Key events
Bill Preston gets in touch: “I think Wednesday beating West Brom and finishing on zero points, the same as they began the season with*, would be fitting. It would reflect a new start to the club, a fresh page, a story yet to be written.
“Although, one can’t help but feel I’ll be writing the same email again this time next year albeit into the League One finale if they get the expected fourteen points deduction post takeover and slide again.”
Derby v Sheff Utd teams
Derby: Zetterstrom, Ward, Langas, Clarke, Forsyth, Ozoh, Travis, Brereton Diaz, Szmodics, Banel, Morris. Subs: Vickers, Batth, Salvesen, Johnston, Sanderson, Fraulo, Eames, Clark, Allen.
Sheff Utd: Adam Davies, Seriki, Tanganga, McGuinness, Burrows, Hamer, Peck, Arblaster, O’Hare, Bamford, Cannon. Subs: Ings, Hoever, Soumare, Chong, Sasnauskas, Riedewald, Rothwell, Betts, McGlinchey.
Speaking of Wrexham:
Wrexham AFC, the football club part-owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, used taxpayer funds to re-lay its pitch, even though initial grant documents assessing the state investment did not make reference to it.
The club has been awarded £18m in grants, with the first £3.8m tranche in February 2022. However, legally required state aid documents relating to that initial grant made no reference to the pitch works.
Wrexham v Middlesbrough teams
Wrexham: Ward, Hyam, Scarr, Doyle, Kabore, Dobson, Matty James, Rathbone, Thomason, Windass, Smith. Subs: Okonkwo, Cleworth, Keillor-Dunn, Cacace, Sheaf, Moore, O’Brien, Broadhead, Longman.
Middlesbrough: Brynn, Ayling, Fry, Malanda, Targett, Browne, Morris, Brittain, Whittaker, Strelec, Conway. Subs: Wildsmith, McGree, Gilbert, Kaly Sene, Silvera, Castledine, Edmundson, Hansen, Sarmiento.
Should Sheffield Wednesday beat West Brom today, they will climb to a total of zero points, nil point, if you will
Millwall v Oxford teams
Millwall: Patterson, Leonard, Crama, Cooper, Sturge, De Norre, Bannan, Azeez, Neghli, Ballo, Ivanovic. Subs: Crocombe, McNamara, Mitchell, Doughty, Langstaff, Watson, Cundle, Smallbone, Mazou-Sacko.
Oxford: Cumming, ter Avest, Helik, Brown, Spencer, Vaulks, Konak, Mills, Donley, Emakhu, Lankshear. Subs: Ingram, Long, Brannagan, Harris, Currie, Jeon, Makosso, McDonnell, Peart-Harris.
Hull v Norwich teams
Hull: Pandur, Coyle, Hughes, Egan, Giles, Slater, Crooks, Belloumi, Gelhardt, Millar, McBurnie. Subs: Phillips, Lundstram, Ajayi, Hirakawa, Joseph, Gyabi, Dowell, Koumas, McNair.
Norwich: Kovacevic, Stacey, McConville, Cordoba, Fisher, Mattsson, Wright, Forson, Ben Slimane, Ahmed, Toure. Subs: Grimshaw, Darling, Gibbs, Maghoma, Field, Schlupp, Kvistgaarden, Springett, Mundle-Smith.
Ipswich v QPR teams
Ipswich: Walton, Davis, O’Shea, Greaves, Furlong, Matusiwa, Taylor, Burns, Nunez, Philogene-Bidace, Hirst. Subs: Palmer, Kipre, Neil, Johnson, McAteer, Akpom, Azon, Mehmeti, Clarke.
QPR: Walsh, Mbengue, Edwards, Clarke-Salter, Norrington-Davies, Bennie, Varane, Morgan, Madsen, Vale, Chair. Subs: Salamon, Adamson, Smyth, Saito, Hayden, Esquerdinha, Smith, Alemayehu, Scarlett.
Preston v Southampton teams
Preston: Iversen, Storey, Lindsay, Hughes, Potts, Devine, Whiteman, Moran, Vukcevic, Dobbin, Jebbison. Subs: Cornell, Valentin, McCann, Brady, Thompson, Smith, Small, Osmajic, Offiah.
Southampton: Peretz, Charles, Harwood-Bellis, Wood-Gordon, Welington, Bragg, Jander, Fellows, Archer, Scienza, Stewart. Subs: Long, Quarshie, Bree, Manning, Romeu, Edozie, Azaz, Larin, Oyekunle.
Preamble
It’s a big day in the north, and south. The east, too. It all comes down to this. It’s been a vintage Championship season, and though the bottom three has been decided – farewell, Sheff Wed, Leicester and Oxford – there’s automatic promotion and playoffs to be decided. Make no mistake: this is massive.
Automatic promotion, the key games:
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Preston v Southampton
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Wrexham v Middlesbrough
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Millwall v Oxford
Playoffs, the key games:
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Preston v Southampton
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Wrexham v Middlesbrough
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Hull v Norwich
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Derby v Sheffield United
It all kicks off at 12.30pm, UK time.
Following that a huge day in the Premier League, and in League One and League Two, too. Join me.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/may/02/championship-finale-ipswich-millwall-and-middlesbrough-vie-for-automatic-promotion-live
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