Championship 2015: Final Fixtures, Promotion and Play-off Permutations
After a long, gruelling season, the final weekend of the Championship is here once again, and there's plenty still to play for with the play-off places not yet locked down.
Rotherham United secured their survival and consigned Millwall and Wigan Athletic to League One with their 2-1 win over Reading on Tuesday. Blackpool, 20 points adrift of safety, were relegated with six games to go.
Read on for a full list of final-day fixtures and promotion permutations.
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| Date | Fixture | Kick-off time (BST/ET) |
| Saturday, May 2 | Blackburn Rovers vs. Ipswich Town | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 2 | Blackpool vs. Huddersfield Town | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 2 | Bolton Wanderers vs. Birmingham City | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 2 | Brentford vs. Wigan Athletic | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 2 | Charlton Athletic vs. Bournemouth | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 2 | Derby County vs. Reading | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 2 | Leeds United vs. Rotherham United | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 2 | Middlesbrough vs. Brighton | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 2 | Norwich City vs. Fulham | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 2 | Nottingham Forest vs. Cardiff City | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 2 | Watford vs. Sheffield Wednesday | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Millwall | 12:15 p.m./7:15 a.m. |
Promotion Permutations
Watford, assured of an automatic promotion place, need to equal or better Bournemouth's result to be crowned champions.
The Hornets enjoy a home tie against the inconsistent Sheffield Wednesday. Having won five games in a row, Watford should have enough about them to see off the Owls.
Bournemouth, three points clear of Middlesbrough in third place, are all but assured of automatic promotion thanks to their far superior goal difference.
The Cherries' rise to stardom has been welcomed by the footballing community, including the Birmingham Mail's Ryan Leister:
Bournemouth's opponents Charlton Athletic aren't going to let them celebrate just yet, though, if this tongue-in-cheek tweet is anything to go by:
Norwich City and Middlesbrough, being five and six points ahead of Ipswich Town respectively, are guaranteed a play-off place, so all that remains for them is who they will face, with third taking on sixth and fourth meeting fifth.
However Ipswich, Derby County, Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers are separated by just three points, so there could well be movement between the four by the time the final whistles are blown around the country.
Ipswich and Derby's destinies are in their own hands.
A draw for either will be enough to secure a play-off place, barring Brentford or Wolves winning by a staggeringly unrealistic margin.
However, losing will put either side at serious risk of being pipped to the post.
Ipswich have won three of their last four and Derby are unbeaten in their last six, which bodes well as they head into their crunch clashes.
Ipswich face the trickiest match on the final day, being the only of the four sides to play away from home and also the only to face a top-half team.
Derby welcome a poor Reading team to Pride Park. Even so, the Chronicle's Mark Douglas believes that Derby's promotion push is off-track, the Rams having conceded seven in their last two matches and manager Steve McClaren being repeatedly linked with the vacant Newcastle United job, per Lee Ryder of the Chronicle.
Brentford will by eyeing a play-off place with great relish, as they host the already relegated Wigan.
With little to play for, the demoralised Wigan will be there for the taking, and a win will firmly put a cat among the pigeons.
With their inferior goal difference, Wolves are the outside bet for achieving a play-off place.
Ryan Leister helpfully sums up what Wolves need in order to finish in the top six:
However, Leister was critical of Wolves boss Kenny Jackett after their narrow win over Wigan in their last outing:
Like Brentford, Wolves face an already relegated team, so three points are a definite possibility.
With Wolves, Brentford and Derby all likely to win, the pressure is on Ipswich to hold their nerve in a difficult away tie.
Blackburn, unbeaten in their last six, will have a big say in who's crying tears of joy and who's crying tears of despair on the final day.
