Luton Town

Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England

Image source, Getty Images

Watford are getting relegated, Plymouth are staying up, Millwall are in the play-offs and Portsmouth are also battling for a top-six spot.

Does something sound a bit off? Well, that's what would have happened if the Championship season started on 1 January.

Here's a look at the 2025 calendar year table, showing who the form sides were in the second half of the season and who went into freefall.

Perhaps the most notable difference between the actual final top six and the 2025 version is that Millwall would be in the play-offs and Premier League-bound Sunderland would not.

Burnley and Leeds still comfortably occupy the automatic promotion spots, albeit the Clarets would be unbeaten at the top of the pile with the Whites in second.

Coventry improved significantly after Frank Lampard replaced Mark Robins and are third over the course of the year.

The Sky Blues would instead be pitted against Bristol City in the play-off semi-final as opposed to Sunderland. Who knows what difference that would have made to their promotion bid...

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth - who spent much of the season battling relegation and only secured their Championship safety with two games to spare - are seventh and just one point outside a play-off spot.

Pompey sit above Sunderland, who lost their final five games of the season and are down in eighth.

The data perhaps shows just how long Regis Le Bris' side effectively had a play-off spot sewn up before their victory at Wembley against Sheffield United to claim promotion.

Relegation battlers Oxford find themselves seven places higher than where they actually finished in the 2024-25 campaign (17th), reflecting the good work done by Gary Rowett after he took over as boss from Des Buckingham.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth would have survived comfortably had the season begun in January 2025, showing a significant uptick after Miron Muslic replaced Wayne Rooney at the helm.

Middlesbrough tailed off significantly in the second half of the season, underpinning why they missed out on the play-offs. It was a drop off that ultimately cost Michael Carrick his job as head coach.

Norwich City conceded more goals (32) than any other side in 2025, which counteracted the hard work they'd done at the other end, having been the fourth top scorers (31) since the turn of the year.

Image source, Rex Features

Watford had a disappointing 2025, winning just five of their 23 games and losing 13 to finish bottom of the calendar year table.

The Hornets had the joint-worst goal difference along with Cardiff (-10) and head coach Tom Cleverley was sacked following the end of the season.

Preston and Cardiff won the fewest games of any side in 2025 (4), which cost the Bluebirds their Championship status and almost led to the Lilywhites dropping into League One as they avoided relegation by one point.

Paul Heckingbottom's side would be down if only games this year were counted.

Luton and Derby scored the fewest goals in 2025 (19) and attacking output was an issue that plagued both sides throughout the entire campaign.

It had major consequences for the Hatters with back-to-back relegations, while the Rams survived by a point - and only on goal difference in the yearly table.

Data collated from Transfermarkt

Image source, Getty Images

Luton Town have confirmed plans to organise a testimonial for departing club legend Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu.

The Hatters announced on Friday that midfielder Mpanzu will be released at the end of his contract next month.

His exit will bring an end to his 12-season stay at Kenilworth Road.

During that time Mpanzu has made 412 appearances for Luton and played a major part in their nine-year rise from the National League to the Premier League.

Luton chief executive Gary Sweet said: "We'll miss him greatly but wish him every success with whatever comes next.

"And when the time is convenient for Pelly and his career, he will be honoured with a testimonial here to thank him for such wonderful service."

Jobi McAnuff
Former Reading winger on Football Daily 72+: The EFL Podcast

Image source, Rex Features

I think it's a prime example of a club that got promoted, maybe one or two players feeling they were going to stay in the Premier League. That didn't quite happen.

I actually thought by keeping hold of the likes of Carlton Morris and a couple of the others that they would have more than enough to be so competitive at this level. They just haven't been able to do it.

They just took too long to get themselves going. Matt Bloomfield came in and really got that team spirit and organisation back. Really hard to break down but in the end they just left themselves that little bit too much to do.

That last 10 games before the West Brom game, they were as good as any team in terms of wins and points, take away the top two or three.

They gave themselves a chance but it was just too little, too late and in the end I think it was a lack of team spirit, togetherness, and ultimately that's cost them their place.

Jobi McAnuff was talking on BBC's Football Daily 72+: The EFL Podcast.

Listen to the latest episode on BBC Sounds.

Luton Town make their final bid to escape relegation when they visit West Bromwich Albion on Saturday (12:30 BST).

The Hatters are hovering just one point above the drop zone with an unhealthy goal difference.

However, they are ending the season strong under boss Matt Bloomfield, having won their past three game with the latest two against teams currently in play-off positions; Bristol City and Coventry City.

It means they are unlikely to be intimidated by Albion, who are winless in three to see them out of a play-off contending position.

• West Brom have lost just one of their last nine league games against Luton Town (W5 D3), a 2-0 away defeat in February 2022.

