Football League play-offs: Your guide to the action in the Championship, League One and League Two

It’s the sweetest time of the Football League year, as the play-off festivities kick off at London Road on Friday and culminate with three Wembley finals over the last Bank Holiday weekend in May.

Wonders of the Pyramid takes you through all the key talking points…

CHAMPIONSHIP

LUTON TOWN vs SUNDERLAND

First leg: Stadium of Light, Saturday, May 13 at 5:30 p.m

Second leg: Kenilworth Road, Tuesday 16 May at 8pm

When Alex Neil sensationally quit the Black Cats to join Stoke four weeks into the season – how did that turn out? – Sunderland fans feared the worst.

After being trapped in the third level for four years, they idolized Neil for finally getting them out of the doldrums. Tony Mowbray replaced the Scot, initially to skepticism, and they won just three games out of 12 after Neil’s departure.

But the 59-year-old has since done a fantastic job of guiding Sunderland into the top six with a nine-match unbeaten run to finish the season. His appointment was seen as a safe option in a campaign in which consolidation and security were taken for granted, but they have excelled.

His team is the youngest in the country by average age – only three of the 11 who beat Preston on the final day are over 22 – and they are the first promoted team since Brentford in 2015 to finish in the top six.

Amad Diallo, owned by Manchester United, is the star player and the best mercenary one can remember in recent seasons. Patrick Roberts and Jack Clarke live up to the potential, making big strides to Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.

However, how will the youthful side fare against a wily, hard-to-beat Luton side? The Hatters finished in the playoffs under Nathan Jones last season, but Rob Edwards has taken them to a new level. Formerly known as a direct team, Luton is now versatile.

Edwards, who led Forest Green to promotion for a very brief spell at Watford last season, took over from Jones in November and has lost just three of 25 games and conceded 17 goals.

The star man is defender Tom Lockyer, who will make his 100th Luton appearance in the playoffs, while striker Carlton Morris has scored 20 goals this season.

Also keep an eye out for Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, who joined the club 10 years ago in the National League and, if successful, would be the first player to move from non-league to Premier League with the same club.

Luton are the best team in the playoffs, but how will they fare in front of a raucous, sold-out Stadium of Light?

COVENTRY vs MIDDLESBROUGH

First leg: Coventry Building Society Arena, Sunday 14th May at 12pm

Second leg: Riverside Stadium, Wednesday, May 17 at 8 p.m

Millwall boss Gary Rowett ran the London Marathon last month so he knows how important it is to finish on a high note, but despite spending 126 days in the top six this season they were snapped to a play-off spot by Coventry, staying there only 17 days!

The Sky Blues’ story is one of this season’s most romantic when seen in the context of the past decade.

Mark Robins’ side were handed a five-point deduction – thankfully suspended – in December for a stadium farce that saw three matches postponed due to an unplayable surface caused by the Commonwealth Games rugby sevens.

They were only 24th in mid-October with two wins from their first 11 games and their championship status seemed to be in jeopardy. That may of course still be the case, but in a positive sense. Robins’ men have lost just one of their last 17 games.

Sterman is Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres, who let Brighton go in 2021, a rare hiccup in the Seagulls transfer market. He contributes so much, with 21 goals and 10 assists.

Coventry have spent more than £1.5 million on a player on only one occasion since 2008. That was midfield maestro Gustavo Hamer. With nine goals and ten assists, the Dutchman is the key figure.

Boro were just one point out of the bottom three as Michael Carrick took over. Had they changed bosses five games earlier, Boro would have made a beeline for the top two after a run of 15 wins in Carrick’s first 20 games.

Worryingly, they are down towards the end with just two wins from their last seven. But they have a balanced team that stars the league’s top scorer, Chuba Akpom, with 28 goals.

Akpom started his career at Arsenal, but had completed six loan spells before joining PAOK in Greece. He scored more than 10 goals for just one of those clubs. But Carrick has revived his career at Boro.

More impressively, he’s done so from a deeper No. 10 role, often behind Cameron Archer. Aside from Akpom, fullback Ryan Giles has 11 top-flight assists, while young Hayden Hackney, 20, forms a formidable midfield axis with the highly experienced Jonny Howson.

The final of the championship play-offs will be played on Saturday, May 27 at 4:45 p.m.

LEAG ONE

PETERBOROUGH VS SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

First leg: ABAX Stadium, Friday 12 May at 8 p.m

Second leg: Hillsborough, Thursday, May 18 at 8 p.m

Sheffield Wednesday’s points tally of 96 would have been enough to secure promotion in any League One season, but Darren Moore, who led the Owls to a club record 22 game unbeaten run, is now under pressure.

His side is the better of these two teams, but Posh is playing with little to lose, having crept into the playoffs on the final day. Wednesday fans will likely be clamoring for Moore’s head if they don’t win a promotion.

Darren Ferguson is on his fourth stint at Peterborough and deserves credit for his work. Jonson Clarke-Harris, with 26 goals, and Jack Taylor are the dangerous men.

BOLTON vs BARNSLEY

First leg: University of Bolton Stadium, Saturday 13 May at 3pm

Second leg: Oakwell, Friday, May 19 at 8 p.m

This is a difficult band to name. Michael Duff’s Barnsley have been the better team this season but are stumbling in the playoffs with just one win in their last five.

Ian Evatt’s side have big game experience and beat Plymouth 4-0 in the Papa John’s Trophy final at Wembley. They also lost only five home games this season.

Duff’s Tykes are a blast to watch – their last 10 games have seen a total of 36 goals and you wouldn’t bet that this is a high scoring affair.

League One play-off final will be played on Sunday 28 May at 1.30pm

LEAG TWO

SALFORD CITY vs STOCKPORT

First leg: Peninsula Stadium, Saturday, May 13 at 7:45 p.m

Second leg: Edgeley Park, Saturday, May 20 at 12:30 p.m

Stockport missed out on promotion on the final day, but went into the League Two play-offs as favorites, despite this being their first season in the Football League after an 11-year absence.

Manager Dave Challinor has a great resume. Should he lead County to League One, it will be his third successive promotion, having done so for the side at Hartlepool last year.

It doesn’t end there – he also boasts promotions at Colwyn Bay and three at AFC Fylde – plus an FA Trophy at the Lancashire club.

Striker Kyle Wootton has scored 14 goals and four assists this season but is injured and will be a big miss, although veteran Irishman Paddy Madden is a decent goalscorer.

Stockport are well-practiced at the back, conceding just 37 goals, but Salford are a very easy attacking side under former Manchester United coach Neil Wood.

They have scored 72 goals in League Two – no team has more – but Gary Neville’s club have angered local opposition by giving Stockport just 536 goals.

BRADFORD CITY vs CARLISLE

First leg: Northern Commercials Stadium, Sunday May 14 at 7pm

Second leg: Brunton Park, Saturday, May 20 at 3 p.m

Ticket sales are expected to pass 22,000 at Valley Parade and Bradford comes out as the favorite on this tie, despite finishing lower than Carlisle at the table. Mark Hughes loves Yorkshire life and even got into a fight with a player from Crewe last week.

Sparky’s star player is Andy Cook, who has 28 goals and eight assists this season. Eight of those goals have come in the last 11 games, as many as Carlisle – stumbling over the line – managed to score.

Paul Simpson inherited a team 23rd in League Two towards the end of last season and deserves a lot of credit for his job at Carlisle.

League Two play-off final will be played on Monday 29 May at 3pm