed Middlesbrough hosting Derby at the Riverside Stadium and Hull taking on Wrexham on Humberside.
The winners of those matches would then play two-legged ties against teams finishing third (Millwall) and fourth (Southampton), before the two victors meet in a one-off encounter at Wembley Stadium for a lucrative spot in the Premier League.
Championship new play-offs structure
Round One:
Fifth (Middlesbrough) v Eighth (Derby County)
Sixth (Hull City) v Seventh (Wrexham)
Semi-Finals:
Fifth (Middlesbrough) or Eighth (Derby County) v Fourth (Southampton) - 1st Leg
Fourth (Southampton) v Fifth (Middlesbrough) or Eighth (Derby County) - 2nd Leg
Sixth (Hull City) or Seventh (Wrexham) v Third (Millwall) - 1st Leg
Third (Millwall) v Sixth (Hull City) or Seventh (Wrexham) - 2nd Leg
Final:
Semi Final 1 Winner v Semi-Final 2 Winner
Why did EFL Championship clubs vote to make the change?
The idea of the change was to offer more clubs the opportunity of securing a spot in the Premier League given the opinion within England's second tier that parachute payments have distorted the competition and made it much harder for clubs without those extra payments to compete at the top end of the table.
It was also acknowledged that the revamp would minimise the number of dead rubber matches towards the end of the season, thus adding more high-profile / important games to the calendar.
Why weren't the changes implemented this season?
All agreed changes to the play-off system in the second-tier legally had to come into effect from the 2026/27 season, given that no changes to the structure of the league can be made once the season is underway.
EFL rules stipulate that no changes can be implemented after the first game of the season.
