Sheesh, what a night. Truly, there ain’t no finale like a Championship finale. Thanks for your company and emails tonight. Congraulations to those of you who support West Brom, Swansea, Barnsley and Luton in particular. Commiserations to fans of Brentford, Nottingham Forest, Wigan and Charlton. See you for the playoffs!
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The Barnsley manager Gerhard Struber is being interviewed. He’s so choked that he can barely get the words out.
“This is so… it’s the best feeling right now… [long pause] I have so big heart for my boys… sorry, at the moment I have no words … we worked so hard for this, the last few months, and always believing that we can stay in the league. Now it’s reality. I am so happy, I am so proud of my boys. We will have a big party.
“We were so clear with the ball, so clear without the ball. We played Brentford and they had no chances against us in the first half. My team is a role model for football.”
That really was a beautiful interview. If you ever fall out of love with modern football, just watch the Championship for a bit.
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And here’s Nick Ames’ report from Griffin Park, where Brentford missed out on the Premier League and Barnsley swerved a trip to League One in injury time.
“Told you,” says Lee Smith.
Ach, commiserations. As Daniel Harris puts it: Hell, bloody football.
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“O swell,” says Brentford fan Tony Cross. “Now for the play-offs where we have such a good record it’ll be fine (cough). Congratulations to West Brom.”
“As a Swansea fan I let out a strangled sort of groan when that fourth goal went in,” says Craig Foley. “My wife is now giving me a very strange look.”
I shudder to think what noise you made when Stoke’s fourth goal went in.
Here’s Ben Fisher’s match report from the Hawthorns, where West Brom bought a ticket to the promised land.
The playoffs
- Swansea v Brentford
- Cardiff v Fulham
The final scores
- Birmingham 1-3 Derby
- Brentford 1-2 Barnsley
- Bristol City 1-1 Preston
- Cardiff 3-0 Hull
- Leeds 4-0 Charlton
- Luton 3-2 Blackburn
- Millwall 4-1 Huddersfield
- Nottingham Forest 1-4 Stoke
- Reading 1-4 Swansea
- Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Middlesbrough
- West Brom 2-2 QPR
- Wigan 1-1 Fulham
There are joyous scenes at the Hawthorns, with Slaven Bilic hugging and high-fiving everything that moves. It’s wonderful for West Brom, who belong in the top flight, but you have to feel for Brentford. Had they won either of their last two matches, they would have been promoted to the Premier League. They picked the worst possible time to have a mini-blip.
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Peep peep! That’s the end of an impossibly dramatic night of football. This is what it all means.
Promoted Leeds, West Brom
Playoffs Brentford, Fulham, Cardiff, Swansea.
Relegated Hull, Charlton, Wigan (pending appeal; Barnsley finished 21st)
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CHARLTON ARE RELEGATED
Full time: Luton 3-2 Blackburn Luton have completed their most famous escape since the days of Raddy Antic and David Pleat. The returning Nathan Jones has pulled off a miracle.
I’ve never done crack cocaine, but I don’t think I’ll bother now. It can’t be as good as a last-day Championship clockwatch.
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WEST BROMWICH ALBION ARE PROMOTED TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE!
Full time: Brentford 1-2 Barnsley A stunning win for Barnsley has kept them in the Championship.
Full time: West Brom 2-2 QPR
WIGAN ARE RELEGATED (PENDING APPEAL)
Full time: Wigan 1-1 Fulham
Full time: Reading 1-4 Swansea
Swansea have reached the playoffs in the most amazing circumstances.
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-4 Stoke (Da Costa 90+6)
Forest’s astonishing collapse is complete. Swansea are in the playoffs!
Full time: Cardiff 3-0 Hull
Hull are relegated to League One.
GOAL! Birmingham 1-3 Derby (Sibley 90+1)
As things stand
Promoted Leeds, West Brom
Playoffs Brentford, Fulham, Cardiff, Swansea
Relegated Hull, Wigan, Charlton
GOAL! Sheff Wed 1-2 Middlesbrough (Assombalonga 90+5)
West Brom 2-2 QPR Slaven Bilic is dancing on hot coals on the touchline, telling his team to keep the ball because a draw is good enough.
