The list of teams that will compete in the 2018/19 Sky Bet Championship moved one step closer to completion yesterday and more teams will find out their fate in the next 48 hours. The final day of the Premier League was played out yesterday and Swansea City were relegated from the top flight. The Welsh outfit lost 2-1 at home to Stoke City to confirm a drop to the second tier that looked certain once they lost at home to Southampton on Tuesday night. That means there are now 20 teams confirmed in the Championship for next season.
A disastrous end of season run for Swansea sent them down. They seemed well placed to avoid the drop at the start of March but did not win in their last nine games, picking up just three points from 27 available. That meant their seventh season in the top flight would be their last for the time being and they can look forward to a trip to Griffin Park next season. Swansea last faced The Bees in league in the 2006/07 season. They won 2-0 home and away on their way to a seventh-place finish in the third tier while Brentford were relegated. Brentford also lost a League Cup tie in South Wales in 2008.
The 20 teams confirmed in the Championship next season are as follows:
Swansea City Stoke City West Bromwich Albion Preston North End Millwall BRENTFORD Sheffield United Bristol City Ipswich Town Leeds United Norwich City Sheffield Wednesday Queens Park Rangers Nottingham Forest Hull City Birmingham City Reading Bolton Wanderers Wigan Athletic Blackburn Rovers
The four remaining places in the Championship for next season will be filled over the next two weeks and there are now just seven teams that could fill them. One place in the Championship will go to the League One Play-Off winners and Shrewsbury Town booked their place in the Wembley final with a 2-0 aggregate win over Charlton Athletic. They will face either Rotherham United or Scunthorpe United, who drew 2-2 in their first meeting on Saturday, at Wembley on 27 May for a place in the second tier.
The three remaining spots in the division for next season will be filled by current Championship teams that fail to win promotion via the Play-Offs. Derby County and Aston Villa are in pole position to meet at Wembley on 26 May after winning their first legs against Fulham and Middlesbrough respectively. The teams will meet again tonight and tomorrow and the winners will then play for a place in the Premier League. One team will go up and the other three will have another visit to Griffin Park to look forward to.
Lots of Bees supporters have already secured their places for our 2018/19 Championship season. All seats are now on General Sale so don’t forget to buy your 2018/19 Season Tickets here before our Early Bird Deadline on Thursday 31 May.