info@businessghana.com
Nine months of hard work, 540 games of football and now it all comes down to a couple of hours on Saturday.
The Championship has once again delivered a season of incredible drama and entertainment, with the pendulum swinging one way then the other - and back again. And again. And again.
Heading into the final-day fixtures (all 12:30 BST kick-offs), the title, two play-off places and realistically one relegation spot are yet to be decided with 12 teams still having a lot to play for.
That is half of the division with something at stake, so we have taken a look at the permutations, of which there are many. Let us start at the bottom and work our way up.
Five teams are fighting to avoid what is realistically one remaining relegation spot
Who is involved? Stoke City, Derby County, Preston North End, Luton Town, Hull City and Plymouth Argyle
Already relegated: Cardiff City
Who are they playing? Leeds United (h)
What do they need? The Pilgrims are effectively already down, barring a footballing miracle.
Miron Muslic's side need to beat title-chasing Leeds convincingly and hope Luton are heavily defeated at West Bromwich Albion to overturn a 14-goal swing. They would also need Hull to lose at Portsmouth.
Who are they playing? Portsmouth (a)
What do they need? Lose at Portsmouth and they are down but Hull City's fate is in their hands. Their most simple pathway to staying up is to win - they would be guaranteed to finish above either Derby or Stoke who play each other - or at least better the result of one of Luton or Preston.
If the Tigers draw and the Hatters or Lilywhites lose, Hull would survive with a better goal difference than both those sides.
Should Luton and Preston avoid defeat, Ruben Selles' side could finish above Derby on goal difference if they draw and the Rams lose to Stoke by three goals.
There is also another unlikely scenario in which Hull could finish above Derby on goals scored if the Tigers draw 6-6 and the Rams lose by two goals. In the equally unlikely event Hull draw 5-5 and Derby lose by two, the Rams would stay up by virtue of a better head-to-head record.
Hull can only finish above Stoke if they win and the Potters fail to do so.
Luton are trying to avoid back-to-back relegations after coming down from the Premier League last season
Who are they playing? West Bromwich Albion (a)
What do they need? Luton will stay up if they win at West Bromwich Albion or if Hull lose.
If Luton and Hull both lose and Plymouth win, the Hatters would only need to avoid an unlikely 14-goal swing in favour of Argyle to survive.
Things get slightly more complicated for Matt Bloomfield's side if they do not pick up three points at The Hawthorns.
Should Hull avoid defeat, Luton will need to match their result to stay up. Luton would also stay up regardless of Hull's result if they better the result of one of Preston or Derby.
So what happens if Hull, Preston and Derby all win? Luton would then realistically need to win themselves to finish above Stoke and avoid the drop.
There is an unlikely outcome where they could also draw in that scenario and stay up if either:
Stoke lose by six goals and end with a worse goal difference than Luton.
Stoke lose 5-0 and the Hatters draw 3-3 with Albion to tie on goal difference and goals scored, but stay up with a better head-to-head record.
Stoke lose 5-0 and Luton score at least four (4-4, 5-5 and so on) to stay up on goals scored.
Preston have lost four on the bounce and won just one of their past 14 games (D6 L7) to be dragged into the relegation battle
Who are they playing? Bristol City (a)
What do they need? Similarly to Luton, Preston will stay up if they win at Bristol City or if Hull lose.
If not, the Lilywhites need to match one of either Luton or Hull's results to beat the drop, or better the result of one of Derby or Stoke.
Should Preston and Luton both lose and Hull win, Paul Heckingbottom's side will survive on goal difference as long as they avoid the unlikely scenario of losing by 13 goals and the Hatters losing by one, or losing by 14 goals and the Hatters losing by two and so on.
If Hull and Luton both avoid defeat and Preston lose, the Lilywhites would need Derby to lose by four more goals than themselves to stay up on goal difference (e.g. Derby 0-5 Stoke, Bristol City 1-0 Preston).
Another far-fetched route to safety if Preston lose and Hull and Luton both avoid defeat, is if Derby lose by four goals and Preston lose by one, the Lilywhites would need to ensure they score three more goals than Derby to stay up on goals scored (e.g. Derby 0-4 Stoke, Bristol City 4-3 Preston).
Who are they playing? Stoke City (h)
What do they need? Derby will secure their Championship status if they win at home to fellow relegation rivals Stoke or if Hull lose.
The Rams also hold a slight advantage with the best goal difference of all the sides in the relegation mix.
If Hull win and John Eustace's side do not, they will need to match one of either Preston or Luton's results to stay up.
As mentioned in Hull's permutations, there is an unlikely scenario in which Derby would go down if Preston and Hull draw, Luton win and the Rams lose by three goals.
We can probably rule out these final two potential outcomes in the event that Preston and Hull draw and Luton win, but it would be remiss not to mention them:
Derby would be relegated on goals scored if they lose by two goals and Hull draw 6-6.
Derby would stay up on their head-to-head record if they lose by two goals and Hull draw 5-5.
