| # | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlesbrough | 13 | +13 | 28 |
| 2 | Swansea City | 13 | +7 | 26 |
| 3 | Wolves | 13 | +7 | 24 |
| 4 | West Bromwich Albion | 13 | +5 | 24 |
| 5 | Southampton | 13 | +15 | 23 |
| 6 | Birmingham City | 13 | +10 | 23 |
| 7 | Stoke City | 13 | +4 | 23 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 13 | +15 | 22 |
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers | 13 | +5 | 20 |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 13 | +2 | 19 |
| 11 | Portsmouth | 13 | +1 | 19 |
| 12 | Millwall | 13 | +2 | 18 |
| 13 | Blackburn Rovers | 13 | -1 | 18 |
| 14 | Bristol City | 13 | -2 | 18 |
| 15 | Norwich City | 13 | -1 | 15 |
| 16 | Lincoln City | 13 | -9 | 15 |
| 17 | Cardiff City | 13 | -1 | 14 |
| 18 | Wrexham | 13 | -4 | 14 |
| 19 | Bolton Wanderers | 13 | -8 | 14 |
| 20 | Charlton Athletic | 13 | -10 | 14 |
| 21 | Watford | 13 | -11 | 11 |
| 22 | Burnley | 13 | -8 | 9 |
| 23 | Derby County | 13 | -14 | 7 |
| 24 | Preston North End | 13 | -17 | 5 |
- Promotion
- Promotion play-off
- Relegation
EFL Championship Standings: How the Table Works
This page explains the EFL Championship table — the standings for English football’s second tier — and how to read the live table shown directly below. The Championship is a 24-team league in which clubs chase promotion to the Premier League while trying to avoid relegation to EFL League One. The table beneath this introduction updates automatically as results come in, so you can see the current order, points and games played at a glance. The sections that follow explain what every position means, how teams level on points are separated, the key dates of the 2026/27 season, and how to follow the matches from New Zealand.
How the EFL Championship is structured
The EFL Championship has 24 clubs, and each one plays 46 league matches a season — home and away against the other 23 teams. Clubs earn 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a defeat, and the table is ordered by total points, highest first. Because every team plays the same number of games, the standings are a direct ranking: the club at the top has collected the most points, the club at the bottom the fewest. If you are new to league tables, our guide on how to read a sports standings table walks through each column in order.
Championship at a Glance
| Competition | EFL Championship (Sky Bet Championship) |
|---|---|
| Level | Second tier of English football |
| Teams | 24 |
| Matches per team | 46 (home and away against the other 23) |
| Points | 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss |
| Promotion | Top 2 automatic, plus one play-off winner (from 3rd–8th) |
| Relegation | Bottom 3 to EFL League One |
| Season | Mid-August to early May, with play-offs in May |
What each position in the table means
Position in the EFL Championship table decides promotion and relegation: the top places go up (or into the play-offs), the bottom places go down. Unlike the Premier League, the Championship has no continental or European qualification places — promotion to the Premier League is the prize at the top of the table.
Automatic promotion (1st and 2nd)
The two clubs that finish first and second are promoted straight to the Premier League. No play-off is needed: finishing in the top two guarantees a place in the top flight for the following season.
The play-off places (3rd to 8th)
From the 2026/27 season the play-offs decide the third promotion place between the clubs that finish 3rd to 8th — expanded from the old four-team system that used positions 3rd to 6th. The teams in 5th to 8th first meet in one-off eliminators (5th hosts 8th, 6th hosts 7th), with the higher-placed club at home. The two winners then join the 3rd- and 4th-placed clubs in two-legged semi-finals, and the semi-final winners meet in a single final at Wembley Stadium for the last promotion spot. The exact arrangements for the 2026/27 final were still being confirmed by the EFL, so check the official source for the latest detail before the play-offs begin.
The relegation places (22nd, 23rd and 24th)
The three clubs that finish in the bottom three — 22nd, 23rd and 24th — are relegated to EFL League One for the next season. Everything in between, roughly 9th to 21st, is mid-table: no promotion and no relegation.
What the Positions Mean
| Position | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1st–2nd | Automatic promotion to the Premier League |
| 3rd–4th | Enter the play-off semi-finals (two legs) |
| 5th–8th | Enter the play-off eliminators (5th v 8th, 6th v 7th) |
| 9th–21st | Mid-table — no promotion or relegation |
| 22nd–24th | Relegation to EFL League One |
How teams level on points are separated
When two or more clubs finish level on points, the EFL separates them using a set order of tiebreakers. The main steps, applied in turn until the tie is broken, are:
- Goal difference — goals scored minus goals conceded across the whole season.
- Goals scored — the club that has scored more goals ranks higher.
- Head-to-head record — the results of the matches between the tied clubs.
- Number of wins over the season.
If clubs are still level and the tie decides the title, promotion or relegation, a one-off deciding play-off match is used. Our explainer on how sports standings are ranked covers points and tiebreakers in more depth, and the glossary of standings table abbreviations explains labels such as P, W, D, L, GD and Pts that you will see in the live table above.
Key dates for the 2026/27 season
The 2026/27 Championship regular season runs from mid-August 2026 to early May 2027, across 46 rounds of fixtures. Play begins in the weekend of 14 August 2026 and the final round of league matches falls in early May 2027. Matches are spread across Friday nights, Saturdays, Sundays and midweek dates, with the traditional busy Boxing Day and New Year programmes in late December and early January. After the regular season ends, the play-offs are staged in May, finishing with the final at Wembley late in the month. Exact fixture dates and kick-off times are set round by round, so confirm them on the official listings close to each matchday.
How to follow the Championship from New Zealand
In New Zealand the EFL Championship is shown by beIN SPORTS, which also streams matches through its beIN SPORTS CONNECT service on web, mobile, tablet and smart TVs. A beIN SPORTS CONNECT subscription is priced at AU/NZ $16.99 per month or AU/NZ $169.99 for a year. Always check the broadcaster’s current schedule, as not every one of the many weekly matches is televised live.
Kick-off times are set in UK time, and New Zealand is about 11 to 13 hours ahead of the United Kingdom depending on daylight saving in each country. In practice, a standard Saturday 3:00pm (UK) kick-off falls in the early hours of Sunday morning in New Zealand — roughly 2:00am to 4:00am NZT — while Friday-night and midweek evening games (around 7:45–8:00pm UK) land the next morning in New Zealand, roughly 7:00am to 9:00am NZT. The live table on this page is the quickest way to catch up on the order if you miss a match overnight.
For context on how New Zealand’s own competitions rank their teams, you can also browse our wider coverage of sports standings and results.
Sources
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
How many teams are in the EFL Championship?
There are 24 clubs in the EFL Championship. Each club plays 46 league matches a season, facing every other team once at home and once away.
How many points is a win worth in the Championship?
A win is worth 3 points, a draw 1 point and a defeat 0 points. The table is ordered by total points, with the most-points club at the top.
How many teams get promoted from the Championship?
Three clubs are promoted to the Premier League each season: the top two go up automatically, and a third place is decided by the play-offs between the clubs finishing 3rd to 8th.
How many teams are relegated from the Championship?
Three clubs are relegated. The teams that finish in the bottom three positions — 22nd, 23rd and 24th — drop down to EFL League One for the following season.
What happens if two clubs finish level on points?
They are separated by goal difference first, then goals scored, then their head-to-head record and number of wins. If a tie still decides the title, promotion or relegation, a deciding play-off match is played.