As we head into the business end of the season, the Championship is well and truly heating up with promotion places, playoff spots and relegation scraps to be decided.
England’s second division is often the most dramatic in the Football League with so much at stake. This season Frank Lampard’s Coventry look in pole position to reach the promised land of the Premier League while Wrexham’s Hollywood story could still see a fourth straight promotion.
Here’s everything you need to know from the Championship.
Who’s going up as things stand?
The current state of play sees Middlesbrough and Coventry occupy the automatic promotion spots with the battle for the title likely to be dominated by these two sides.
Frank Lampard has spearheaded Coventry’s title charge this term after guiding them to the playoff semifinals last season despite being appointed with the club in relegation trouble early on in the 2024-25 campaign.
The likes of Victor Torp, Ellis Simms, Haji Wright and Brandon Thomas-Asante in Coventry’s forward line have torn up the league at times with Lampard’s side having been the top goalscorers in the division throughout.
Rob Edwards’ move to Wolves in November left Middlesbrough in a difficult position but Kim Hellberg has since kept the momentum going in what is his first managerial job in England.
And with top spot now looking increasingly up for grabs with both sides usurping each other in recent weeks, we could have a title battle for the ages on our hands.
Who looks good for a playoff spot?
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich have Premier League pedigree having been in the top-flight last term finishing 19th, they now look nailed on to secure at least a playoff spot in their attempt to make an immediate return.
Hull City have been away from the Premier League since 2017 while Millwall have never graced the riches of the league since its formation in 1992, they’ll be hoping arch-rivals West Ham can stave off relegation fears to lock in two truly blockbuster derbies next season, should they make it up.
And sitting precariously in the playoff mix, for now, is Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac’s Wrexham. They have been the story of English football in the last few years and a top six finish would surpass the expectations set last summer when a third consecutive promotion was secured.
Often regarded as football’s most lucrative single game with not only the reward of Premier League football but a sum upwards of £100 million ($136m) on the line, getting to the playoff final is the goal for those who finish 3rd to 6th, but with so much time left in the season, many will still harbour ambitions of an automatic promotion spot.
Who else is in the hunt?
The two sides that will head to Wembley in May to fight for the third and final Premier League spot are far from confirmed yet.
Ipswich Town, Hull City, Millwall and Wrexham are currently the favourites to secure a playoff spot, but with a long way still to go this season, there will be turnover in the top six.
Just five points separate sixth and 15th with the league as competitive as it has ever been, leading to calls for an expanded playoff system, with clubs to vote on the motion in March.
Birmingham City, partly owned by NFL legend Tom Brady, remain in the mix alongside Southampton, Bristol City and Preston North End.
Derby County, Watford, QPR, Stoke City and Swansea are all within range and have a playoff spot to play for as the season reaches boiling point.
Realistically, 18 teams are still in with a chance (some more slim than others) of a top six finish with every single game from now until matchday 46 on May 2 crucial.
The playoff semifinals are pre-seeded with third playing sixth and fourth playing fifth.
Wrexham watch
From here, anything other than a top six finish would be seen as a huge missed opportunity for Wrexham. They are sitting on a commercial and footballing goldmine and a fourth straight promotion into the Premier League would launch the club well and truly into the stratosphere.
Wrexham are on the cusp of the Premier League, here’s all the latest coming out of the Racecourse.
– After five years of Reynolds and Mac, Wrexham are on cusp of Premier League
It has taken five years to get to this point, but Wrexham might now reach their ultimate destination in less than five months.
– Wrexham boss Parkinson welcomes Mac’s backing in club’s ‘fantastic story’
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has welcomed co-owner Rob Mac’s suggestion that he has the job for life, revelling in his role in the club’s “fantastic story.”
– Wrexham hero Paul Mullin hits out at club after loan exit
Paul Mullin has hit out at parent club Wrexham, saying he’s “never going to accept” the way he was frozen out of the team over the past 18 months.
– Ben Foster: Wrexham’s journey under Ryan Reynolds, Rob Mac ‘ridiculous’
Ben Foster has hailed Wrexham’s “ridiculous” journey as Hollywood owners Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds celebrate their fifth anniversary in charge of the Welsh club.
The relegation battle
From one end of the Championship table to the other, just like the fight to get out of the league, the battle to stay in England’s second division will go right down to the wire.
One side who won’t be involved in the drama though are Sheffield Wednesday. The Owls sit rock bottom in 24th and are miles away from ever leaving the foot of the table after having 18 points deducted this season for financial breaches linked to previous owner Dejphon Chansiri. They remain in administration and in the process of finding a buyer and defeat against bitter rivals Sheffield United on Sunday would see them officially relegated before the end of February.
The sides who are still fighting for their lives though, are Oxford United, Blackburn Rovers, Leicester City, Portsmouth and West Brom. Two of those five look set to go down with Oxford in a particularly poor position.
Former Premier League winners and at one point in time, European regulars, Leicester find themselves in danger of dropping down to England’s third division after being docked six points for EFL financial breaches, just five years after finishing fifth in the top-flight.
It is a battle that will go down to the final day in May, when we could see an English giant drop into League One.
What are the next key games on the calendar?
Feb. 21 — Wrexham vs Ipswich
Feb. 22 — Sheffield United vs Sheffield Wednesday
Feb. 24 — Middlesbrough vs Leicester City
March 2 — Birmingham vs Middlesbrough
March 3 — Ipswich Town vs Hull City
March 7 — Bristol City vs Coventry
March 7 — Ipswich Town vs Hull City