A number of sides are in the mix for a place in this season’s play-offs and the race will intensify in the coming months

The Championship play-offs are among the most keenly contested and rewarding games in the English football calendar.

A place in the Premier League, with its subsequent financial benefits and accompanying prestige, is the prize on offer, but only one team stands to benefit.

This season, the likes of Leeds United and Norwich City are in the running for automatic promotion, but further down, teams such as Nottingham Forest and Aston villa are in the hunt for a place in the play-offs.

what are the championship play-offs

While the top two teams in the Championship secure automatic promotion to the Premier League, the final place is determined by a series of games known as play-offs.

The teams which finish the season in third, fourth, fifth and sixth place earn the right to compete for a place in Englands’s top division.

Third place plays sixt place in one semi-final and fourth place plays fifth place in the other semi-final. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with home and away ties.

The winners of the semi-finals then progress to the play-off final, which is a winner-takes-all tie.

when are the champioship play-offs

The dates for the 2019 Championship play-off semi-finals have yet to be finalised, but games will take place after May 5, when the league concludes.

Last season, semi-final games were played less than a week after the conclusion of the league phase and we can expect a similar approach for the 2018-19 season.

When and where is the 2019 championship play-off final?

The 2019 Championship play-off final is scheduled to take place on Monday, may 27 and, as is tradition, Wembley stadium in London will be the venue for the decider.

Wembley’s capacity is 90,000 and Championship play-off deciders regularly draw in bumper crowds, with the 2018 final between Aston Villa and Fulham attracting 85,243 spectators.

The ‘Home of Football’ has not always been the venue for play-off deciders, however, with Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium temporarily housing such games from 2001 until 2006.

which teams have qualified for the championship play-offs

We do not know which teams have qualified for the Championship play-offs yet, but a clearer picture is beginning to emerge as the competition heads into the second half of the season.

Leeds United lead the way in the race for automatic promotion, followed closely by the likes of Norwich City and Sheffield United.

Some of the teams who are in the mix for the play-off spots include West Brom, Middlesbrough and Derby County.

Two-time European champions Nottingham Forest are also fighting for a return to the Premier League, as they bid to end a two-decades-long absence.

who won last year’s championship play-offs?

Fulham were the winners of the 2018 edition of the Championship play-offs as they defeated Aston Villa 1- 0 in the final. Club captain Tom Cairney scored the decisive goal for the Cottagers, who played the final part of the game with 10 men after Denis Odoi was sent off.

Fulham had finished third in the table, meaning they faced sixth-place Derby County in the play-off semi-finals and they overcame the Rams with a 2-1 aggregate victory.

They subsequently joined Championship winners Wolves and runners-up Cardiff City in booking their place in the 2018-19 Premier League.