Full time: Leeds 4-0 Charlton
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GOAL! Birmingham 1-2 Derby (Whittaker 87)
GOAL! Brentford 1-2 Barnsley (Odour 90+1)
An incredible twist at Griffin Park! Clark Odour has tapped into an open net to give Barnsley the lead for the second time in the match. Barnsley are staying up and Charlton are going down!
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Reading 1-4 Swansea That is astonishing. Swansea are ahead of Forest on goals scored. There has been a five-goal swing in only 25 minutes.
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GOAL! Reading 1-4 Swansea (Routledge 90+1)
SWANSEA ARE INTO THE PLAYOFF PLACES!
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Wigan 1-1 Fulham Kal Naismith’s free-kick flashes just over the bar. Wigan need a goal or they are going down (pending an appeal against their 12-point deduction).
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“As an eternally pessimistic Brentford fan, this is a fresh kind of hell,” says Tony Cross. “But, if you’d told me we’d finish third at the start of the season or when we were 11 points behind WBA I’d have bitten your handoff. Now it almost feels disappointing.”
Almost?!
Brentford 1-1 Barnsley A draw is useless to both sides, so lord knows what will happen in the last few minutes.
As things stand (I think)
Promoted Leeds, West Brom
Playoffs Brentford, Fulham, Cardiff, Nottingham Forest
Relegated Hull, Wigan, Barnsley
GOAL! Cardiff 3-0 Hull (Ward 83) Cardiff are in the playoffs.
GOAL! Reading 1-3 Swansea (Cullen 84)
And now Forest have only a one-goal cushion! Liam Cullen’s half-volley has put Swansea two goals ahead at Reading; if they get one more, they will leapfrog Forest and secure a playoff place.
The latest scores with a few minutes remaining
- Birmingham 1-1 Derby
- Brentford 1-1 Barnsley
- Bristol City 1-1 Preston
- Cardiff 2-0 Hull
- Leeds 4-0 Charlton
- Luton 3-2 Blackburn
- Millwall 4-1 Huddersfield
- Nottingham Forest 1-3 Stoke
- Reading 1-2 Swansea
- Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Middlesbrough
- West Brom 2-2 QPR
- Wigan 1-1 Fulham
GOAL! Millwall 4-1 Huddersfield (Bodvarsson 79)
Brentford 1-1 Barnsley Ollie Watkins has missed a big chance for Brentford, fresh-airing a volley after great play from Said Benrahma. Even by the standards of the Championship, this is bonkers.
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-3 Stoke (Gregory 78) Oh my days, it’s getting very tight now. Forest have a two-goal cushion in sixth place.
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Brentford 1-1 Barnsley “I would love to see the Bees mixing it with the elite Rob,” writes Vincent Jennings. “hHpe it happens.”
It would be such a brilliant story - and we might even see Jack Nicholson at a Premier League game.
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BREAKING NEWS: WHAT DAY IS THIS?
GOAL! Luton 3-2 Blackburn (Gallagher 75) Luton aren’t safe just yet. Sam Gallagher has brought Blackburn back into the match with a classy flick over Simon Sluga.
As things stand
Promoted Leeds, West Brom
Playoffs Brentford, Fulham, Cardiff, Nottingham Forest
Relegated Hull, Wigan, Barnsley
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-2 Stoke (McClean 73)
James McClean has tapped Stoke ahead at the City Ground. Forest are now level on points with seventh-placed Swansea, but it needs a three-goal swing for them to be overtaken.
That Brentford equaliser means that, as it stands, Charlton are safe.
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West Brom 2-2 QPR Joe Lumley has made a fine stop from Filip Krovinovic.
GOAL! Brentford 1-1 Barnsley (Dasilva73)
It’s on! A spectacular finish from Josh Dasilva has put Brentford level - and possibly within one goal of the Premier League!
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It’s still all up for grabs. Fulham could yet sneak into the Premier League if they score a winner at Wigan and QPR do likewise at the Hawthorns.
Drinks break This is how things stand.
Promoted Leeds, West Brom
Playoffs Brentford, Fulham, Cardiff, Nottingham Forest
Relegated Hull, Wigan, Charlton
“Will you stop jinxing the Hatters!” pleads Kevin Goddard. “I’m still not convinced. If you know the number of a good heart surgeon let me know...”
