EFL Championship Play-Offs: Dates, teams and odds for promotion | OneFootball

EFL Championship

Chris Wilder will be hoping to guide his boyhood club back to the top flight at the first attempt...

Jack Critchley sets the scene ahead of the 2024-25 Championship playoffs, profiling the four teams involved, picking out the key battles and looking at the latest odds for promotion...

Championship playoff dates

We're all set for the 2024-25 Championship Play-Offs, which get underway on Thursday, 8th May. Each of the four teams hopes to follow Leeds and Burnley by securing promotion to the Premier League at the end of the month.

Championship playoff semi-finals:

Championship playoff final:

Bristol City have been priced up as slight favourites when they host Sheffield United with the Robins available at 7/4. The Blades have won each of their last two trips to this ground by a single margin and can be backed at 9/5 to complete the hat-trick.

Covnetry are the 11/10 favourites to secure a first leg victory against Sunderland on Friday. The Black Cats lost 3-0 at the CBS in March, however, this first leg isn't expected to be a high-scoring affair with under 2.5 goals available at 8/15.

Four teams gunning for glory

Sheffield United (3rd)

Promotion Odds: Sheffield United 9/5

Sheffield United missed out on automatic promotion, failing to secure an instant return to the top flight, however, the Blades, led by the wily and experienced Chris Wilder, will be fancied to prevail due to their superior points total.

Unfortunately for their fans, the South Yorkshire club possess an underwhelming record in the playoffs with the supporters having endured their fair share of heartache at this stage of the season. They have been unsuccessful In their previous nine playoff appearances across the Championship and League One and have failed to score in their four previous trips to Wembley.

Furthermore, it's 100 years since they were last victorious at the national stadium. Despite their impressive tally of 90 points, they will shoulder the expectation of being the third-placed side and they are hoping that it is tenth time lucky in the EFL playoffs.

Sunderland (4th)

Promotion Odds: Sunderland 11/4

Sunderland have been aware of their fate for several weeks following an incredibly strong first half of the season in which they won nine of their first 12 fixtures and lost just three times pre-Christmas. The Black Cats have been strong at home all season, suffering their first defeat at the Stadium of Light to Hull City on February 22nd.

The Black Cats are hoping to return to the Premier League for the first time in eight seasons, although their record in the playoffs is also fairly patchy. They did manage to successfully negotiate the League One playoffs at the second attempt, however, they've failed in seven of their last eight attempts with many of those losses ending in dramatic fashion, including two penalty shoot-out defeats.

Coventry (5th)

Promotion Odds: Coventry 3/1

Frank Lampard has overseen a terrific turnaround at the CBS. Heading into December, the Sky Blues were sat 17th in the table, hovering just two points above the relegation zone and were nervously glancing over their shoulders. The former Chelsea midfielder guided his side to nine wins in ten between mid-January and the beginning of March, propelling the Warwickshire club into top six contention.

Coventry secured their playoff spot on the final day of the season with a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough and will head into the semi-finals full of confidence. It's been almost a quarter of the century since they were last in the top flight and fans will be hoping to avoid further playoff heartache having fairly recently watched their side lose on penalties to Luton at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

Bristol City (6th)

Promotion Odds: Bristol City 9/2

Bristol City snuck into the top six on the final day of the season and will be making their first appearance in the playoffs since 2008 when they were thwarted by a Dean Windass stunner at Wembley. The Robins amassed 55 points, which is 18 fewer than last season's sixth place side and 20 fewer than Luton, who picked up the final spot during the 2022-23 campaign.

Liam Manning has done a fantastic job and has finally won over the Ashton Gate crowd. His side are entertaining to watch and have been particularly effective at home, winning 10 of their last 13 in front of their own fans. Their promotion odds of 9/2 suggest that they will struggle, however, they will not make it easy for Sheffield United in the first semi-final on Thursday night.

Recent Form

When it comes to the playoffs, the word 'momentum' is often described as a sought-after commodity. None of the four sides involved currently possess this with a collective total of just five wins across their last 20 matches.

Sunderland aren't responsible for any of those victories with Regis Le Bris' men losing each of their last five. The Black Cats have failed to score in five of their last six and offered very little against QPR on the final day of the season.

Sheffield United may have taken their foot off the gas a little in recent weeks with four defeats in their last seven. However, Chris Wilder will surely be able to galvanise his side for these games and they are exceptionally strong at Bramall Lane.

Both Coventry and Bristol City have enjoyed home comforts, yet their respective away form is worrying. The Sky Blues have lost four of five on the road, shipping ten goals during that run whereas Bristol City have picked up just a single away win since November 9th.

Key Players

The EFL's Championship Player of the Season Gustavo Hamer could be key to Sheffield United's chances, especially if they meet his former employers Coventry in the playoff final. Andre Brooks has looked sharp in recent weeks and Anel Ahmedhodzic is a classy operator at the back.

Coventry's Jack Rudoni grew up idolising Frank Lampard and the midfielder has excelled under his tutelage during the second half of the season. He's clocked up nine goals and 12 assists for the season with a non-penalty xG of 7.6 for the campaign.

Very few of Sunderland's players are playing their best football currently, however, both Enzo Le Fee and Jobe Bellingham are capable of adding star quality and Luke O'Nien's ability to disrupt and wind-up the opposition may also come in handy if the Black Cats find themselves holding onto a lead.

Bristol City's XI has been admirably consistent with Jason Knight, Max O'Leary and Zak Vyner having started every single game for the Robins this season. O'Leary has made some fantastic saves and could be handy if penalties are required at any point whereas Knight is a fantastic professional and brings plenty of energy to the midfield.

Prediction

It's hard to trust Coventry or Bristol City on their travels and seldom has a side entered the playoffs in poorer form than Sunderland. Sheffield United fans have been waiting a long time for success at Wembley, but this looks like an ideal opportunity for the Blades to bounce back at the first time of asking. Under the guidance of boyhood fan, Chris Wilder, this may be the perfect time to get the monkey off their back and finally secure promotion via the playoffs.

Recommended bets

Back Sheffield United for promotion @ 9/5