• Luton Town have failed to win any of their last four away league games against West Brom (D1 L3) and overall have won just two of their last 20 (D3 L15).

• West Brom have won two of their last three games on the final day of a league season (L1), as many victories as across their prior 16 such fixtures between 2006 and 2021 combined (D7 L7).

• Luton have failed to win any of their last seven away Football League games that have fallen on the final day of a league campaign (D3 L4), since a 2-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town in the fourth tier in 2002.

• Luton have scored the fewest goals of any Championship side so far this season (42), though they have netted 11 of those strikes from corners – a joint-league tally alongside Coventry City, Derby County, Leeds and QPR.

Image source, Rex Features

Former Luton Town manager David Pleat says cool heads could be the key to Championship survival at West Brom on Saturday.

Matt Bloomfield's Hatters finally climbed out of the relegation places by beating Coventry City last weekend, making it three wins in a row, and will retain their Championship status if they match or better Hull City's result.

They are level on points with Preston North End and Derby County, the two teams immediately above them, but have an inferior goal difference compared to both.

Pleat famously danced across the pitch at Maine Road after Luton avoided relegation from the top flight in 1983 by beating Manchester City 1-0.

"You've certainly got to keep the players calm, they mustn't get over-excited because the worst thing that can happen in any game of this magnitude is getting a player sent off or too hyped up that he reacts in a different way to what he would do normally," he told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"They must try to get the ascendancy in the first 20 minutes to quieten the home crowd because the last home game of the season, for any team, is important - a home win gets the supporters thinking about their season tickets.

"West Brom will want to play well in their last game and Luton, they've had a good away record recently, in the last couple of weeks they've played with great spirit, real tenacity and I think it's possible for them to do it.

"Try and treat it as a game and not an occasion. It's difficult to get the right balance but I imagine they'll play a very similar team that's won the last three game and I'm pleased the boy (Liam) Walsh got his ban overturned so he'll be able to play, if selected."

Listen to the full David Pleat interview here.

"If you would have said that, three or four weeks ago, Preston are going to have to go to the last day of the season to get a result, you'd be like no, no chance," former Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff tells the 72+ podcast.

McAnuff and Aaron Paul are joined by former Barnsley manager Darrell Clarke as they discuss the upcoming Championship relegation fight and who they think is most at risk.

For McAnuff, it's Hull City and Preston North End that "are in trouble".

Hull sacked former boss Liam Rosenior after finishing seventh in the Championship last season, but have struggled since his departure and are currently sitting in the bottom three, a point away from safety.

Meanwhile, Preston are among three teams just a point above and have been dragged into the relegation fight after a winless run of seven games - and it's the Lancashire side Clarke is most concerned about.

"I just think to myself, they've dropped off a cliff, they've got Bristol City away, I fancy Hull to get something at Portsmouth," Clarke said.

"Fratton Park is a difficult place to go to... but they are on holiday aren't they?"

Listen to the full episode and more on the Football Daily podcast.

Geoff Doyle
BBC 3CR sports editor

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

So it's one final push for Luton Town.

A win at West Brom guarantees Championship football next season, a draw could be good enough and even defeat might not mean relegation if Hull slip up at Portsmouth.

Three wins out of three has helped put the Hatters in this situation as has the longer spell of decent form - one defeat in nine.

But it still always comes down to fine margins. On Saturday, at a tense Kenilworth Road what made Coventry goalkeeper Brad Collins inexplicably attempt to punch the ball 16 yards from his goalline with a minute to go?

And even after that misjudgement, how did Luis Binks not manage to clear Shandon Baptiste's resulting shot off the line? That's football.

Around 2,500 Luton fans will now head to The Hawthorns believing their side can pull off another great escape like they did 35 years ago at the Baseball Ground when Kingsley Black scored the winner against Derby and 42 years ago at Maine Road when Raddy Antic's goal led to David Pleat's famous jig.

Those were very special days as was the Championship survival five years ago when Luton looked doomed as Covid hit.

After the enforced break the Hatters produced similar form to this time around but the supporters didn't get the chance to celebrate the achievement.

It's in Luton's hands and if they do stay up the club should toast the success but then quickly analyse what went wrong this season in preparation for the next campaign.

Luton need to make best use of the final parachute payment money which gives them such an advantage over the majority of the other clubs.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Luton need to get the job done.

They come up against a West Brom side short of morale and confidence after missing out on the play-offs.

The atmosphere among the home supporters could be hostile after the previous match there saw them ship three to another relegation candidate Derby.

Luton fans don't want to worry about what's going on at Fratton Park. Take care of business against the Baggies, play as they have been doing for the past eight weeks and take all three points back to Bedfordshire.

If only it was that simple.

Commentary on West Brom v Luton Town is on BBC Three Counties Radio