2023 English Football League Play-offs

The English Football League play-offs for the 2022–23 season (referred to as the Sky Bet Play-Offs for sponsorship reasons) were held in May 2023 with all finals being staged at Wembley Stadium in Wembley.

The play-offs begin in each league with two semi-finals which are played over two legs. The teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Championship and League One and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th-placed teams in League Two compete. The winners of the semi-finals advance to the finals, with the winners gaining promotion for the following season.

Background

The English Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places. The fixtures are determined by final league position – in the Championship and League One this is 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th, while in League Two it is 4th v 7th and 5th v 6th.

Championship

Championship semi-finals

The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 8 May 2023. Going into the final day, Luton Town and Middlesbrough had already confirmed their places in their play-offs, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. Coventry City started and finished the day in 5th with a draw over Middlesbrough being enough to ensure both teams would face each other in the semi-finals. Millwall started the day in 6th, but Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion, and Blackburn Rovers all remained in the hunt for the last spot at the start of play. West Bromwich Albion missed out after a loss against Swansea City. Millwall fell to 8th as they lost against fellow hopefuls Blackburn Rovers who also missed out in 7th on goal difference. Sunderland's win against Preston North End meant that they secured 6th spot and face Luton Town in the semi-finals, giving themselves the chance to be promoted via the play-offs for the second season in a row after they won the 2022 League One play-off final last season.

First leg

Second leg

''Luton Town won 3–2 on aggregate.''

'' Coventry City won 1–0 on aggregate. ''

Championship final

Luton Town were promoted to the Premier League and will play there alongside automatically promoted teams Burnley and Sheffield United.

League One

League One Semi-Finals

The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 7 May 2023. Going into the final day, Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley had already guaranteed a place in the play-offs, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. Bolton Wanderers had also guaranteed their place in the play-offs and won their game against Bristol Rovers to finish 5th, ensuring they played Barnsley in the semi-finals. Derby County were 6th with only a win being able to guarantee a play-off spot with any other result opening the door for Peterborough United, who needed to win. Peterborough United beat Barnsley, while Derby County lost to Sheffield Wednesday. This meant that Peterborough United finished 6th and faced Sheffield Wednesday in the semi-finals, while Derby County finished 7th.

First leg

Second leg

''5–5 on aggregate. Sheffield Wednesday won 5–3 on penalties.''

'' Barnsley won 2–1 on aggregate.''

League One Final

The winner of this match will join Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town in being promoted to the EFL Championship and will play in the 2023–24 EFL Championship season.

League Two

League Two Semi-Finals

The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 8 May 2023. Going into the final day, Stockport County had already secured a play-off place and could still have finished 3rd if they had won and Northampton Town failed to win in the last game of the season, due to Stockport County's superior goal difference. However, Stockport drew with already relegated Hartlepool United on the final day while Northampton Town won against Tranmere Rovers, consigning Stockport County to 4th. Carlisle United, Salford City, and Bradford City all had 75 points on the final day with Mansfield Town still in with a chance of displacing any of them on the final day of the season should they win and one of the other 3 teams lose in enough of a goal swing. Carlisle United and Bradford City managed to secure draws with Sutton United and champions Leyton Orient respectively to secure their places. Carlisle United finished 5th due to their superior goal difference over Bradford City in 6th. However, Salford City lost 1–0 to Gillingham but just managed to secure 7th as Mansfield Town only won 2–0 against Colchester United and needed to score 1 more goal to surpass Salford City. The results ensured that Stockport County played Salford City and Carlisle United played Bradford City over 2 legs respectively.

First leg

Second leg

''2–2 on Aggregate. Stockport County won 3–1 on penalties.''
''Carlisle United won 3–2 on aggregate.''

League Two Final

Carlisle United are promoted to EFL League One and will play in the 2023–24 EFL League One season with promoted Leyton Orient, Stevenage and Northampton Town.

References

{{2022–23 in English men's football

Play-offs
English Football League play-offs
EFL