Who are they playing? Derby County (a)
What do they need? Stoke City will stay up if they avoid defeat at Derby.
Should the Potters lose by fewer than five goals, they will only go down if Luton and Hull win and Preston get at least a draw.
There is an unlikely outcome where Stoke will be relegated if Hull win, Preston avoid defeat and Luton draw, and one of the following happens:
Stoke lose by six goals and end with a worse goal difference than Luton.
Stoke lose 5-0 and Luton draw 3-3 with Albion to tie on goal difference and goals scored, but the Potters go down with a worse head-to-head record.
Stoke lose 5-0 and Luton score at least four in a draw at West Brom (4-4, 5-5 and so on) and the Potters go down on goals scored.
Bristol City and Coventry have both lost two games in a row heading into the final day
Who is involved? Bristol City, Coventry City, Millwall, Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough
Already secured play-off spot: Sheffield United (3rd confirmed), Sunderland (4th confirmed)
Who are they playing? Coventry City (a)
What do they need? Middlesbrough have to win at Coventry to stand any chance of reaching the play-offs.
Victory would move Boro into the top six if Millwall and Blackburn fail to win.
Michael Carrick's side could also secure a play-off berth with a win if Bristol City lose and only one of Millwall or Blackburn win.
Who are they playing? Sheffield United (a)
What do they need? Blackburn have to win at Sheffield United to stand any chance of reaching the play-offs.
Victory would move Rovers into the top six but only if two of Bristol City, Coventry and Millwall fail to win.
Millwall boss Alex Neil has guided the Lions to seven wins in their past 10 games (L3) to stay in with a shout of reaching the play-offs
Who are they playing? Burnley (a)
What do they need? Millwall realistically need to win at Burnley to stand any chance of reaching the play-offs.
Victory for the Lions would be enough if one of Bristol City or Coventry fail to win.
A draw would only be enough for Alex Neil's side to finish in the top six in the unlikely event Bristol City lose by five goals and Blackburn fail to win - or in an even more implausible situation that Bristol City lose 4-0, Millwall draw 12-12 and Blackburn fail to win for the Lions to finish sixth on goals scored.
Who are they playing? Middlesbrough (h)
What do they need? Coventry City will finish in a play-off spot if they beat Middlesbrough.
A draw would be enough for the Sky Blues but only if either of the following happens:
Millwall and Blackburn both fail to win.
Bristol City lose and one of Millwall or Blackburn fail to win.
If Coventry lose, they cannot finish in the top six.
Who are they playing? Preston (h)
What do they need? Bristol City will secure a play-off spot if they beat Preston at home.
A draw could be enough for the Robins but they would be relying on results elsewhere going their way. City will finish in the top six with a draw if any of the following happens:
Coventry, Millwall, Blackburn and Middlesbrough all fail to win.
Coventry or Middlesbrough win and Millwall and Blackburn fail to win.
Millwall win and Coventry, Blackburn and Middlesbrough fail to win.
Blackburn win and Coventry, Millwall and Middlesbrough fail to win.
Millwall and Middlesbrough win and Blackburn fail to win.
Blackburn and Middlesbrough win and Millwall fail to win.
Should Liam Manning's side lose, they will only finish in the play-offs if:
Coventry draw with Middlesbrough, Millwall lose and Blackburn fail to win.
Coventry or Middlesbrough win, Millwall lose and Blackburn fail to win.
Blackburn fail to win, Millwall draw and City lose by no more than four goals, regardless of the result between Coventry and Boro.
Leeds and Burnley are on track to reach 100 points
Who is involved? Leeds United and Burnley
Who are they playing? Millwall (h)
What do they need? Burnley realistically need to better Leeds United's result to win the Championship.
Who are they playing? Plymouth (a)
What do they need? Leeds will be crowned champions if they match Burnley's result, barring the unlikely scenario in which both sides win and the Clarets overhaul a 13-goal margin on goal difference.
These are the title permutations on the final day:
If Leeds and Burnley both win, the Whites will win the title unless Burnley win by 14 goals more than Leeds.
If Leeds win and Burnley fail to win, the Whites will win the title.
If Leeds and Burnley both draw, the Whites will win the title.
If Leeds draw and Burnley win, the Clarets will win the title.
If Leeds lose and Burnley draw, the Clarets will win the title.
Bristol City (5th) v Preston North End (20th)
Burnley (2nd) v Millwall (7th)
Coventry City (6th) v Middlesbrough (9th)
Derby County (19th) v Stoke City (18th)
Norwich City (14th) v Cardiff City (24th)
Plymouth Argyle (23rd) v Leeds United (1st)
Portsmouth (16th) v Hull City (22nd)
Sheffield United (3rd) v Blackburn Rovers (8th)
Sunderland (4th) v QPR (15th)
Swansea City (11th) v Oxford United (17th)
Watford (13th) v Sheffield Wednesday (12th)
West Bromwich Albion (10th) v Luton Town (21st)
