The final day of the 2022-23 EFL Championship season is set to be full of drama. Monday’s full slate of games all kick off at 10:00 AM ET, with Millwall vs Blackburn televised live on ESPN2 in the US.
Burnley, who’ve captured the title, and second-placed Sheffield United have already secured their place in the Premier League for next season. But coveted playoff spots are still up for grabs, with places five through nine subject to change on the last matchday.
Places three through six in the table qualify for the promotion playoff. The four-team bracket culminates in the most valuable single game in sports, with the final place in the Premier League at stake.
Luton Town and Middlesbrough are already locked into third and fourth place respectively. For Luton, it’s their second playoff run in a row, having narrowly fallen to Huddersfield in last season’s semifinals. Luton are looking to return to the first division for the first time since 1992. That was the last season before the formation of the Premier League. Boro, meanwhile, were Premier League mainstays from its beginning in 1992 through 2009, but have spent just one season at the top tier since then (2016-17).
Battle for the last playoff positions
It’s the final two playoff spots where the intrigue lies. Coventry City, Millwall, Sunderland, West Brom and Blackburn Rovers are all in the mix. Millwall (6th, 68 pts), currently occupying the final spot, hosts Blackburn (9th, 66 pts) in the biggest clash. Meanwhile, Sunderland (7th, 66 pts) visits Preston North End. West Brom (8th, 66 pts) heads to Swansea, and Coventry (5th place, 69 pts) are away to Middlesbrough. It could very well come down to goal difference or further tiebreakers to decide who makes the cut.
Luton, who were all the way down in the fifth tier as recently as 2014, would be a remarkable story. The Hatters’ 10,000-seat Kenilworth Road would be the smallest ground in the Premier League.
Coventry has also had their share of hard times in recent years. The club were relegated from the Premier League in 2001, ending 34-straight seasons in the top flight. They fell as far as the fourth tier in 2017-18. Along the way they’ve dealt with points deductions, lease issues at their stadium forcing them to relocate twice, and even more problems this season.
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Fans in the US can watch the action on Monday, May 8th at 10:00 AM ET. ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes are televising the Millwall vs Blackburn match (also available on ESPN+). ESPN+ has the Preston versus Sunderland game live as well. However the final table shakes out, the entirety of the promotion playoffs (May 13th-27th) streams via ESPN+.
photo: Imago
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