The 2019–20 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 4th season of the EFL Championship under its current title and the 28th season under its current league division format. Leeds United won the title, with West Bromwich Albion following in second. Brentford finished closely in third, only to lose in the playoff final to 4th placed Fulham, a narrow 2–1 victory at Wembley.
| Season | 2019–20 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 2 August 2019 – 4 August 2020 |
| Champions | Leeds United 1st Championship title 4th 2nd tier title |
| Promoted | Leeds United West Bromwich Albion Fulham |
| Relegated | Charlton Athletic Wigan Athletic Hull City |
| Matches played | 552 |
| Goals scored | 1,457 (2.64 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Aleksandar Mitrović (Fulham) (26 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Wigan Athletic 8–0 Hull City (14 July 2020) |
| Biggest away win | Sheffield Wednesday 0–5 Blackburn Rovers (18 January 2020) Luton Town 0–5 Reading (4 July 2020) |
| Highest scoring | Birmingham City 4–5 Leeds United (29 December 2019) |
| Longest winning run | Brentford (8 matches) |
| Longest unbeaten run | West Bromwich Albion (14 matches) |
| Longest winless run | Barnsley (17 matches) |
| Longest losing run | Huddersfield Town Hull City (6 matches each) |
| Highest attendance | 36,514 Leeds United 2–0 Huddersfield Town (7 March 2020) |
| Lowest attendance | 8,965 Wigan Athletic 1–3 Reading (30 November 2019)[1] |
| Total attendance | 8,251,897[1] |
| Average attendance | 18,585[1] |
← 2018–19 2020–21 → | |
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
Summarize
Perspective
The season was halted, following a decision on 13 March 2020 to suspend the league after a number of players and other club staff became ill due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial suspension was until 4 April, which was then extended until 30 April.[2][3] On 13 May, following a meeting, the clubs decided to continue with the season with plans for players to return to training on 25 May.[4]
In May, 1014 tests were carried out across all of the English Football League and funded by the clubs. Two people from Hull City returned positive results.[5] Later in May, Elliott Bennett of Blackburn Rovers tested positive for the virus as did two unnamed players from Fulham.[6] In further tests, Jayden Stockley of Preston North End tested positive as did one unnamed person from both Cardiff City and Middlesbrough.[7] On 31 May, the EFL stated plans to restart the league on 20 June, with the play-off final being scheduled for around 30 July, subject to safety requirement and government approval being met.[8]
On 7 June, two Championship clubs reported one person each to have tested positive of coronavirus, during the latest round of testing. A total of 1,179 people were tested in the duration of four days and those tested positive were required to self-isolate, as per EFL guidelines.[9] On 8 June, the first round of fixtures was released. The first set of fixtures following the restart was scheduled for 20 June with the first fixture being Fulham against Brentford with a 12:30pm kick-off.[10] In a further round of testing on 8 June, Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill tested positive for the virus having tested negative in five previous rounds of testing. A practice game between Stoke and Manchester United was called off at short notice with the Stoke players already in United's Carrington training ground.[11]
Team changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2018–19 season.
To Championship
Promoted from League One
Relegated from Premier League
From Championship
Promoted to Premier League
Relegated to League One
Stadiums
Locations of the 2019–20 EFL Championship teams
Greater London Championship football clubs
- 1 The capacity of Craven Cottage will be reduced from 25,700 to 19,000 for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons due to the redevelopment of the Riverside Stand which will increase the capacity to 29,600.[13]
Personnel and sponsoring
- ^ Clotet was initially appointed as caretaker manager before he was appointed on a permanent basis on 4 December 2019.[35]
- ^ Bristol City's captain was Bailey Wright in the first half of the season, but he left on 21 January to join Sunderland on loan.[36] Vice-captain Josh Brownhill served in this position between 21 and 30 January when he left for Burnley, no replacement has been named as of 30 January.
- ^ Derby County's captain was Richard Keogh until his contract was terminated on 30 October 2019,[37] with Curtis Davies acting in this position from 30 October until 1 January 2020.
- ^ Huddersfield Town's shirt does not display Paddy Power's logo as part of the bookmakers' "Save Our Shirt" campaign.
- ^ Queens Park Rangers' shirt sponsor was Royal Panda until 29 January 2020 when they decided to leave the United Kingdom market.
