The Sky Bet EFL play-offs are upon us, but who is in the semi-finals in the Championship, League One and League Two, and who will prevail to reach Wembley and have a shot at promotion?
Sky Bet Championship
Schedule
First legs
Sat May 13: Sunderland vs Luton, 5.30pm
Sun May 14: Coventry vs Middlesbrough, 12pm
Second legs
Tues May 16: Luton vs Sunderland, 8pm
Wed May 17: Middlesbrough vs Coventry, 8pm
Final
Sat May 27: 4.45pm
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Championsip play-offs combined XI
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Luton Town
Last season’s surprise semi-finalists have proven more dominant this time around in the Championship. Luton have not relinquished a spot in the top six since late January, and even briefly flirted with automatic promotion, before Sheffield United pulled away.
They began the season with Nathan Jones in charge, but were forced into moving for Rob Edwards when the former left for Southampton in November. Edwards himself began the season at Watford, but was quickly dismissed before later moving to their fierce rivals.
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Key man: Marvelous Nakamba
Striker Carlton Morris has scored 20 goals this season and provided seven assists, but Nakamba has proven an inspired loan signing since arriving from Aston Villa in January. The 29-year-old’s performances in midfield have taken Luton to the next level in the second half of the season.
Unsung hero: Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu
He may not have played quite as much as he would have liked, but Mpanzu, now 29, has been with Luton from non-League in 2014 and played with them through every level. The midfielder has seen and done it all, and it would cap an incredible rise if he were to help the Hatters into the Premier League.
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough are back in the play-offs for the first time in four seasons, and largely have two men to thank. The first is Michael Carrick, who took over in October after Chris Wilder had been sacked.
He led them from the depths of the Championship up into the play-offs. They, like Luton, also briefly had aspirations of automatic promotion. Not bad for a first senior job for the former Manchester United midfielder.
Key man: Chuba Akpom
The second is their striker, Akpom. Shipped out on loan by Neil Warnock last season, the former Arsenal academy man has finally realised his potential this campaign, scoring 28 goals in 36 appearances. He has been lethal.
Unsung hero: Jonny Howson
Whether given the armband or not, Howson has proven as dependable as ever in midfield for Middlesbrough, featuring in every game until the final two of the season. He also featured in the Norwich side that beat Boro at Wembley in 2015. He will hope to do the same for his current side at the end of the month.
Coventry City
The only manager in this season’s Championship play-offs who took charge of their first game of the campaign, Mark Robins has worked wonders with a Coventry side that he took over in 2017 on their way to an inevitable League Two relegation.
A difficult start to this season, in which Coventry could not play their first few games at home, has led to a brilliant rise in the second half of the campaign. They now have a chance to return to the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.
Key man: Viktor Gyokeres
No player provided more goal involvements in the Championship than Gyokeres this season. He scored 21 and bagged 10 assists. Premier League clubs are watching. Coventry will be hoping the Swede is playing there with them come August.
Unsung hero: Gustavo Hamer
The midfield engine. Such is his importance to the club that he was handed their Player of the Season award, ahead of Gyokeres, for the second year running. He has been brilliant this campaign and is still set for big things at 25.
Sunderland
Such is the stature of Sunderland as a club, it is easy to forget they are a newly-promoted side. And they came through the play-offs to get to the Championship as well. It is rare to survive in the second tier after that, let alone thrive.
Also, when you consider they lost their manager Alex Neil in August, replacing him with Tony Mowbray, and have played most of the season without key striker Ross Stewart, it has been a remarkable campaign for the Black Cats, who snuck into the top six on the final day.
Key man: Amad Diallo
Just 20 years of age, Diallo has thrived at Sunderland this season on loan from Manchester United, scoring 13 times. He is about more than just goals, however, with the winger also proving a menace to Championship full-backs.
Unsung hero: Jack Clarke
For those not on Wearside, Clarke’s form may have gone a little under the radar. No one in the Championship has provided more than his 11 assists. He is rekindling the levels of performance that saw him burst onto the scene at Leeds in 2018/19.
Sky Bet League One
First legs
Fri May 12: Peterborough vs Sheffield Wednesday, 8pm
Sat May 13: Bolton vs Barnsley, 3pm
Second legs
Thur May 18: Sheffield Wednesday vs Peterborough, 8pm
Fri May 19: Barnsley vs Bolton, 8pm
Final
Mon May 29: 3pm
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League One play-offs combined XI
Sheffield Wednesday
You feel a little for Sheffield Wednesday. Their points tally and goal difference would have seen them, at the very least, promoted in every League One season since 2005. In fact, only seven champions in that time have collected more points.
But such was the pace set by Plymouth and Ipswich that the Owls will have to try and go through the play-offs again, having been beaten in the semi-finals by Sunderland last year.
Key man: Barry Bannan
Simply, at the very least, a top Championship-level midfielder, who has his heart set on taking Sheffield Wednesday back there. He runs games. Invariably the only way to stop the Owls is to stop the Scot.
Unsung hero: Liam Palmer
In a season blighted by injury issues at Hillsborough – as they so often seem to be – Palmer has proven himself to be invaluable in his consistency. The defender is their only player who has managed to start more than 40 league games.
Barnsley
It has only been two years since Barnsley were in the Championship play-offs, but a miserable capitulation into League One has nearly been reversed by the arrival of Michael Duff in the summer.
They hit their stride in mid-September and have not left the top six since November. An immediate return to the second tier remains a possibility. And opposition sides will be wary that Barnsley have succeeded in both their previous League One play-off campaigns in 2006 and 2016.
