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

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]

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

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

Brentford1–2 (a.e.t.)Fulham
Dalsgaard 120+4' Report Bryan 105', 117'
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 2][2]

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

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

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


Northampton Town0–2Cheltenham Town
Report Raglan 26'
Thomas 86'
Attendance: 0[lower-alpha 1]
Referee: Marc Edwards
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

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

Northampton Town won 3–2 on aggregate.

League Two final

Exeter City0–4Northampton Town
Report Watson 11'
Morton 31'
Hoskins 80'
Williams 89'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Michael Salisbury

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 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".
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