Championship final day results that promote Leeds United, relegate Sheffield Wednesday and hit Swansea

After another eventful season, the final day of the 2023/24 Championship season is finally here.

This campaign had been billed last summer as the toughest in the league's history, with 19 former Premier League sides battling it out for promotion back to the top-flight. However, the likes of Leicester, Leeds and Southampton - who were all relegated from the Premier League last season - were tipped to top the table and the Foxes have secured their instant return by the winning Championship title.

Leeds and Southampton could also go straight back up, with the former still in the hunt for automatic promotion, while there are still six teams who could end up in the play-offs. Down at the other end of the table, one team has already had their relegation to League One confirmed but five teams are still mathematically at risk of the drop, with two places yet to be decided.

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Cardiff and Swansea, meanwhile, have secured their Championship status for another year and are set for a mid-table finish. But which one of them will end the season above the other?

We've broken down everything that could happen on the hectic final day, from the race for automatic promotion to the teams looking to pull off a great escape, as well as the sides that will make up next year's Championship. Here's everything you need to know.

When is the final day of the 2023/24 Championship season?

The final fixtures of the Championship season will all kick off at 12.30pm on Saturday, May 4.

The play-off semi-finals will be played over two legs. The first legs will be held on Sunday, May 12 and Monday, May 13 and the second legs will be played on Thursday, May 16 and Friday, May 17.

The play-off final at Wembley will be held on Sunday, May 26.

Who can still win automatic promotion and who is up already?

Leicester City secured the Championship title with a game to spare after beating Preston North End 3-0 on Monday. Jamie Vardy - who won the league with the Foxes a decade ago - scored a double with Kasey McAteer's strike making sure they topped the table and sealed an instant return to the Premier League.

However, the 2015/16 top flight winners are set to be joined by either Ipswich Town or Leeds United next season, with both sides still in with a chance of securing automatic promotion.

Ipswich are the favourites to finish as runners-up and go up automatically, as they sit in second with 93 points going into the final day, when they will take on all-but-relegated Huddersfield Town. Leeds, meanwhile, are third on 90 points and face fourth-placed Southampton in their last match of the season.

The Tractor Boys must simply avoid slipping to a shock defeat against Huddersfield, with a single point enough to secure them automatic promotion. However, Leeds - who have a goal difference of +39 compared to Ipswich's + 33 - know they must beat the Saints and hope that Ipswich lose if they are to go up automatically behind Leicester.

Championship 23/24 automatic promotion odds:

• Ipswich - 1/33

• Leeds - 10/1

(Odds courtesy of SkyBet and correct at time of publishing)

Who can still make the play-offs?

Of course, while two teams automatically win promotion into the Premier League, one team will also climb into the top-flight through the play-offs.

Whoever doesn't secure automatic promotion out of Ipswich and Leeds will finish third and take the top play-off spot.

They will be followed by Southampton, who cannot do any better or worse than finishing fourth, where they currently sit on 84 points.

However, the final two spots are still up for grabs, with three teams battling it out for them. Norwich City are currently fifth on 73 points and are away to relegation-battling Birmingham City on the final day, with a point enough for them to secure their play-off status.

They are, however, closely followed by West Brom who sit in sixth on 72 points and face Preston North End in their season finale. Meanwhile, Hull City are currently outside of the play-off spots are still very much in the mix, with the seventh-placed side currently on 70 points as they face Plymouth Argyle, who are battling to ensure their Championship safety.

The Baggies will guarantee their place in the play-offs with a win over Preston, and could even move above Norwich into fifth. In reality, however, a draw will be enough as their current goal difference is +20 compared to Hull's +9, meaning the Tigers would need to set a new Championship record to finish above them in such a scenario.

If West Brom lose and Hull win, however, it will be the Tigers who finish in the play-off spots. There's a chance they could even finish fifth if Norwich lose heavily too.

Championship 23/24 promotion odds:

• Ipswich - 1/50

• Leeds - 11/8
  

• Southampton - 13/8

• Norwich - 11/2

• West Brom - 11/2

• Hull - 50/1

(Odds courtesy of SkyBet and correct at time of publishing)

Who is at risk of relegation and who is down already?

Rotherham United became the first team to be relegated from the Championship this season, after a dismal campaign that has seen them win just four games. Going into the final day, they sit on 24 points, just one ahead of the lowest ever Championship points tally, which they set themselves back in 2017.