There was a great stat from this game on Sky a moment ago. Luton have had one shot on target, and they lead 3-1.
Brentford 0-1 Barnsley Brentford have been really poor, according to Clinton Morrison on Sky. This will haunt them for a long time if they don’t go up via the playoffs. It’s not nice to say, but it looks like they’ve bottled it.
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The latest scores
- Birmingham 1-1 Derby
- Brentford 0-1 Barnsley
- Bristol City 1-1 Preston
- Cardiff 2-0 Hull
- Leeds 4-0 Charlton
- Luton 3-1 Blackburn
- Millwall 3-1 Huddersfield
- Nottingham Forest 1-1 Stoke
- Reading 1-2 Swansea
- Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Middlesbrough
- West Brom 2-2 QPR
- Wigan 1-1 Fulham
GOAL! Leeds 4-0 Charlton (Shackleton 66) Goal difference is irrelevant for Charlton, who need a Brentford goal against Barnsley. Leeds have played some stunning football tonight.
GOAL! Reading 1-2 Swansea (Routledge 66) Wayne Routledge has given Swansea a sniff of a playoff place with a stunning volleyed lob, but they still need snookers.
GOAL! Millwall 3-1 Huddersfield (Skalak 63)
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-1 Stoke (Figueiredo 61) That should be enough for Forest to secure a playoff place. Tobias Figueiredo has headed them level from a corner, and they now have a three-point, five-goal cushion in sixth place.
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GOAL! West Brom 2-2 QPR (Eze 61)
Another twist at the top: a majestic finish from Eberechi Eze has brought QPR level and given Brentford fresh hope. If they score twice against Barnsley and this stays 2-2, Brentford will go up.
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GOAL! Birmingham 1-1 Derby (Sunjic 56)
GOAL! Luton 3-1 Blackburn (Collins 60 pen) James Collins has slammed a penalty into the net to put Luton two ahead. Their great escape is surely complete.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Birmingham | 46 | -19 | 51 |
| 21 | Luton | 46 | -27 | 51 |
| 22 | Barnsley | 46 | -20 | 49 |
| 23 | Charlton | 46 | -14 | 48 |
| 24 | Hull | 46 | -29 | 45 |
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The main focus is now at the bottom. Charlton are being well beaten at Leeds, but they know that a Brentford equaliser against Barnsley would keep them up.
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West Brom 2-1 QPR Callum Robinson has missed a glorious chance to seal promotion for West Brom, sliding wide from 15 yards after being put through on goal. West Brom look fairly safe at the moment, though - it needs a QPR equaliser and two Brentford goals for them to be overtaken.
This is how things stand the noo
Promoted Leeds, West Brom
Playoffs Brentford, Fulham, Cardiff, Nottingham Forest
Relegated Hull, Wigan, Charlton
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The latest scores
- Birmingham 0-1 Derby
- Brentford 0-1 Barnsley
- Bristol City 1-1 Preston
- Cardiff 2-0 Hull
- Leeds 3-0 Charlton
- Luton 2-1 Blackburn
- Millwall 2-1 Huddersfield
- Nottingham Forest 0-1 Stoke
- Reading 1-1 Swansea
- Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Middlesbrough
- West Brom 2-1 QPR
- Wigan 1-1 Fulham
GOAL! Leeds 3-0 Charlton (Roberts 51) Tyler Roberts has sealed victory for the champions with a simple header from Pablo Hernandez’s corner. Charlton need a helping hand from Brentford and Fulham if they are to stay up.
GOAL! West Brom 2-1 QPR (Robinson 50)
West Brom are closing in on the Premier League! Grady Diangana wriggles away from a couple of defenders on the left and curls in a superb low cross that gives Callum Robinson a tap-in.
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GOAL! Wigan 1-1 Fulham (Kebano 49) Neeskens Kebano has equalised for Fulham with a lovely free-kick. That means, as things stand, Wigan are going down and Barnsley are staying up.
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GOAL! Bristol City 1-1 Preston (Diedhiou 48) And this is the other meaningless game. Famara Diedhiou has scored from four yards to equalise for Bristol City.
