2020 English Football League play-offs

The English Football League play-offs for the 2019–20 season (referred to as the Sky Bet Play-Offs for sponsorship reasons) were held in June, July and August 2020 with all finals played at Wembley Stadium in London. The play-offs began in each league with two semi-finals played over two legs. The teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th place in the Championship and League One and the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th-placed teams in League Two were set to compete. The winners of the semi-finals advanced to the finals, with the winner of the final gaining promotion for the following season.[1]

2020 English Football League play-offs
Wembley Stadium was the venue for each playoff final
Season2019–20
← 2019
2021 →

The away goals rule does not apply in the playoff semi-finals per the standard rules.

Background

The English Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places. The fixtures are determined by final league position – in the Championship and League One this is 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th, while in League Two it is 4th v 7th and 5th v 6th.

Championship
Main article: 2019–20 EFL Championship

The matchups were determined on 22 July 2020 on the conclusion of the league season.

Final league position – Championship
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3Brentford 46249138038+4281
4Fulham 462312116448+1681
5Cardiff City 461916116858+1073
6Swansea City 461816126253+970

First leg

Swansea City1–0Brentford
Ayew  81' Report
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]
Referee: Keith Stroud
Cardiff City0–2Fulham
Report Onomah  49'
Kebano  90+1'
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]
Referee: Geoff Eltringham

Second leg

Brentford3–1Swansea City
Watkins  11'
Marcondes  15'
Mbeumo  46'		 Report Brewster  78'
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]

Brentford won 3–2 on aggregate

Fulham1–2Cardiff City
Kebano  9' Report Nelson  8'
Tomlin  47'
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]
Referee: Paul Tierney

Fulham won 3–2 on aggregate

Championship final
Main article: 2020 EFL Championship play-off Final
Brentford1–2 (a.e.t.)Fulham
Dalsgaard  120+4' Report Bryan  105', 117'
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 2][2]

League One
Main article: 2019–20 EFL League One

After suspending play due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, EFL League One clubs voted to curtail the season, and using points per game (PPG) to decide the final standings.[3]

Final league position – League One
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG
3 Wycombe Wanderers 34 17 8 9 45 40 +5 59 1.74
4 Oxford United 35 17 9 9 61 37 +24 60 1.71
5 Portsmouth 35 17 9 9 53 36 +17 60 1.71
6 Fleetwood Town 35 16 12 7 51 38 +13 60 1.71

League One semi-finals

First leg

Portsmouth1–1Oxford United
Curtis  32' Report Browne  43'
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]
Referee: Gavin Ward
Fleetwood Town1–4Wycombe Wanderers
Evans  4' (pen.) Report Ofoborh  2'
Jacobson  6'
Wheeler  45+3'
Samuel  57'
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]
Referee: Tony Harrington

Second leg

Oxford United1–1 (a.e.t.)Portsmouth
Harrison  45+3' (o.g.) Report Harness  38'
Penalties
Woodburn
Forde
Taylor
Mousinho
Brannagan 		5–4 Marquis
Evans
Brown
McGeehan
Hawkins
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]

2–2 on aggregate, Oxford United won 5–4 on penalties.

Wycombe Wanderers2–2Fleetwood Town
Onyedinma  47', 90+4' Report Andrew  23'
Evans  60' (pen.)
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]
Referee: Darren Bond

Wycombe Wanderers won 6–3 on aggregate.

League One final
Main article: 2020 EFL League One play-off Final
Oxford United1–2Wycombe Wanderers
Sykes  57' Report Stewart  9'
Jacobson  79' (pen.)
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 3]
Referee: Robert Jones

League Two
Main article: 2019–20 EFL League Two

After suspending play due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, EFL League Two clubs voted to curtail the season, and using points per game (PPG) to decide the final standings.[4]

Final league position – League Two
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG
4 Cheltenham Town 36 17 13 6 52 27 +25 64 1.78
5 Exeter City 37 18 11 8 53 43 +10 65 1.76
6 Colchester United 37 15 13 9 52 37 +15 58 1.57
7 Northampton Town 37 17 7 13 54 40 +14 58 1.57

League Two semi-finals
First leg[5]
Colchester United1–0Exeter City
Bramall  81' Report
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]
Referee: Josh Smith (England)


Northampton Town0–2Cheltenham Town
Report Raglan  26'
Thomas  86'
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]
Referee: Marc Edwards (England)
Second leg[6]
Exeter City3–1 (a.e.t.)Colchester United
Martin  10'
Richardson  58'
Bowman  111'		 Report Senior  78'
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]
Referee: Charles Breakspear (England)

Exeter City won 3–2 on aggregate.

Cheltenham Town0–3Northampton Town
Report Oliver  9'
Morton  57', 77'
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]
Referee: Leigh Doughty (England)

Northampton Town won 3–2 on aggregate.

League Two final
Main article: 2020 EFL League Two play-off Final
Exeter City0–4Northampton Town
[7] Watson  11'
Morton  31'
Hoskins  80'
Williams  89'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Michael Salisbury

Notes
  1. The semi-finals and final would be played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
  2. The final was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
  3. The final was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

References
  1. "EFL rules and relegations".
  2. "Next up: Fulham". Brentford F.C. 31 July 2020. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  3. "EFL League One clubs vote to end season".
  4. "EFL League Two clubs vote to end season".
  5. "Sky Bet EFL Play-off dates confirmed".
  6. "Sky Bet EFL Play-off dates confirmed".
  7. Pilnick, Brent (29 June 2020). "Exeter City 0–4 Northampton Town". Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
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