Key man: Mads Andersen
The defender stuck with the club after three seasons in the Championship, and has arguably proven himself to be the standout centre-back in League One this season. A 6ft 4ins Danish colossus at the back.
Unsung hero: Adam Phillips
Phillips is 25 now and finally having regular action at a club he calls home. He previously played for Norwich and Burnley but never made a league appearance for either, spending most of his time in the last few years on loan at Morecambe. This season he has thrived with 17 goal involvements for the Tykes.
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton are on the way back. Financial troubles behind them, the club are growing slowly back through the leagues, and have built and progressed again under Ian Evatt.
The Trotters have only finished seven game weeks outside of the top six all season, and have been ever-present in the play-off places since November. They also picked up silverware in the shape of the EFL Trophy at Wembley in April.
Key man: Conor Bradley
Bradley, just 19, had never made a senior appearance before this season. But he has proven a revelation since being plucked from Liverpool on loan. The Northern Irish right-back swept the end-of-season club awards, winning Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year.
Unsung hero: James Trafford
Goalkeepers simply do not get enough love, and Trafford – just 20 – deserves more. Only Ipswich conceded fewer goals and kept more clean sheets than Bolton this season. Young Trafford, ironically on loan from Manchester City, is heading for big things.
Peterborough United
Go with what you know is the philosophy at Peterborough. Things were not working out under Grant McCann in his second stint with the Posh, so in January they turned back to Darren Ferguson. His fourth spell with the club.
The change bore fruit, as Ferguson has led them back into the play-offs, dramatically replacing Derby County in sixth on the final day. He has won promotion with the club four times before. Can he make it five?
Key man: Jonson Clarke-Harris
Doubts remain about his ability to really perform in the Championship, but at League One level Clarke-Harris is lethal. He has notched 25 goals this season, his last third-tier season in 2020/21 saw him score 31. If he gets chances, Peterborough always have a chance themselves.
Unsung hero: Joe Ward
Ward has been at Peterborough for six seasons now, and rarely lets the club down at League One level. The 27-year-old winger has provided nine assists and six goals this season.
Sky Bet League Two
First legs
Sat May 13: Salford vs Stockport, 7.45pm
Sun May 14: Bradford vs Carlisle, 7pm
Second legs
Sat May 20: Stockport vs Salford, 12.30pm; Carlisle vs Bradford, 3pm
Final
Sun May 28: 1.30pm
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League Two play-offs combined XI
Stockport County
Their first season back in the EFL in 11 years has been a hit. Stockport beat Wrexham to promotion from the National League last season and have gone from strength to strength. They were even in the race for automatic promotion until the final day of the campaign.
It was a slow start under Dave Challinor, but Stockport have only lost twice in 2023, and not once since the start of March.
Key man: Kyle Wootton
Brought in from non-League Notts County at the start of the season, Wootton has enjoyed his return to the EFL, scoring 14 goals and providing four assists.
Unsung hero: Chris Hussey
Only champions Leyton Orient conceded fewer goals than Stockport this season and Hussey, a 34-year-old free summer signing, has proven to be pivotal with his experience in their defence. He has won three promotions before, and will hope to make it four.
Carlisle United
It has been nine long seasons now in League Two for Carlisle. This is only the second time in that spell they have managed to make the play-offs. But bringing Paul Simpson back into the dugout for the first time since 2006 has proven revelatory.
The 56-year-old led his hometown club to back-to-back promotions as a player-manager back then, and is hoping to take the club to a third one this time around.
Key man: Kristian Dennis
After two disappointing seasons in the Scottish Premiership with St Mirren, Dennis was lured back to League Two last January, and this season he has scored 20 goals. Only top-scorer Andy Cook of Bradford has a more impressive goals-per-90 ratio (of players to have hit double figures in League Two).
Unsung hero: Owen Moxon
Plucked by Carlisle from Annan Athletic in the bottom tier of the Scottish game, Moxon has taken to League Two superbly. The 25-year-old has provided 15 assists this season. No player in the fourth tier has more.
Bradford City
After several underwhelming seasons in League Two, Mark Hughes came in towards the end of the last campaign and this time around has led Bradford into the play-offs.
A late-season surge did provide Bradford with an opportunity to challenge for automatic promotion, but just one point from their final two games ended those hopes. They are now looking to return to League One for the first time since 2018.
Key man: Andy Cook
League Two’s top scorer, Cook has finally found his feet in League football as a 32-year-old, netting 28 goals. He has also provided eight assists and featured in all 46 games. Consistency has been key.
Unsung hero: Richard Smallwood
It seemed a surprisingly large drop for a player who played 42 times for Hull in last season’s Championship. But Hughes lured him to Bradford, and immediately named him club captain. It is the midfielder’s first season at this level and he has proven to be a sublime operator.
Salford City
At the fourth time of asking Salford City have finally made it into the League Two play-offs. Their previous three League campaigns had seen them finish in the top half but narrowly miss out, this time they made it in under Neil Wood.
The Class of ’92 project has invested big, and look hopeful of Wembley success again. They have previous there, having won in the National League play-offs in 2019, and the EFL Trophy final in 2020 (although the final was delayed until 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic).
Key man: Callum Hendry
Hendry, son of Scotland legend Colin, had spent most of his career in the Scottish Premiership before joining Salford last summer. The forward has 17 goal involvements to his name this season.
Unsung hero: Elliott Watt
Another creative force in League Two. Watt has mustered 15 assists, and created more than 100 chances in the fourth tier this season. The 22-year-old’s delivery will prove vital in the play-offs.
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