GOAL! Millwall 2-1 Huddersfield (Cooper 47) This is one of the meaningless games. Jake Cooper has put Millwall back in front with a header from a corner.
West Brom 1-1 QPR “Hey Rob,” says J.R. in Illinois. “I’m pretty confident in the Baggies’ chances after watching that first half. QPR’s defense (or defence if you insist) looks like a sack of crap. If the Baggies don’t win this it will be solely of their own doing.”
Peep peep! The second halves are under way.
The half-time scores
- Birmingham 0-1 Derby
- Brentford 0-1 Barnsley
- Bristol City 0-1 Preston
- Cardiff 2-0 Hull
- Leeds 2-0 Charlton
- Luton 2-1 Blackburn
- Millwall 1-1 Huddersfield
- Nottingham Forest 0-1 Stoke
- Reading 1-1 Swansea
- Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Middlesbrough
- West Brom 1-1 QPR
- Wigan 1-0 Fulham
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds | 46 | 40 | 93 |
| 2 | West Brom | 46 | 32 | 83 |
| 3 | Brentford | 46 | 42 | 81 |
| 4 | Fulham | 46 | 15 | 80 |
| 5 | Cardiff | 46 | 9 | 73 |
| 6 | Nottm Forest | 46 | 10 | 70 |
| 7 | Swansea | 46 | 6 | 68 |
| 8 | Millwall | 46 | 4 | 68 |
| 9 | Preston North End | 46 | 5 | 66 |
| 10 | Derby | 46 | -3 | 64 |
| 11 | Blackburn | 46 | 3 | 63 |
| 12 | Bristol City | 46 | -5 | 63 |
| 13 | Wigan | 46 | 2 | 61 |
| 14 | QPR | 46 | -9 | 58 |
| 15 | Reading | 46 | 4 | 57 |
| 16 | Sheff Wed | 46 | -7 | 57 |
| 17 | Stoke | 46 | -8 | 56 |
| 18 | Middlesbrough | 46 | -14 | 51 |
| 19 | Huddersfield | 46 | -16 | 51 |
| 20 | Luton | 46 | -28 | 51 |
| 21 | Birmingham | 46 | -20 | 50 |
| 22 | Barnsley | 46 | -20 | 49 |
| 23 | Charlton | 46 | -13 | 48 |
| 24 | Hull | 46 | -29 | 45 |
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Peep peep! It’s half-time in all the Championship. As things stand:
- West Brom are going up
- Cardiff, Forest, Brentford and Fulham are in the playoffs
- Hull, Barnsley and Charlton are going down
West Brom 1-1 QPR ... Callum Robinson has missed a good chance for West Brom, volleying wide from 15 yards.
Brentford 0-1 Barnsley Bryan Mbuemo has had a shot pushed on the post by the Barnsley keeper Joe Walton. Meanwhile...
West Brom 1-1 QPR Callum Robinson has had a goal disallowed for a Spandex-tight offside decision.
This is the as-it-stands table. Don’t forget Wigan will have 12 points deducted at the final whistle.
GOAL! West Brom 1-1 QPR (Diangana 44)
West Brom are level! Callum Robinson finds Grady Diangana, who cracks the ball through the legs of Joe Lumley.
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GOAL! Reading 1-1 Swansea (Puscas 43 pen) So much for Swansea’s goal difference: George Puscas has belted Reading level from the penalty spot. That’s a vital goal for Nottingham Forest.
GOAL! Brentford 0-1 Barnsley (Styles 41)
And now West Brom are back in the promotion places! Callum Styles has spanked Barnsley into the lead at Griffin Park, a goal that could help keep them up. As it stands they are still in the bottom three on goal difference.
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“Evening Rob,” says Lee Smith. “I think we can dispense with the Yeovil jokes now please. You’ll be able to replace them with Stoke jokes soon enough. Oh, and please don’t mention Neil Warnock and Sheffield United.”
Reading 0-1 Swansea Reading are down to 10 men: Yakou Meite has been invited to do one. That gives Swansea a great chance of boosting their goal difference and potentially overtaking Nottm Forest in the playoff places.
