Who will be promoted from EFL Championship to Premier League?

We assess the second-tier sides who are leading the charge to join the top flight next season Football writer Ben McAleer looks at everything you need to know about the EFL Championship’s promotion seekers, with three places in the 2026/27 Premier League up for grabs. Who are the leading promotion contenders in 2025/26?Coventry City Frank Lampard’s Coventry sit top of the Championship as they bid to return to the Premier League for the first time in a quarter of a century. The Sky Blues are on course for automatic promotion, needing a maximum of seven points from their final six matches to secure one of the top two spots. A member of the inaugural Premier League in 1992/93, Coventry have spent nine seasons in the top flight, but have not been there since 2000/01, when they were relegated after finishing 19th with 34 points.Ipswich Town Ipswich are looking for an immediate Premier League return, having dropped to the Championship in 2024/25 after finishing the season in 19th, with just 22 points. Despite losing key players since, such as striker Liam Delap to Chelsea, head coach Kieran McKenna will feel confident about delivering Premier League football to Portman Road for the sixth season since the league’s inception in 1992. Millwall Millwall are chasing a first appearance in the Premier League, having been Championship ever-presents since their promotion from League One in 2017, finishing eighth on four occasions since then. The south London team are led by head coach Alex Neil, who was in charge of Norwich City's 2015/16 Premier League campaign. Their only previous spell in England's top flight came between 1988 and 1990, when it was the First Division. Middlesbrough Middlesbrough are also vying for automatic promotion. Rob Edwards' move to manage Wolverhampton Wanderers in November could have left Boro in a difficult position, but his successor as head coach Kim Hellberg has kept the momentum going in his first coaching job in England. Boro, like Coventry, were one of the Premier League’s founding teams. They dropped out of it at the first time of asking, finishing 21st in the 1992/93 season with 44 points, but have spent a total of 15 seasons in the top tier, the most recent of which came in 2016/17.From top left (clockwise): Championship managers Frank Lampard, Kim Hellberg, Alex Neil, Phil Parkinson, Sergej Jakirovic and Kieran McKenna. Hull City Bosnian manager Sergej Jakirovic is working wonders with Hull. The Tigers avoided relegation from the Championship by the skin of their teeth last season, yet are firmly in the promotion hunt almost a year later. If they do win promotion, it will give Hull their sixth season in the Premier League, and their first since 2016/17. Wrexham Wrexham are chasing a historic fourth successive promotion. The Welsh team have risen from the National League in the non-league to the brink of the Premier League in three seasons. They have climbed from 15th on Christmas Day into play-off contention. They have never played higher than the Championship, but are firmly in the mix for promotion to England’s top tier. Southampton Like Ipswich, Southampton are bidding to return to the Premier League following their relegation in 2024/25, after enjoying a remarkable rise in recent months. Tonda Eckert, the club's former Under-21 manager, has overseen the transformation, leading the team into playoff contention after taking charge in November when they were 21st. The Saints have been a consistent presence in the top tier, featuring in 25 Premier League seasons. A sixth-placed finish in 2015/16 marked their best effort in the competition's history. How does promotion from Championship to Premier League work? The top two teams in the Championship secure their spot in the Premier League automatically. They are joined by the side who win the promotion playoffs. The playoffs are contested by the four clubs who finish from third to sixth. The fixtures are comprised of two semi-finals over two legs, with the third-placed team facing sixth, while the teams ranked fourth and fifth meet in the other tie. The second leg of each semi-final is hosted by the teams who finished higher. The aggregate winners of each semi-final then contest the Championship playoff final at Wembley Stadium. If the scores are level at full-time, the match goes to extra-time and possibly then a penalty shootout to determine a winner. Sunderland won the playoff final last season, beating Sheffield United in dramatic fashion when teenage substitute Tommy Watson’s goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time secured a 2-1 win. All change in 2026/27 season From the 2026/27 season, the Championship playoff places will expand to six teams, from third to eighth position, and consist of seven fixtures rather than the current five. The fifth-placed team will play eighth and sixth will play seventh, at the higher-ranked club’s ground, in a one-off tie to determine progression to the two-leg playoff semi-finals, against the clubs who finished third and fourth.