League One final day preview: What's on the line for promotion, play-offs and relegation?

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Most of the key positions have already been settled in the third tier, but one play-off spot remains up for grabs

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Jay Stansfield of Birmingham City celebrates his first goal during the Sky Bet League One match between Birmingham City FC and Wrexham AFC at St Andrewís at Knighthead Park on September 16, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Birmingham are up as champions (Image credit: Getty Images)
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We're going to level with you: we really don't need a full piece for this.

The final day of the League One season has an almost total lack of jeopardy at stake, with just one key position still to be decided.

Still, let's check in on the state of play going into Saturday's 3pm kick-offs anyway...

Automatic promotion

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Krystian Bielik of Birmingham City is held back from the melee during the Sky Bet League One match between Birmingham City FC and Wrexham AFC at St Andrews at Knighthead Park on September 16, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

Wrexham and Birmingham are both going up (Image credit: Getty Images)

Already sewn up, mate. Birmingham City absolutely romped to the title and are well past the 100 point mark. They'd finish with a pleasingly palindromic 111 points if they win away to relegated Cambridge on the final day.

Joining them in the Championship next year are Wrexham, who capitalised on Wycombe's back-to-back defeats to go five points clear in second ahead of the final day. The Welsh club visit Lincoln in an absolutely nothing game on Saturday.

Play-offs

Kyle Wootton of Stockport County celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Sky Bet League One match between Leyton Orient FC and Stockport County FC at Brisbane Road on February 01, 2025 in London, England.

Stockport can still go up (Image credit: Paul Harding/Getty Images)

We usually have a bit of a multi-way battle going on for the top six going into the final round of fixtures. Not this time. Stupid League One. Why can't you be more like League Two and the Championship?

Stockport County, Wycombe Wanderers and Charlton Athletic are all certain of a play-off place already, meaning that all that's at stake on Saturday is the exact order they'll finish in and thus who they will each face in the semi-finals.

Stockport and Wycombe face each other, however, meaning that Charlton - currently two points behind both County and Wanderers - can't get third unless they beat Burton by at least six goals while the game at Edgeley Park ends in a draw.

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Bolton and Huddersfield's appalling form saw both sides drop out of the race for sixth place early, so it's now down to just Leyton Orient and Reading to battle it out.

The two sides are level on points with Orient eight goals better off in the goal difference column. They will visit an atrociously out-of-form Huddersfield, with Orient hoping to make it six wins in a row and all but guarantee that final play-off place.

Troubled Reading will meanwhile host mid-table Barnsley, and quite simply need to better Orient's result to overtake them

Relegation

Yep, all sewn up at the bottom too.

Shrewsbury Town, Cambridge United, Bristol Rovers and Crawley are all League Two bound already after Burton Albion and Northampton did enough to push themselves mathematically clear of the bottom four.

Steven Chicken
Steven Chicken

Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.