Managerial changes
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds United (C, P) | 46 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 77 | 35 | +42 | 93 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion (P) | 46 | 22 | 17 | 7 | 77 | 45 | +32 | 83 | |
| 3 | Brentford | 46 | 24 | 9 | 13 | 80 | 38 | +42 | 81 | Qualification for Championship play-offs[a] |
| 4 | Fulham (O, P) | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 64 | 48 | +16 | 81 | |
| 5 | Cardiff City | 46 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 68 | 58 | +10 | 73 | |
| 6 | Swansea City | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 62 | 53 | +9 | 70 | |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 70 | |
| 8 | Millwall | 46 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 57 | 51 | +6 | 68 | |
| 9 | Preston North End | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 59 | 54 | +5 | 66 | |
| 10 | Derby County | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 62 | 64 | −2 | 64 | |
| 11 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 66 | 63 | +3 | 63 | |
| 12 | Bristol City | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 60 | 65 | −5 | 63 | |
| 13 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 67 | 76 | −9 | 58 | |
| 14 | Reading | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 59 | 58 | +1 | 56 | |
| 15 | Stoke City | 46 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 62 | 68 | −6 | 56 | |
| 16 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 58 | 66 | −8 | 56 | |
| 17 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 53 | |
| 18 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 52 | 70 | −18 | 51 | |
| 19 | Luton Town | 46 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 54 | 82 | −28 | 51 | |
| 20 | Birmingham City | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 54 | 75 | −21 | 50 | |
| 21 | Barnsley | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 49 | 69 | −20 | 49 | |
| 22 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 50 | 65 | −15 | 48 | Relegation to EFL League One |
| 23 | Wigan Athletic (R) | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 57 | 56 | +1 | 47[b] | |
| 24 | Hull City (R) | 46 | 12 | 9 | 25 | 57 | 87 | −30 | 45 |
Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences[79]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences[79]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Four teams play for one spot and promotion to the Premier League.
- As a result of Wigan Athletic entering administration, the club was subject to a 12-point deduction. In accordance with EFL regulations, the timing of the sporting sanction was only determined once final league placings in the Championship were determined. Since the club did not finish in the relegation places at the end of season, the sanction was applied to their 2019–20 total and final league standings were amended as appropriate.[78]
Play-offs
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||
| 3 | Brentford | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||
| 6 | Swansea City | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Brentford | 1 | |||||||||
| 4 | Fulham | 2 | |||||||||
| 4 | Fulham | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
| 5 | Cardiff City | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
Results
| Home \ Away | BAR | BIR | BLB | BRE | BRI | CAR | CHA | DER | FUL | HUD | HUL | LEE | LUT | MID | MIL | NOT | PNE | QPR | REA | SHW | STO | SWA | WBA | WIG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnsley | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 5–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Birmingham City | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–3 | 4–5 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2–3 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 3–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Brentford | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 7–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Bristol City | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–4 | — | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 |
| Cardiff City | 3–2 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Charlton Athletic | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | — | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Derby County | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Fulham | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | — | 3–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 5–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Huddersfield Town | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–5 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Hull City | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Leeds United | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Luton Town | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | — | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Middlesbrough | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Millwall | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 |