As things stand
- Brentford go up
- Forest and Cardiff join West Brom and Fulham in the playoffs
- Charlton, Barnsley and Hull go down
GOAL! Millwall 1-1 Huddersfield (Grant 36)
GOAL! Luton 2-1 Blackburn (Johnson own goal 35) Luton are staying up in a blaze of own goals. Bradley Johnson has diverted a corner into his own net to give them the lead at Kenilworth Road, and David Pleat is getting ready to do a dance on the pitch.
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GOAL! West Brom 0-1 QPR (Manning 34)
QPR have taken the lead at the Hawthorns. Ryan Manning’s low drive from 20 yards has sneaked into the bottom corner - and that means, as things stand, Brentford are going up!
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GOAL! Cardiff 2-0 Hull (Morrison 34)
Cardiff are in the playoffs, Hull are in League One. Sean Morrison has headed in from a corner to give Cardiff a two-goal lead.
GOAL! Wigan 1-0 Fulham (Moore 32) A big goal for Wigan. Kieffer Moore’s close-range header has put them ahead against Fulham, a goal that takes them out of the relegation places and drops Charlton into the malodorous stuff.
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Brentford 0-0 Barnsley Brentford have made a nervous start, it says here. Said Benrahma has just had their first decent attempt at goal, a stinging low shot that was palmed away by Jack Walton.
“Forest fan here,” says Simon Frank. “I’ve decided to go and clean out the basement instead of bothering with the next 80 minutes of unbearable tension.”
Come on, man, you’re not playing Yeovil.
Leeds 2-0 Charlton Charlton are going to lose, so they are relying on results elsewhere to step up. My head is starting to hurt with all the permutations, and it’s not even half-time.
GOAL! Leeds 2-0 Charlton (Dallas 28) Leeds have been majestic. Stuart Dallas plays a lovely one-two with Pablo Hernandez and pokes an insouciant finish past Dillon Phillips.
GOAL! Luton 1-1 Blackburn (Carter own goal 28) Luton have equalised through an unlikely own goal from Hayden Carter! As it stands they are above Wigan and Charlton.
Drinks break At the moment West Brom are going up and Barnsley, Hull and Wigan (or Luton) are going down.
GOAL! Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Middlesbrough (McNair 22) Paddy McNair has brought Boro level from close range after a mistake from Barry Bannan.
GOAL! Nottm Forest 0-1 Stoke (Batth 19) But Forest aren’t there just yet. Danny Batth has put Stoke ahead at the City Ground with a close-range header from a short corner. Forestr are still in the playoff places - but only on goal difference.
GOAL! Cardiff 1-0 Hull (Hoilett 20) Any nerves that Cardiff had have been settled by Junior Hoilett’s smart finish. They should be good for a playoff place now.
“It’s been fun having MBMs back (a small way to pretend that things are normal, rather than a chaotic maelstrom of wretchedness), but is this the first proper Clockwatch in this brave new world?” asks Matt Dony. “Feeling confident you still have the ability to follow so many games? I’m assuming those early goals are useful looseners. Couple of slower balls, giving you chance to get your eye in and get settled.”
It’s just like riding a bike! I never learned how to do that either.
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GOAL! Reading 0-1 Swansea (Brewster 17) Swansea must win tonight to have any chance of making the play-offs, and Liverpool loanee Rhian Brewster has given them the lead with a vicious, wobbling long-range strike.
GOAL! Bristol City 0-1 Preston (Maguire 16) A cool finish from Sean Maguire has given Preston the lead in the dead rubber at Ashton Gate.
West Brom 0-0 QPR It’s still goalless at the Hawthorns, though West Brom are starting to dominate.
GOAL! Leeds 1-0 Charlton (White 13)
The champions have taken the lead through a stunning goal by Ben White, a spectacular chest-volley from the edge of the area.
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As it stands Luton or Wigan, Barnsley and Hull are down, West Brom are up, Forest and Cardiff are in the playoffs.
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GOAL! Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Middlesbrough (Murphy 10) Jacob Murphy gives Wednesday the lead with a deflected shot from the edge of the area. Boro could still be relegated tonight.
