Who Will Join Leeds And Burnley In The Premier League Next Season?

Easter this year saw two Championship sides secure their returns to the Premier League. Burnley and Leeds have been in the second tier for one and two seasons respectively, but they blew away much of the competition this season, securing promotion with two games to spare. Leeds have done so by having by far the best attack in the league, while Burnley’s approach has been more of a defense first strategy.

The rest of the promotion hopefuls will now have to fight it out in the playoffs to determine the final promoted team into the Premier League next season. The Championship playoffs are always a spectacle and are often more financially beneficial than finishing first or second.

Sheffield United

The Blades will feel frustrated with how their season has gone. They were deducted two points at the beginning of the campaign and have now missed out on automatic promotion. While their failure to secure an immediate return isn’t solely down to their points deduction, if they had started the season on a level playing field with everyone else, they would still be in the running. As it is however, their loss to Burnley on Easter Monday saw them move to eight points behind second place, and with two games to go, that amount is insurmountable.

Their recent form has been turgid, with just one win in their last five. These included losses to Plymouth and Oxford, who find themselves at the wrong end of the table at the moment. United’s last two fixtures are against Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers, two matches that they should most likely win. Stoke just conceded six against Leeds and are still looking over their shoulder at the drop zone, while Blackburn Rovers’ promotion hopes are all but over.

Defeat at Turf Moor. pic.twitter.com/XiugSi13Fu

— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) April 21, 2025

Sheffield United have already secured their spot in the playoffs, however their last two games are still important, as they need to take a run of good form into the semi-finals or else they won’t even make it to Wembley. Their performances in cup competitions this season have been dreadful, winning in the first round of the EFL Cup before losing to Barnsley, and failing to beat Cardiff in the third round of the FA Cup. They do not do well in knockout competitions, which is why I think they will struggle in the playoffs.

Sunderland

There was a time this season, where it looked as if Sunderland could finish in an automatic promotion spot, however five draws in a row in November saw them fall down to fourth, and they haven’t moved since. Like Sheffield United, they have already secured their spot in the playoffs this season, but are also in a poor run of form. They have lost their last three matches, and only have two games left to put together some sort of decent run.

These matches are against Oxford and Queens Park Rangers, both of whom sit in the bottom half of the table and haven’t managed a win against Sunderland yet this season. Should Sunderland win these games, then they could go on to do well in the playoffs. Their performance in domestic cups this season however is even worse than Sheffield United’s as they haven’t even won a single match. They faced Preston North End in the EFL Cup, losing 2-0 away from home, before they were defeated in extra time against Stoke in the third round of the FA Cup. Over the course of a two legged semi final, I could see Sunderland crumbling, as a run of form is often necessary to win the playoffs.

Bristol City

Bristol City have come out of nowhere and all of a sudden have become my favourites to earn promotion into the Premier League. They haven't played in the top flight since its rebrand, but this is certainly the closest that they have been. They haven’t secured a playoff place yet, however they need just one win from their last two games. Their next match is against Leeds, so it is unlikely that they will win that, however their final game is at home to Preston, a side that they managed to beat 3-1 back in November.

Bristol City's Jason Knight has made the most ball recoveries in all competitions this season. 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/YzPHEdu9mH

— JLA (@JLA_FC) April 22, 2025

Liam Manning’s side have lost just two of their last 13 matches, and while one was a recent disappointing defeat against struggling Luton, the other was an expected 1-0 loss against Burnley. They have the confidence going into the playoffs that Sheffield United and Sunderland don’t have. Like the other two candidates previously mentioned, Bristol City don’t have a good record in domestic cups this season, however they have had to face Premier League opposition in Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Despite this, I think that it is perfectly possible that Bristol City could go all the way in the playoffs this season, as they have the good form and the underdog mentality that could see them beat any opposition.

Coventry City

The final club to make up the current playoff places is Coventry City, however their position is by no means secure. They are just three points above the next two sides, so with two games left, they could still slip up. Their recent form has been all over the place, with wins over teams that they’d expect to beat and defeats against sides that are towards the top of the table. This pattern fell apart however when they faced Plymouth on Easter Monday and were defeated 3-1. The league’s bottom side had just 26% possession but still managed to dominate the chances.

This does not bode well for Coventry, who now have to face Luton, who are also battling for survival, and fellow playoff hopefuls Middlesbrough who need just a single slip up from the Sky Blues. Should Coventry finish inside the top six, it would be the second time they have done so in the last three seasons, and so their fans would be expecting to go one further than last time, when they were beaten by Luton Town in the final.

Their recent playoff experience and their performance in cups this season give them a solid shout for playoff promotion this season, however they would need to actually finish inside the top six, and I’m not entirely sure that will happen. The Championship is often hard to predict, but the battle for the playoffs this season is remarkably difficult.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough looked like they were going to qualify for the playoffs just a couple of weeks ago, but a string of poor performances has seen them fall into the ‘outsiders’ category. Their whole season now rests on their game against Coventry on the final day, as if they win that, then it is likely that they will be in the top six. Recent losses against Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday have really hindered them as of late, but they are still in quite a good position.

Middlesbrough’s sold out away end at Sheffield Wednesday today. #UTB pic.twitter.com/16JkS9GIqB

— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) April 21, 2025

What gives them a slight advantage over the likes of Bristol City and Coventry is that they have had more recent top flight experience, having been in the Premier League for a single season back in 2016/17. While the players from that time have all moved on, Chairman Steve Gibson has experience in that department, having been at the club during their success in the 1990s and early 2000s. Should they reach the playoffs, they have the ability on the pitch and the knowhow at the club to make it to the Premier League.

Millwall

It is as shocking to me as it is to you to see Millwall in the conversion for Premier League promotion this late into a Championship season. The last time they were in the top flight of English football was back in the late 1980s, and since then they have slipped down into League One on three separate occasions. Last season they were decisively mid table and for a while it looked as if it would be the same this season, however seven wins in their last 11 matches including victories over Middlesbrough and Sheffield United have seen them move within just three points of the top six.

Under Alex Neil, they have become very good at orchestrating 1-0 wins, behind only Burnley in that regard. This has helped them against teams below them in the table, however their overall goal difference this season is what could see them miss out on the playoffs. Their goal difference is currently -1, 11 worse off than Middlesbrough. They could need just one win from their next two games to earn a top six spot, however with that goal difference, it almost adds up to a whole point. Unfortunately, they still have to face Burnley away from home, so barring a miracle, they most likely won’t make it into the playoffs.

Outside Contenders

There are still a few other sides that mathematically could still reach the playoffs, but it is incredibly unlikely that they do so. Blackburn Rovers have strung together some decent results which sees them just four points off the playoffs, however their inconsistency this season saw them lose four very winnable games in a row in March, which has severely hindered their promotion chances.

Similarly, West Brom’s recent form has taken a dramatic nose dive, despite having statistically the easiest run in in the league. They have parted ways with Tony Mowbray with just two games remaining, which shows that confidence that their board has in his ability to get them to the playoffs. They are six points behind Coventry in sixth, so would need a miracle to get there.

Swansea City when there is nothing to play for: pic.twitter.com/fn0bPa493Q

— RR (@R__Rosser) April 21, 2025

Lastly, Swansea’s six game unbeaten run has put them six points off the playoffs with two games to go. They have to play Millwall before closing the season at home to Oxford, so either their playoff hopes or Millwall’s will be over before the final day. While it is unlikely that they will reach the playoffs, they have a very real chance to ruin Millwall’s season.