Clubs up and down the country still have all to play for in 2017/18 but Brentford are one club that know their fate. The Bees know they will be playing Sky Bet Championship football in 2018/19 and Brentford fans can plan for the last full season at Griffin Park before a move to our new home in late 2019 to be the fifth in a row in the second tier of English football. Brentford are one of ten Sky Bet Championship teams that can no longer go up or down and will stay in the second tier.
Two more team have also secured their place in the Championship for next season. Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers have secured promotion from Sky Bet League One and will return to the second tier a year after relegation. The pair are still battling for the League One title and that will be settled on the final day of the League One season on Saturday.
The 12 teams confirmed in the Championship next season are as follows:
BRENTFORD Bristol City Sheffield United Norwich City Ipswich Town Leeds United Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Nottingham Forest Hull City Wigan Athletic Blackburn Rovers
That means that the Brentford v Hull City fixture taking place this Sunday will also take place next season. Tickets are still available for this season’s finale. More information is available here.
The 12 remaining places in the Championship for next season will be filled over the next month and there are more than 20 teams that could fill them. Three teams will be coming down from the Premier League and with 11 days of the season to go, mathematically, ten teams could fill those spots. West Bromwich Albion are likely to be relegated as they sit five points from safety with two games left to play while Stoke City and Southampton are currently in the bottom three. Swansea City, Huddersfield Town, West Ham United, Brighton and Hove Albion, Watford, AFC Bournemouth and Crystal Palace are all still seeking the points to make themselves safe.
The battle to win promotion from League One is a little more straightforward with the top two places already secure. One more team will win promotion via the Play-Offs and three of the four spots in the end-of-season contest have been taken by Shrewsbury Town, Rotherham United and Scunthorpe United. Charlton Athletic are in pole position to take the fourth Play-Off spot but could miss out to Plymouth Argyle if results go against them on Saturday.
The eight remaining spots in the division for next season will be filled by current Championship teams. There are seven teams fighting for two remaining promotion spots with Wolverhampton Wanderers already securing a Premier League spot for next season. One of Cardiff City or Fulham will win automatic promotion with the former in pole position. The other will fight for promotion via the Play-Offs with Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and one other team. Derby County are currently occupying the last Play-Off spot but can be overtaken by Preston North End or, if they pick up a very big win on the final day of the season, Millwall.
At the other end of the table, Sunderland have been relegated and there are five teams battling to avoid joining them in League One. Bolton Wanderers and Burton Albion are currently in the drop zone but if either or both win on Sunday there are three teams – Barnsley, Birmingham City and Reading – that could go down.
Whatever happens over the next month, the Sky Bet Championship will be a thrilling division next season. Season Tickets are on sale now and Early Bird prices are available until 31 May. Full information on Season Tickets can be seen at seasontickets.brentfordfc.com.