As we head into the business end of the season, the Championship is well and truly heating up with promotion places, playoff spots and relegation scraps to be decided.
England's second division is often the most dramatic in the Football League with so much at stake. This season Frank Lampard's Coventry look in pole position to reach the promised land of the Premier League while Wrexham's Hollywood story could still see a fourth straight promotion.
Here's everything you need to know from the Championship.
Who's going up as things stand?
The current state of play sees Coventry sit atop the table with 85 points, with Ipswich Town occupying the other automatic promotion spot with 75 points. However, the race for automatic promotion is tight with third-place Millwall on 73 and fourth-place Middlesbrough on 72 points.
Frank Lampard has spearheaded Coventry's title charge this term after guiding them to the playoff semifinals last season despite being appointed with the club in relegation trouble early on in the 2024-25 campaign.
The likes of Victor Torp, Ellis Simms, Haji Wright and Brandon Thomas-Asante in Coventry's forward line have torn up the league at times, with Lampard's side having been the top goalscorers in the division throughout.
The league leaders have been held to goalless draws in successive fixtures -- with Lampard admitting tension is creeping in -- the most recent against the already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday. But they now just need a single point to guarantee promotion and look sure to end a 25-year hiatus from the top division.
Kieran McKenna's Ipswich have Premier League pedigree having been in the top-flight last term finishing 19th, and are arguably the league's form side. They are now the favourites to join Coventry as others wobble, as they have two games in hand on Middlesbrough and Southampton below them.
Rob Edwards' move to Wolves in November left Middlesbrough in a difficult position but Kim Hellberg has since kept the momentum going in what is his first managerial job in England.
Millwall have been the ultimate surprise package though and a massive win over Boro on Good Friday took them into the automatic spots, courtesy of a Josh Coburn double. However, a surprise 2-1 defeat at Norwich City meant their stay in the top two was short-lived.
Who looks good for a playoff spot?
Millwall and Boro look like locks. Millwall have never graced the riches of the Premier League since its formation in 1992, they'll be hoping arch-rivals West Ham can stave off relegation fears to lock in two truly blockbuster derbies next season, should they make it up.
Currently sitting in fifth place are Southampton. After stunning Arsenal in their FA Cup quarterfinal the Saints thrashed fellow promotion hopefuls Wrexham -- who are seeking a fourth straight promotion -- 5-1 on April 8 to leapfrog Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac's team in the table. They then beat Derby 2-1 three days later to keep their playoff momentum going.
The Saints suffered a difficult start to the season and sacked manager Will Still in November, but have roared back into contention under his replacement, Tonda Eckert.
Hull City have been away from the Premier League since 2017 but occupy the final playoff spot in sixth.
Often regarded as football's most lucrative single game with not only the reward of Premier League football but a sum upwards of £100 million ($136m) on the line, getting to the playoff final is the goal for those who finish 3rd to 6th, but with so much time left in the season, many will still harbour ambitions of an automatic promotion spot.
When are the playoffs?
After the final day of the Championship season on May 2, clubs that have secured their spot in the top six will have one week before the all-action playoffs begin.
6th vs 3rd will play their first leg on Friday May 8 and the second leg on Monday May 11, both evening kick-offs (8 p.m. GMT).
5th vs 4th will play their first leg on Saturday May 9 and the second leg on Tuesday May 12.
The side that finishes lower in the regular season will host the first leg while the team with the higher league position earns a home game for the all-important second leg.
There is a sizeable gap between the semifinals and final though, with football's most lucrative game gracing the sunshine of Wembley once again on Saturday May 23, almost two weeks after the semifinals are completed.
Who else is in the hunt?
The two sides that will head to Wembley in May to fight for the third and final Premier League spot are far from confirmed yet.
The league is as competitive as it has ever been, leading to the EFL announcing that the Championship playoffs will now be expanded to six teams, rather than the usual four, from the 2026-27 season.
Wrexham are only behind sixth-placed Hull by four points despite suffering a 2-0 loss to Birmingham City in the 'Hollywood Derby' on April 12, while Derby in eighth are the other team in contention, a point further back.
The playoff semifinals are pre-seeded with third playing sixth and fourth playing fifth.
Wrexham watch
Despite currently sitting outside the playoff spots, there is the sense that anything other than a top-six finish would be a huge missed opportunity for Wrexham. They are sitting on a commercial and footballing goldmine and a fourth straight promotion into the Premier League would launch the club well and truly into the stratosphere.
The Welsh side are on the cusp of the Premier League, here's all the latest coming out of the Racecourse.
- Wrexham out of playoff places with loss to Southampton
FA Cup semifinalists Southampton continued their Championship charge as they thrashed Wrexham 5-1 at Stok Cae Ras to replace the Welsh side in the playoff places.
- Swansea raise concern after Wrexham coverage: We felt like 'afterthought'
Swansea will raise concerns over television coverage of their all-Welsh affair against Wrexham with the EFL after saying the team owned by Hollywood stars Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds "were given priority at every opportunity."
- After five years of Reynolds and Mac, Wrexham are on cusp of Premier League
It has taken five years to get to this point, but Wrexham might now reach their ultimate destination in less than five months.
- Wrexham boss Parkinson welcomes Mac's backing in club's 'fantastic story'
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has welcomed co-owner Rob Mac's suggestion that he has the job for life, revelling in his role in the club's "fantastic story."
- Live from Wrexham: Ryan Reynolds, Rob Mac commentate win vs. Swansea
Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have ventured into yet another new role, swapping the director's box for the commentary booth.
- Ben Foster: Wrexham's journey under Ryan Reynolds, Rob Mac 'ridiculous'
Ben Foster has hailed Wrexham's "ridiculous" journey as Hollywood owners Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds celebrate their fifth anniversary in charge of the Welsh club.
The relegation battle
From one end of the Championship table to the other, just like the fight to get out of the league, the battle to stay in England's second division will go right down to the wire.
One side who won't be involved in the drama though are Sheffield Wednesday. The Owls sit rock bottom in 24th and are miles away from ever leaving the foot of the table after having 18 points deducted this season for financial breaches linked to previous owner Dejphon Chansiri. They remain in administration and in the process of finding a buyer and defeat against bitter rivals Sheffield United on Feb. 22 saw them relegated in record time. They did manage to take a point from champions-elect Coventry though, a result that delighted their ever-enthusiastic travelling supporters.
The sides who are still fighting for their lives, though, are Oxford United, Leicester City, Portsmouth, West Brom, Blackburn Rovers and Charlton.
Whilst fighting for their lives in the division, West Brom also have the unnecessary distraction of reports of financial wrongdoing, which the club strongly denies.
"West Bromwich Albion acknowledges media reports relating to the club's compliance with the EFL's Profitability & Sustainability (P&S) rules," the club said in a statement.
"The club considers that it has fully complied with the P&S rules. The club will continue to co-operate with the EFL's Club Financial Reporting Unit and looks forward to resolving this matter."
Former Premier League winners Leicester (and at one point in time, European regulars) find themselves in danger of dropping down to England's third division after being docked six points for EFL financial breaches, just five years after finishing fifth in the top-flight. They sit 23rd and four points from safety after the defeat to Swansea City on April 11.
Oxford, who occupy the other relegation spot, and Portsmouth both winning didn't help Leicester.
It is a battle that will likely go down to the final day in May, when we could see an English giant drop into League One.
What are the next key games on the calendar?
April 19 -- Ipswich vs Middlesborough
April 21 -- Oxford vs Wrexham
April 24 -- Leicester vs Millwall
April 26 -- Coventry vs Wrexham