| Nottingham Forest | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Preston North End | 5–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 0–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 6–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 0–4 | 2–0 | — | 2–2 | 0–3 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–1 |
| Reading | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 |
| Stoke City | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | — | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Swansea City | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 5–1 | — | 0–1 |
| Wigan Athletic | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 8–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — |
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[80] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Aleksandar Mitrović |
Fulham | 26 |
| 2 |  Ollie Watkins |
Brentford | 25 |
| 3 | Lewis Grabban |
Nottingham Forest | 20 |
| 4 | Karlan Grant |
Huddersfield Town | 19 |
| 5 |  Nahki Wells |
Queens Park Rangers / Bristol City | 18 |
| 6 |  Saïd Benrahma |
Brentford | 17 |
| 7 | Adam Armstrong |
Blackburn Rovers | 16 |
| Patrick Bamford |
Leeds United | ||
| Jarrod Bowen1 |
Hull City | ||
| 10 |  André Ayew |
Swansea City | 15 |
| Lukas Jutkiewicz |
Birmingham City | ||
 Bryan Mbeumo |
Brentford |
- 1 Jarrod Bowen left Hull City and the EFL Championship on 31 January 2020 to sign for Premier League club West Ham United; all of his 16 league goals were scored before this date.[81]
Top assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists[80] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Matheus Pereira |
West Bromwich Albion | 16 |
| 2 | Jed Wallace |
Millwall | 13 |
| 3 |  Niclas Eliasson |
Bristol City | 12 |
| 4 | John Swift |
Reading | 10 |
| Lee Tomlin |
Cardiff City | ||
| 6 | Jacob Brown |
Barnsley | 9 |
 Pablo Hernández |
Leeds United | ||
| 8 | Sammy Ameobi |
Nottingham Forest | 8 |
 Barry Bannan |
Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| Saïd Benrahma |
Brentford | ||
| Stewart Downing |
Blackburn Rovers | ||
| Eberechi Eze |
Queens Park Rangers | ||
| Conor Gallagher |
Swansea | ||
 Kamil Grosicki |
Hull City / West Bromwich Albion | ||
| Jack Harrison |
Leeds United | ||
| Joe Lolley |
Nottingham Forest | ||
| Alex Mowatt |
Barnsley | ||
| Bright Osayi-Samuel |
Queens Park Rangers |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ollie Watkins |
Brentford | Barnsley | 3–1 (A) | 29 September 2019 | [82] |
| Aleksandar Mitrović |
Fulham | Luton Town | 3–2 (H) | 23 October 2019 | [83] |
| Joe Ralls |
Cardiff City | Birmingham City | 4–2 (H) | 2 November 2019 | [84] |
| Josh Dasilva |
Brentford | Luton Town | 7–0 (H) | 30 November 2019 | [85] |
 George Pușcaș |
Reading | Wigan Athletic | 3–1 (A) | 30 November 2019 | [86] |
| Conor Chaplin |
Barnsley | Queens Park Rangers | 5–3 (H) | 14 December 2019 | [87] |
| Jordan Rhodes |
Sheffield Wednesday | Nottingham Forest | 4–0 (A) | 14 December 2019 | [88] |
| Nahki Wells |
Queens Park Rangers | Cardiff City | 6–1 (H) | 1 January 2020 | [89] |
| Saïd Benrahma |
Brentford | Hull City | 5–1 (A) | 1 February 2020 | [90] |
| Matt Smith |
Millwall | Nottingham Forest | 3–0 (A) | 6 March 2020 | [91] |
| Louie Sibley |
Derby County | Millwall | 3–2 (A) | 20 June 2020 | [92] |
 Yakou Méïté |
Reading | Luton Town | 5–0 (A)[a] | 4 July 2020 | [93] |
| Saïd Benrahma |
Brentford | Wigan Athletic | 3–0 (H) | 4 July 2020 | [94] |
| Kieran Dowell |
Wigan Athletic | Hull City | 8–0 (H) | 14 July 2020 | [95] |
Awards
Monthly
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | |
| August |  Steve Cooper |
Swansea City |  Daniel Johnson |
Preston North End |
| September | Sabri Lamouchi |
Nottingham Forest | Chey Dunkley |
Wigan Athletic |
| October | Danny Cowley |
Huddersfield Town | Aleksandar Mitrović |
Fulham |
| November |  Marcelo Bielsa |
Leeds United | Jarrod Bowen |
Hull City |
| December | Jonathan Woodgate |
Middlesbrough | Conor Chaplin |
Barnsley |
| January | Sabri Lamouchi |
Nottingham Forest | Nahki Wells |
Queens Park Rangers |
| February |  Slaven Bilić |
West Bromwich Albion |  Scott Hogan |
Birmingham City |
| June |  Thomas Frank |
Brentford | Jason Pearce |
Charlton Athletic |
| July | Marcelo Bielsa |
Leeds United | Saïd Benrahma |
Brentford |
Annual
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Ollie Watkins |
Brentford |
| Young Player of the Season | Jude Bellingham |
Birmingham City |
PFA Championship Team of the Year
| Pos. | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| GK |  Brice Samba |
Nottingham Forest |
| DF | Luke Ayling |
Leeds United |
| DF | Ben White |
Leeds United |
| DF | Liam Cooper |
Leeds United |
| DF | Joe Bryan |
Fulham |
| MF |  Romaine Sawyers |
West Bromwich Albion |
| MF | Kalvin Phillips |
Leeds United |
| MF | Eberechi Eze |
Queens Park Rangers |
| FW | Saïd Benrahma |
Brentford |
| FW | Ollie Watkins |
Brentford |
| FW | Aleksandar Mitrović |
Fulham |
References
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