However, the Millers are set to be joined in League One next season by two more teams, with five still mathematically at risk of the drop going into the final day.

The relegation spots are currently occupied by Huddersfield Town - who are 23rd on 45 points - and Birmingham City - who are 22nd with 47 points to their name. Just above them is Plymouth Argyle on 48 points, while Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn Rovers are 20th and 19th respectively, both on 50 points.

Unsurprisingly, Huddersfield are the overwhelming favourites to go down. For them to survive, not only must they beat second-placed Ipswich away from home, the Terriers must also hope that they win by a big margin, while Birmingham lose against Norwich and Plymouth get thrashed by Hull. There is a 15-goal swing in goal difference that they would need to make up.

Birmingham must aim for a win over the Canaries and hope that Plymouth fail to beat Hull in order to ensure their safety. However, a draw, combined with an Argyle defeat by five or more goals, would see them safe, barring a record-breaking win for Huddersfield.

As stated, Plymouth will have to rely on other results if they fail to win against Hull, while there is still a chance that Wednesday and Rovers could be dragged down into League One at the eleventh hour. If they fail to beat Sunderland and champions Leicester respectively and Plymouth and Birmingham both win, the two sides would move below Argyle and finish level on points with the Blues.

In such a scenario, Wednesday would surely be relegated, as they currently have a goal difference of -26, compared to Blackburn and Birmingham who are both on -16 going into the final day.

Championship 23/24 relegation odds:

• Huddersfield Town - N/A

• Birmingham - 1/2

• Plymouth - 9/4

• Sheffield Wednesday - 16/1

• Blackburn - 16/1

(Odds courtesy of SkyBet and correct at time of publishing)

Where can Cardiff and Swansea finish?

It has been an eventful season for both clubs, with Cardiff at one point challenging the play-off places under Erol Bulut, while Swansea have recovered from Michael Duff's dismal spell in charge of the club to climb back up the table under Luke Williams.

Going into the final weekend, they sit just one place apart in midtable, with Cardiff currently 12th on 62 points and Swansea 13th on 57 points. However, everything could change on the final day, with the Bluebirds away to relegated Rotherham while the Swans face Millwall at home.

Cardiff can now not finish any lower than 12th, their best finish since 2021 and a marked improvement to last season when they narrowly avoided relegation. However, they could finish as high as ninth, so long as they beat the Millers and the three teams above them - Bristol City, Preston and Coventry City - all fall to defeat.

Swansea, on the other hand, cannot finish any higher than 13th, but could drop as low as 16th if results go against them. Such an eventuality would occur if they lose to Millwall, Watford beat Middlesbrough and Sunderland beat Blackburn, with the Lions, the Hornets and Black Cats all moving ahead of the Swans in the table.

A 16th-placed finish would be Swansea's lowest ever in the Championship.

Who will be in the Championship next season?

While there are still questions marks over who will get promoted or relegated from the Championship, some 11 teams already know that they face no jeopardy on the final day and will be in the second-tier again next season.

Heading into the final weekend, those teams are: Bristol City, Cardiff City, Coventry City, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Preston North End, Queens Park Rangers, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City and Watford

Of course, they will eventually be joined by three teams coming down from the Premier League and the same number going up from League One. Of those six new sides, we already know who three of them will be, with Sheffield United's relegation from the top flight now confirmed and Portsmouth winning the League One title ahead of Derby County, who secured automatic promotion.

The Blades will start next season's Championship campaign on -2 points, after the EFL punished them for defaulting on payments to other clubs during the 2022-23 season. It remains to be seen who will be relegated from the Premier League alongside them, but Burnley, Luton Town and Nottingham Forest are the clubs at risk with just two points separating them and three matches left to play.

Meanwhile, four League One teams are now set to battle it out in the play-offs to earn promotion to the Championship, with Barnsley taking on Bolton and Oxford United facing Peterborough United in the semi-finals.

Premier League 2023/24 relegation odds:

• Burnley -1/7

• Luton Town - 1/5

• Nottingham Forest - 7/4

League One 2023/24 promotion odds:

• Bolton - 13/8

• Peterborough - 2/1

• Oxford - 7/2

• Barnsley 9/2