Monster Three Days in EFL Brings Clarity to Two Leagues | OneFootball

We break down the latest in the English Premier and Championship League weekend results and how they impact the not just the title winners, but also the promotion/relegation picture and scrap for European competition.

Two Down; One to Go

Leicester City’s record-setting loss to Liverpool on Sunday sealed their fate. It was their ninth straight home loss without scoring a goal, and while relegation always seemed likely, not until the final whistle was it confirmed. They join Southampton in the journey down a rung in the English soccer pyramid. The Saints, by virtue of a 93th minute salvo from Lesley Ugochukwu to draw them level with West Ham, have at least equalled Derby County’s worst-ever points total of 11. Just one more draw, lads. You can do it!

Staring into the abyss of relegation is Ipswich Town. Mathematically they could still stay up. But then again physiologically swine may fly out of my poop chute. It’s only a question of when.

Two Up; Four to Playoff

Down in the Championship, two teams punched their promotion tickets to the Premier League. Leeds United hosted Stoke City earlier today and put down a 6 – 0 asswhooping, three of those in the first 20 minutes. They then sat in the training room, eyes glued to the telly, watching the later match between second-place Burnley and third-place Sheffield United. When the whistle blew at full time with the Clarets 2 – 1 winners, Leeds and Burnley had both locked in their promotion.

As it happens Sheffield United and fourth-place Sunderland are at least guaranteed positions in the Championship playoff during which the third- through seventh-place teams fight for the remaining open promotion spot to the PL. With two games to go, there are seven teams in the “fight club” between fifth and eleventh, shown below.

The EFL Championship “Fight Club” (Source: Wikipedia)

Watch out for fixtures with those seven teams in the coming fortnight.

We Have a Champion! (Sort of…)

That’s all folks! Cue the WB end card and animate a Porky Pig waving goodbye, cause it’s all over but the trophy elevation and champagne shower for Liverpool. With their (admittedly ugly) victory over Leicester City, they only need an Arsenal loss or a win to don the crown. With five games remaining, it’s bound to happen.

A Premier Battle for Europe

With five spots in the Champions League secured for the PL, it now means a 7th or higher place will guarantee a club some lucrative European football. Obviously, the CL is the place to be, and Liverpool have steering wheel in hand for that trip. That leaves four more seats in the EFL sedan. Nottingham Forest, whose form was a little wobbly the past few ties, got back on track with a nervy 2 – 1 victory at Spurs. With that, here’s what the top of the table looks like now.

The Premier League top half (Source: Wikipedia)

Arsenal and Newcastle have at least secured a berth in the UEFA Championship play-off (please do not confuse the EFL Championship tier below them), but they would prefer to sit shotgun. I offer my condolences to my co-host The Qooligan, whose feverish dream that Crystal Palace would qualify ran aground in last week’s two-fer shellacking. But their nil-nil draw against Bournemouth on Saturday after going down to 10 early did stunt the Cherries growth.

Any fixture in which two of these ten teams play one another has oversized implications now.

The FA Cup Variable

As the winner of the FA Cup automatically qualifies for the Europa League, the outcome of that competition might very well impact the table. Aston Villa, Newcastle and Manchester City are all in the semi-finals