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GOAL! Luton 0-1 Blackburn (Armstrong 10) An early blow for Luton - Adam Armstrong has put Blackburn ahead from close range.
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GOAL! Birmingham 0-1 Derby (Shinnie 6) Derby have taken an early lead at St Andrew’s. A feeble clearance from Marc Roberts went straight to Graeme Shinnie, who drilled it into the bottom corner from 18 yards. Good finish.
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Wigan 0-0 Fulham Aleksandar Mitrovic has missed an excellent early chance for Fulham, walloping into orbit from 10 yards after a nice move down the left.
GOAL! Millwall 1-0 Huddersfield (Mahoney 4)
The first goal of the night comes in one of the games that (almost certainly) doesn’t matter: Connor Mahoney has put Millwall ahead against Huddersfield with a low left-footed shot from 12 yards.
Right, this is it - after nine 12 months of toil, it all comes down to the next 90 minutes. (And the legal cases that will probably follow, but let’s not dwell on those tonight.)
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That’s all the team news I think. I’m off to pour some coffee onto my face in the hope it’ll get me through the next couple of hours. See you in ten minutes for the kick off.
Birmingham City v Derby County team news
Birmingham Camp, Colin, Dean, Roberts, Pedersen, Crowley, Sunjic, Gary Gardner, Bela, Bellingham, Jutkiewicz.
Subs: Harding, Kieftenbeld, Trueman, Fernandez, Hogan, Bajrami, Boyd-Munce, Burke, Reid.
Derby Roos, Bogle, Davies, Clarke, Buchanan, Bird, Rooney, Waghorn, Shinnie, Knight, Martin.
Subs: Forsyth, Jozefzoon, Hamer, Marriott, Evans, Lowe, Sibley, Whittaker, Brown.
Millwall v Huddersfield Town team news
Millwall: Bialkowski, Brown, Hutchinson, Murray Wallace, Cooper, Ferguson, Williams, Thompson, Molumby, Mahoney, Smith.
Subs: Bradshaw, Steele, Leonard, Bodvarsson, Skalak, Burey, Mitchell, Muller, Tiensia.
Huddersfield: Coleman, Rowe, Stearman, Schindler, Toffolo, King, O’Brien, Duhaney, Pritchard, Ahearne-Grant, Mounie.
Subs: Hogg, Chalobah, Willock, Brown, Daly, High, Lossl, Bryant, Smith-Rowe.
“Why are Huddersfield considered safe?” says Matt Burtz. “Let’s say they lose to stay on 51 points. If Middlesbrough and Birmingham win, they’re each on 53. If Charlton and Luton both win, they’re level with Huddersfield on 51 points. Yes, there’s a 14-goal margin to Huddersfield’s advantage in goal difference between them and Luton, but stranger things have happened. What am I missing here? Is it the possible Wigan deduction?”
It’s the 14-goal swing to Luton, at least in my head. I suppose stranger things have happened, but I can’t think of many.
“Hey Rob,” says J. R. in Illinois. “Definitely not bricking it for the Baggies here in Illinois. Sure, I wouldn’t be surprised if they start off a bit tentatively but I think the advantage of being acclimated to playing in the altitude of the highest ground in the football league will allow them to eventually emerge victorious over the dreaded Queens Park Raisins. What to make of that lineup? Is that a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1? Not sure I understand starting Robinson instead of either Robson-Kanu or Austin. I miss Salomon Rondon. West Brom may have won the league if he was still around.”
It could be a 4-2-3-1 with Krovinovic behind Robinson, but who knows. You’re welcome!
“Evening Rob, evening everyone,” says Matt Turland. “Forest fan here and I can’t shake the feeling that they’re going to slip up massively. Can easily see them losing to Stoke and then watch Swansea pump Reading to overhaul the GD. And I don’t know why it’s concerning me so much because even if they do make the playoffs, there is little to no chance of them not continuing their stellar history in playoffs. I’ve still not shaken off the Yeovil debacle.”
I watched that game with a Forest fan in Quinn’s in Camden. I can still picture the abject horror on his coupon when the fifth went in.
