With Burnley and Sheffield United sealing automatic promotion back to the Premier League, all eyes are now on the two teams who are in the Championship playoff final.
[ MORE: How to watch the Premier League on NBC ]
Either Luton Town or Coventry City will be in the Premier League for the 2023-24 season, with Luton last in the top-flight in 1992 (they were relegated just before the top-flight was rebranded to become the Premier League) and Coventry were last in the Premier League in 2001.
In 2018 Luton and Coventry were both in the fourth-tier of English football. Now they are both one win away from the Premier League.
Vincent Kompany and Burnley won the EFL Championship title on April 25 after beating Blackburn Rovers, as the Clarets bounced back at the first time of asking. Sheffield United finished in second place and were promoted after two seasons down in the second tier following their relegation in 2021.
[ MORE: Championship standings, stats, scores ]
As for the playoffs, third-place Luton Town beat sixth-place Sunderland 3-2 on aggregate in the semifinals, while Coventry City edged past Middlesbrough 1-0 in a tight semifinal tie as it will be Luton against Coventry in the Championship playoff final at Wembley on Saturday, May 27.
The richest game in football will see a minnow (Luton Town) and a team which has recovered from financial turmoil multiple times (Coventry) square off for a spot in the big time.
Saturday, May 13 Sunderland 2-1 Luton Town (Diallo 39′, Hume 63′; Adebayo 11′)
Sunday, May 14 Coventry City 0-0 Middlesbrough
Tuesday, May 16 Luton Town 2-0 (3-2 agg.) Sunderland (Osho 10′, Lockyer 43′)
Wednesday, May 17 3pm ET: Middlesbrough 0-1 (0-1 agg.) Coventry City (Hamer 57′)
Saturday, May 27 – Championship playoff final at Wembley 11:45am ET: Coventry City vs Luton Town
Who are the favorites to win the playoffs?
Even though they finished in fourth, it seemed like Middlesbrough were the favorites to win the playoffs. But Coventry edged by them. Since Michael Carrick arrived they surged up the table and have been a joy to watch with Chuba Akpom leading the Championship goalscoring charts with 28 goals. Luton Town have been in the upper reaches of the Championship for a second-straight season and after losing manager Nathan Jones, they improved further with Rob Edwards doing a fine job. Can the Hatters put their playoff heartache last season behind them and prevail at Wembley?
Coventry City‘s rise has been a wonderful story over the last few years and Mark Robins has done a fine job to guide them from the fourth-tier to 90 minutes away from the Premier League. You have to fancy the chances of the Sky Blues and Viktor Gyokeres is perhaps the most dangerous forward in the Championship. And as for Sunderland, Tony Mowbray has done a remarkable job with such a young team and the Black Cats just snuck into the playoffs on the final day of the season after being ravaged by injuries. The playoffs were just a step too far.
The winner of the Championship playoff final — set for Saturday, May 27 at Wembley Stadium — will join the first and second-place teams in the Premier League for the 2023-24 season.
How were Burnley promoted?
Vincent Kompany’s Burnley have been a complete force, scoring the Championship’s most goals and conceding the fewest in a manner that would make his old boss, Pep Guardiola, quite proud.
Burnley’s been led by Nathan Tella’s massive goal haul as the Clarets have six players with five or more goals. Josh Brownhill has also excelled in midfield.
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany (Photo by Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images)
How were Sheffield United promoted?
Sheffield United are back in the Premier League after a two-year absence and the Blades caused a fuss in the FA Cup, losing to Manchester City in the semifinals.
23-year-old Senegalese international Iliman Ndiaye led the way in attack with Oliver McBurnie and James McAtee also having fine campaigns.
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