Leeds, Leicester, and Ipswich are competing for promotion to the Premier League in the EFL Championship standings for 2023–2024.
The push for promotion to the Premier League is underway as we approach what is known as the “business end of the season” in the football calendar.
Securing promotion to England’s top level is just a few weeks away for teams competing in the EFL Championship.
Leeds United, Leicester City, and Southampton are the three Premier League teams that were demoted from 2022–2023 that are currently ranked in the top four.
Kieran McKenna, the former assistant coach of Manchester United, is competing with his Ipswich Town team. The Tractor Boys want to make their Premier League debut, something they haven’t done since 2002.
The Sporting News examines the playoff landscape and the promotion process.
MORE: Updated Premier League standings for 2023–2024
EFL Championship table and promotion image for 2023–2024
Teams ranked third through sixth will compete in a playoff, while the top two will automatically advance. Below is further information on that.
a Monday, April 23, 2024 update
Team Points, Matches, Goals Scored, Goal Difference
Leicester City 94% 44 86 % + 47
2. Leeds United 80 + 43 90 44
—— ——————— ——— ——— ———
3. Essex Town 89 43 85 + 32
4. Southampton 84, 44, 85, and 24
5. West Brom 72, 44, 67, and 23
6. Norfolk 72, 44, 77, plus 16
—— ——————— ——— ——— ———
Hull City 66 43 62 + 8
Coventry City 63, 42, 66, and 14
How is a player promoted to the Premier League?
Three of the best teams can move up to the English top flight by winning the fiercely competitive promotion process from the Championship to the Premier League.
The top two teams in the Championship table at the conclusion of each season are guaranteed a spot in England’s premier tier.
The teams who place third through sixth in the playoffs are chosen to fill the third promotion spot.
Since the top two of those teams receive seeds, over the course of two legs, third place will play sixth and fourth place will play fifth. Having the second leg at home will benefit the third and fourth teams.
On Sunday, May 26, the winners square off in the playoff final at Wembley Stadium.
If the teams are unable to be separated, extra time and penalties will be used in the semifinal second legs and final.
The squad that wins the playoff final gets the last promotion spot and gets to play in the Premier League in 2024–2025 against the nation’s best clubs.
In addition to financial benefits, promotion raises a team’s stature, provides access to increased national and worldwide visibility, and makes them more desirable as transfer targets for players both domestically and elsewhere.
The remaining games for Ipswich, Leicester, and Leeds
Here is a look at the remaining games for those vying for the automatic promotion spots, as the top of the standings is quite tight:
| Leeds | Result | Leicester | Result | Ipswich | Result |
| Watford (A) | D 2-2 | Bristol City (A) | L 1-0 | Blackburn (A) | W 0-1 |
| Hull City (H) | W 3-1 | Norwich (H) | W 3-1 | Southampton (H) | W 3-2 |
| Coventry (A) | L 2-1 | Birmingham City (H) | W 2-1 | Norwich (A) | L 1-0 |
| Sunderland (H) | D 0-0 | Millwall (A) | L 1-0 | Watford (H) | D 0-0 |
| Blackburn (H) | L 1-0 | Plymouth (A) | L 1-0 | Middlesbrough (H) | D 1-1 |
| Middlesbrough (A) | W 4-3 | West Brom (H) | W 2-1 | Hull City (A) | — |
| QPR (A) | — | Southampton (H) | W 5-0 | Coventry (A) | — |
| — | Preston (A) | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | |||
| Southampton (H) | — | Blackburn (H) | — | Huddersfield (H) | — |