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Pre-match listening
Nottingham Forest v Stoke City team news
Nottm Forest Smith, Tobias Figueiredo, Worrall, Cash, Yates, Sow, Watson, Yuri Ribeiro, Ameobi, Grabban, Lolley.
Subs: Nuno Da Costa, Bostock, Jenkinson, Dawson, Tiago Silva, Walker, Johnson, Shelvey, Mighten.
Stoke Davies, Martins Indi, Chester, Batth, Thompson, Powell, Cousins, Smith, McClean, Vokes, Gregory.
Subs: Butland, Lindsay, Ince, Oakley-Boothe, Campbell, Sorensen, Tymon, Collins, Porter.
Reading v Swansea City team news
Reading Rafael Cabral, Gunter, Morrison, Miazga, Richards, Moore, Meite, Rinomhota, Swift, Olise, Puscas.
Subs: Walker, Obita, McCleary, Boye, Felipe Araruna, Blackett, Masika, Adam, Osho.
Swansea Mulder, Cabango, van der Hoorn, Guehi, Roberts, Fulton, Grimes, Bidwell, Gallagher, Ayew, Brewster.
Subs: Celina, Dyer, Routledge, Kalulu, Dhanda, Rushesha, Cullen, Garrick, Gould.
Leeds United v Charlton Athletic team news
Leeds Meslier, Ayling, White, Cooper, Dallas, Struijk, Harrison, Hernandez, Klich, Alioski, Bamford.
Subs: Douglas, Poveda-Ocampo, Roberts, Miazek, Davis, Bogusz, Shackleton, Stevens, Casey.
Charlton Phillips, Matthews, Lockyer, Pearce, Sarr, Doughty, Cullen, McGeady, Field, Davison, Bonne.
Subs: Purrington, Oshilaja, Jonathan Williams, Aneke, Amos, Green, Morgan, Hemed, Lapslie.
Luton Town v Blackburn Rovers team news
Luton Sluga, Bree, Bradley, Carter-Vickers, Cranie, Mpanzu, Rea, Berry, Lee, Collins, Cornick.
Subs: Pearson, McManaman, Hylton, Shinnie, Moncur, LuaLua, Butterfield, Kioso, Shea.
Blackburn Walton, Nyambe, Lenihan, Carter, Rankin-Costello, Holtby, Travis, Johnson, Rothwell, Armstrong, Brereton.
Subs: Gallagher, Graham, Chapman, Bell, Davenport, Bennett, Buckley, Vale, Eastham.
Sheffield Wednesday v Middlesbrough team news
Sheff Wed Wildsmith, Iorfa, Lees, Palmer, Murphy, Shaw, Bannan, Lee, Harris, Nuhiu, Wickham.
Subs: Rhodes, Pelupessy, Reach, Luongo, Odubajo, Dawson, Hunt, Da Cruz, Windass.
Middlesbrough Stojanovic, Dijksteel, Fry, Friend, Johnson, Saville, McNair, Spence, Fletcher, Tavernier, Assombalonga.
Subs: Roberts, Nmecha, Wood-Gordon, Wing, Coulson, Pears.
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Wigan Athletic v Fulham team news
Wigan Marshall, Byrne, Kipre, Balogun, Robinson, Williams, Morsy, Naismith, Dowell, Lowe, Moore.
Subs: Evans, Massey, Pearce, Garner, Roberts, Jones, Mihai Dobre, Mlakar, Gelhardt.
Fulham Rodak, Odoi, Ream, Hector, Bryan, Arter, Cairney, Knockaert, Onomah, Kebano, Mitrovic.
Subs: Bettinelli, Mawson, McDonald, Johansen, Reid, Le Marchand, Christie, Sessegnon, Kamara.
Cardiff City v Hull City team news
Cardiff Smithies, Bacuna, Morrison, Nelson, Bennett, Pack, Ralls, Mendez-Laing, Tomlin, Hoilett, Glatzel.
Subs: Etheridge, Sanderson, Flint, Vaulks, Murphy, Paterson, Bamba, Ward, Smith.
Hull Long, Da Silva Lopes, MacDonald, Tafazolli, Elder, Batty, Stewart, Wilks, Honeyman, Scott, Eaves.
