Premier League promotion: Which teams are going up and who is in the Championship playoffs?
Final-day results confirm automatic promotion places as four Championship sides advance to the playoffs with one Premier League spot still to be decided.
Ipswich Town have returned to the Premier League at the first time of asking, securing automatic promotion from the Championship after finishing second to champions Coventry City thanks to a 3-0 final-day win over Queens Park Rangers.
The Tractor Boys began Saturday in pole position to go straight back up after suffering relegation from the English top flight in 2024-25, knowing that a victory of any kind would be enough to secure second place.
Fast start seals Ipswich’s promotion
There was never any doubt they would achieve that goal. Goals in the opening nine minutes from George Hirst and Jaden Philogene set Ipswich firmly on course for a comfortable victory, before Kasey McAteer added a third later on to cap the performance.
Championship playoff picture confirmed
Ipswich’s win left Millwall and Middlesbrough, who both had a chance to catch them on the final day, disappointed. However, both sides will get another opportunity to secure promotion through the playoffs.
Millwall will face Hull in the first two-legged semifinal, while Southampton take on Middlesbrough in the other. The winners will meet in the final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, May 23, with a place in the Premier League at stake.
Ipswich’s quick return to the top flight
Ipswich are now set for a fourth spell in the Premier League, having previously played in there between 1992 and 1995, 2000 and 2002, and 2024-25. The club spent 18 successive seasons in the English top division between 1968 and 1986, winning the UEFA Cup in 1981.
Kieran McKenna’s team will go up alongside Coventry, who will play in the Premier League for the first time since 2001 next season. Managed by Chelsea legend Frank Lampard, the Sky Blues were runaway winners of the Championship, finishing 11 points clear of Ipswich.
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