Just as the fight for survival in the Premier League garnishes plenty of desperate football, so too does the fight for promotion from England’s second-tier, The Championship.
Three teams are promoted to the Premier League from The Championship each season. The two clubs that finish first and second respectively gain automatic entry, while the four clubs ranking from third to sixth playoff for the final berth.
This season, Fulham, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Derby County will fight it out to join Wolves and Cardiff City as the three teams that gain the lucrative promotion to the Premier League in 2018/19. Following on from last week’s relegation article, we’ve had a brief look at the four clubs that remain in the hunt for promotion.
3rd – Fulham
Former Premier League stalwarts Fulham have enjoyed a strong campaign in the Championship this season and were unlucky not to gain automatic promotion to the Premier League after finishing less-than a win behind Cardiff City.
The Cottagers ended the regular season on eighty-eight competition points, boasting twenty-five wins, thirteen draws and only eight losses – second only to Wolves in the latter column.
Their campaign has been highlighted by the rise to prominence of exciting teenage talent Ryan Sessegnon, who has been simply outstanding for his club and who has also been underlined as a potential bolter for the England squad at this year’s World Cup.
As the highest ranked club in the field of four, Fulham will play sixth-placed Derby County in the first round of home & away legs before a potential berth in the playoff decider at Wembley on May 26th.
4th – Aston Villa
Aston Villa will look to regain their Premier League status after a competitive season in the Championship; their second since being relegated in 2015/16.
Veteran John Terry took up the captaincy this season and has led a quality side to the playoffs. They have not been the most consistent club since Christmas, but have generally put clubs to the sword when they have won; including a 4-0 away win over Ipswich and 3-0 hiding of Reading in April.
The Villans’ squad is an effective mix of veterans and quality young players and for that reason alone, they stand a terrific chance of beating Middlesbrough in the first round of playoffs.
Villa has typically been a competitive Premier League outfit since the competition’s inception in the 90s and they would not look out of place winning the playoffs and regaining their position in England’s top league.
5th – Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough will look to complete a one-season turnaround by gaining promotion back into the Premier League.
Boro steadily built to the task this season but have hit form at the perfect time for a successful playoffs campaign and will be extremely difficult to beat. They are undefeated in their four most-recent fixtures and those have included vital wins over playoffs-bound Derby, as well as Millwall who finished just outside the playoff zone.
Middlesbrough perhaps lack some of the star power that is boasted by Fulham and Villa, but they are a pretty solid outfit across the entire pitch and will be quietly confident of progressing to the playoffs final.
6th – Derby County
Its been more than a decade since Derby County last played a Premier League fixture, but they remain a live chance of a re-birth in 2018/19.
The Rams secured their position in the playoffs on the final day of regular season fixtures by delivering the relegated Barnsley a 4-1 thrashing. They have not been the most consistent of clubs recently but they did notch a classy 3-1 win over the promoted Cardiff City only a fortnight ago and are clearly capable of competing with anyone on their day.
Derby are a club stooped in tradition and to fight back into the top tier of English football would be massive. They simply cannot afford to go to sleep against Fulham and will need to be at their best to progress to the playoffs final.