Loan Report: EFL heads into final weekend with Coventry confirmed as champions

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Sky Blues will be in the Premier League next season, while Harrogate attempt to retain their League Two status.

Charlie Hanson

2026-04-27T12:00+01:00

Tommy Watson's Millwall could still win automatic promotion. 📸 by Millwall FC.

Carl Rushworth’s Coventry sealed the Championship title on Sunday as they beat Wrexham 3-1 in the west Midlands.

The Sky Blues are 12 points clear at the top of the table, although the battle below them for the final automatic promotion spot will go down to the final day.

CHAMPIONS. pic.twitter.com/I1mM9i4qgT
— Coventry City (@Coventry_City) April 26, 2026

Ipswich, Millwall and Middlesbrough are all separated by a single point, although the Tractor Boys would in effect seal second place with a win in their game-in-hand against in-form Southampton on Tuesday night.

Tommy Watson came on for the final ten minutes of the Lions’ 1-1 draw against relegated Leicester City, with his team grabbing a late equaliser through Macaulay Langstaff.

The final week of the season is here and it's all to play for in the race for automatic promotion! 😍#EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/TY3Wuxwfma
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) April 27, 2026

It was a more emphatic afternoon for Jeremy Sarmiento as he started in Boro’s 5-1 win over Watford – the Ecuadorian’s 16th appearance for Kim Hellberg’s team.

Not in play-off contention but finishing the season strongly, Birmingham sealed a third win in four as they beat Bristol City 2-1 at St Andrew’s. James Beadle started the game, while Ibrahim Osman missed out through injury.

Further down the second tier, Blackburn Rovers confirmed their place in the league with a game to play as they defeated Sheffield United 2-1 – Eiran Cashin started the game, having helped Rovers to a point against Coventry earlier in the week.

The season is effectively over for Swansea who will finish the campaign in mid-table. Malick Yalcouye started in their 1-1 draw with Norwich City, which also saw the Canaries' faint hopes of a play-off place ended.

Bolton Wanderers sealed their place in the League One play-offs with a 1-1 draw against fellow play-off chasers Bradford City – Amario Cozier-Duberry started that game – and Kamari Doyle got half an hour under his belt in Reading’s defeat to third-tier champions Lincoln City.

One final push 👊 pic.twitter.com/ZvnCNve3Ki
— Harrogate Town AFC (@HarrogateTown) April 25, 2026

Having spent a majority of the campaign in the relegation zone, Harrogate’s fight for survival will go down to the last day after they beat Walsall 2-1 at the Bescot Stadium. Jacob Slater’s team have won three of their last five games, which sees them joint on points with 22nd placed Crawley but four goals worse off on goal difference.

Heading overseas, Melina Loeck’s Hammarby lost 1-0 in their UEFA Women’s Europa Cup final first leg match to Swedish rivals Hacken, with the second leg to take place on Friday.

Diego Coppola’s terrific unbeaten run with Paris FC came to an end on Sunday as they were beaten 1-0 by Lille, while in Germany, Brajan Gruda came on for the final 20 minutes of RB Leipzig’s 3-1 win over Union Berlin. The game marked a fifth consecutive Bundesliga victory for Leipzig, which puts them in the driving seat for a place in next season’s Champions League.

Dordrecht’s league campaign finished over the weekend with a 2-1 defeat to Willem II. Yoon Doyoung played the full 90 minutes, as the defeat saw Dordrecht finish in 10th spot in the 20-team league.