Subs: Burke, Toral, Ingram, McLoughlin, Bowler, Pennington, Magennis, Lewis-Potter, Samuelsen.
West Bromwich Albion v Queens Park Rangers team news
West Brom Johnstone, Furlong, Bartley, Ajayi, O’Shea, Sawyers, Livermore, Matheus Pereira, Krovinovic, Diangana, Robinson.
Subs: Robson-Kanu, Phillips, Brunt, Grosicki, Townsend, Austin, Harper, Bond, Hegazi.
QPR Lumley, Kakay, Masterson, Barbet, Manning, Cameron, Ball, Samuel, Amos, Eze, Chair.
Subs: Kane, Shodipo, Oteh, Bettache, Kelly, Gubbins, Clarke, Ramkilde.
Bristol City v Preston North End team news
Bristol City Bentley, Vyner, Williams, Kalas, Pereira, Weimann, Nagy, Paterson, Dasilva, Wells, Diedhiou.
Subs: O’Dowda, Watkins, Eliasson, Rowe, Benkovic, Wollacott, Afobe, Massengo, Palmer.
Preston North End Rudd, Hughes, Bauer, Storey, Rafferty, Ledson, Gallagher, Potts, Johnson, Harrop, Maguire.
Subs: Fisher, Bayliss, Browne, Stockley, Huntington, Hudson, Barkhuizen, Sinclair, Bodin.
Brentford v Barnsley team news
Brentford Raya, Dalsgaard, Jansson, Pinnock, Henry, Marcondes, Norgaard, Da Silva, Mbeumo, Watkins, Benrahma.
Subs: Canos, Jensen, Valencia, Dervisoglu, Jeanvier, Fosu, Baptiste, Daniels,
Roerslev Rasmussen.
Barnsley Walton, Sollbauer, Andersen, Jordan Williams, Ludewig, Ritzmaier, Mowatt, Styles, Thomas, Brown, Chaplin.
Subs: Ben Williams, Woodrow, Bahre, Schmidt, Oduor, Halme, Simoes, Wolfe, Collins.
Tonight's permutations
Automatic promotion
There is a three-way fight for the second automatic promotion spot. West Brom will secure it with victory over QPR at the Hawthorns. Should they draw, Brentford would leap to second with a home win against Barnsley. A draw would also be enough if West Brom were to lose. Fulham could still go up automatically if they win at Wigan, West Brom lose and Brentford fail to win.
Play-offs
Nottingham Forest and Cardiff occupy the remaining play-off spots and will hold on them should they avoid defeat to Stoke and Hull respectively. Any slip-ups and Swansea could climb into the top six with a win at Reading, although it would come down to goal difference.
Relegation
Every team from 19th to 24th can still go down. Hull look doomed: they are bottom and sit three points behind Charlton in 21st with a much worse goal difference. Barnsley and Luton occupy the other relegation places; the Hatters are at home to Blackburn. Middlesbrough and Birmingham are still not safe, while Wigan are 13th but may also need to win to survive, given their imminent 12-point deduction.
Here’s the league table, but bear in mind Wigan are effectively on 46 points rather than 58.
Preamble
There’s nothing quite like the last day of the Championship season – a brain overload of permutations, goalflashes, as-it-stands tables, hope, despair, delirium, heartbreak and Chris Kamara. This year it’s even more complicated than usual, given the possibility that the season will conclude in the courts, and this could be the most noggin-melting denouement to a season since Romania’s Divizia C Serie VIII in 1983-84. You should click on that last link; you’ll not regret it.
Over the next three hours, we’ll be compromising our sanity to keep you abreast of the latest developments in the race for promotion/the play-offs/to avoid relegation.
These are tonight’s matches, all of which kick off at 7.30pm:
- Birmingham v Derby
- Brentford v Barnsley
- Bristol City v Preston
- Cardiff v Hull
- Leeds v Charlton
- Luton v Blackburn
- Millwall v Huddersfield
- Nottingham Forest v Stoke
- Reading v Swansea
- Sheffield Wednesday v Middlesbrough
- West Brom v QPR
- Wigan v Fulham
All bar two - Bristol City v Preston and Millwall v Huddersfield - have something riding on them. There ain’t no finale like a Championship finale.
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