Curtis Davies reacts to 'exciting' EFL Championship change that could happen | OneFootball

Curtis Davies has delivered his verdict on the news that the Championship is set to have six teams competing in next season's play-offs.

Curtis Davies has delivered his verdict on the news that the Championship play-offs will likely include six teams from next season.

The Sky Sports pundit formerly represented the likes of Derby County, Hull City, and Birmingham City in the Championship, starring as a defender.

The Rams, the Tigers and Blues are all vying for a place in this season's play-offs, and will have to land a top-six spot to give themselves a chance of earning a place in next season's Premier League.

Meanwhile, Championship clubs are set to vote to allow teams finishing seventh and eighth into the play-offs, which has been a major talking point this week.

Curtis Davies speaks in favour of Championship play-offs expansion

Davies played in both the Championship and the Premier League, so he knows the gulf in class between the two divisions, while the second-tier's proposals will allow more teams the opportunity to book their spot in the top flight.

Meanwhile, speaking on Sky Sports' Essential EFL podcast, the 40-year-old said: "If you did take it down to eighth, that makes it even more exciting.

"We’ve spoken about it recently in terms of the relegated three being the promoted three. This season, it’s very unlikely that’s going to happen, with obviously Leicester’s situation, the current position Southampton sit.

"It’s very unlikely that’s going to happen. By having eight in there, it just means that you’re giving sides that, particularly as you come through the levels of the EFL, you’re giving sides that probably never dreamt that they could make the play-offs a realistic chance of doing so."

As outlined by Davies, Southampton and Leicester, who were both relegated from the Premier League last term, appear unlikely to finish in the play-offs this season.

Meanwhile, largely thanks to their six-point deduction, the Foxes would be unlikely to qualify for the play-offs, even if they included the teams in seventh and eighth this season.

Hull City would have benefited if Championship play-off changes arrived sooner

Davies made 144 appearances for Hull between 2013 and 2017, representing the Tigers in both the Championship and the Premier League, while scoring seven goals in the process.

The ex-defender's former club were left gutted at the end of the 2023/24 second-tier season, when they finished seventh, and just three points behind sixth-place Norwich City.

That narrow margin was the difference between reaching the play-offs or not, and ultimately prompted the Tigers to sack Liam Rosenior, before he went on to join Strasbourg and, more recently, Chelsea.

Hull had talented players among their ranks that campaign, including Fabio Carvalho, who joined Rosenior's side on loan from Liverpool midway through the season.

The attacking midfielder, who went on to join Brentford in the summer of 2024, impressively notched nine goals and two assists in 20 Championship appearances for the MKM Stadium outfit.

Meanwhile, once the Championship play-offs are expanded to include the teams who finish seventh and eighth, more sides of a similar quality to the 2023/24 Hull team will be handed a deserved opportunity to fight for a Premier League spot.