Jamie Griffith: There may be more twists to come on a chaotic EFL final day

Where to watch the EFL final day

Coventry vs Middlsbrough
Championship, 12.30pm Sky Sports Main Event

West Brom vs Luton
Championship, 12.30pm Sky Sports Football

All other Championship matches can be watched on Sky Sports+ at 12.30pm

Huddersfield vs Leyton Orient
League One, 3pm Sky Sports Main Event

All other League One and League Two matches can be watched on Sky Sports+ at 3pm

Best bets the EFL final day

Preston to be relegated
1pt 5-2 Hills

Blackburn to finish in the top six
1pt 9-2 bet365

Port Vale to win League Two
1pt 5-4 general

EFL final day predictions

So it all comes down to this. In most leagues everything would be wrapped up after a mammoth 45-game season but the Championship, League One and League Two continue to go against the norm. 

There is still plenty up for grabs in all three divisions, but the most tense battle is the race for survival in the Championship. 

Cardiff have already had their fate sealed while Plymouth are set to join them in League One such is their vastly inferior goal difference, meaning there are five teams fighting to avoid landing in the final relegation spot. 

Hull head into the final day in the most peril, but they have the luxury of being one of the only two endangered sides facing a team with nothing to play for. The Tigers head to Portsmouth on the final day and Pompey, who are already safe, may already be eyeing up beaches much further afield than Southsea. 

With that in mind, a win is not out of reach for Hull and it could be best to swerve the 11-8 favourites for the drop. 

A win for the Tigers would leave Luton sweating. The Hatters are just one point above the drop zone but, like Hull, Matt Bloomfield’s men play a side with little on the line and they are the form team of the five in danger. 

Luton have beaten relegation rivals Derby and playoff-chasing pair Coventry and Bristol City in their last three games and will fancy their chances against a dejected West Brom at the Hawthorns. 

Quotes of 5-2 about the Hatters suffering successive relegations can also be swerved and if Luton and Hull are expected to win, backing Preston to go down becomes an attractive wager. 

North End are winless in eight, having lost the last four, and are just one point clear of the relegation zone. To make matters worse, their final game comes at Bristol City, a team who know a win will secure a place in the playoffs. 

The Lilywhites could be saved if Stoke thrash Derby on the final day, as there is little between Preston's and the Rams’ goal difference, but the form of the two sides in action at Pride Park suggests it is the hosts who will come out on top and secure safety. 

Preston’s ten-year stay in the second tier may finally be over and their price for relegation is big enough for a final-day bet. 

Bristol City are fancied to beat North End so it is no surprise to see they are 1-12 to finish in the top six, but who will join them is of more intrigue. 

Coventry are currently sixth but face Middlesbrough on the final day. A win for ninth-placed Boro would see them leapfrog the Sky Blues, but they would need Millwall and Blackburn to drop points at Burnley and Sheffield United to jump into the top six. 

There is a good chance that Millwall will fall short, as Burnley will want to win as they look to pip Leeds to the title, but Blackburn have a better chance of landing three points at Sheffield United, who could rest players with the playoffs on the horizon. 

Rovers, who have won four straight games, are a big price to pinch a top-six spot. A draw between Coventry and Boro is not inconceivable and that, along with a Lions loss, would see them steal sixth. 

Blackburn are in fine form and are closing in on a place in the playoffsCredit: CameraSport via Getty Images

There is less jeopardy in League One, where Birmingham are simply looking to extend their already record-breaking points total at the summit, all four relegation places are accounted for and there is just one playoff spot up for grabs. 

Sixth-placed Leyton Orient head to Huddersfield on the final day knowing a win will cement that spot, as Reading are unlikely to achieve an eight-goal swing against Barnsley. 

Both sides should win but with such a disparity in goal difference, Orient’s 8-13 price for a top-six finish looks fair but too short to back. 

There is far more intrigue in League Two, where Notts County’s visit from Doncaster shows just how much there is to play for. A win for County and defeats for Bradford and Walsall will earn the home side promotion, but Donny know three points will secure the title. 

Second-placed Port Vale should have no trouble against lowly Gillingham, so Rovers will be keen to avoid a slip-up. Although Notts County are an excellent side, it could be worth taking the odds-against for Vale to snatch the crown on the final day. 

There are still two playoff places up for grabs in the fourth tier and whoever wins when Grimsby host Wimbledon will seal one of those. The Mariners are not in the best form, though, so there may be no big twist in the top-seven race and Wimbledon and Salford are expected to hold on to their spots. 

Read more:

James Milton: Saints could catch Foxes napping in battle at the bottom 

Simon Giles: Liverpool's evolution will be fascinating but overachieving Forest may slip back next term 

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