Brighton and Hove Albion missed the chance to win the Championship after a shock 1-0 home defeat to Bristol City.
The result means they stay a point above Newcastle United heading into the last round of matches and also guaranteed that Lee Johnson's side will stay in the division.
Wigan Athletic were not so fortunate and will join Rotherham United in League One next term, but Birmingham City finally got a win that could prove crucial in their survival bid.
Blackburn Rovers are also still alive but the game of the day saw Leeds United come back from 3-0 down to draw with Norwich City, only to see their hopes of a play-off spot all but ended.
CHAMPAGNE ON ICE FOR BRIGHTON AS LEEDS FALTER DESPITE COMEBACK
Brighton will need to beat Aston Villa on the last day of the season to ensure they win the title after Bristol City shocked them at Amex Stadium.
Chris Hughton's sluggish side were beaten courtesy of a first-half Josh Brownhill goal that ensures City cannot now be dragged into the bottom three.
Newcastle's win at Cardiff City on Friday means they can leapfrog Brighton if they better their result on the final day.
Leeds United's hopes of a Premier League return are virtually over, however, after they were held to a 3-3 draw by Norwich.
Garry Monk's side came from 3-0 down to salvage a point but Sheffield Wednesday's win at Ipswich Town and Fulham's 1-1 draw with Brentford means Leeds sit three points outside the play-offs, with a vastly inferior goal difference.
WIGAN WOE BUT REDKNAPP GETS BIRMINGHAM BOUNCING
Wigan – who lost Shaun MacDonald to a broken leg – joined Rotherham in dropping into League One after they lost 1-0 at Reading, who confirmed their play-off place through Yann Kermorgant's sixth-minute goal.
Blackburn gave their survival hopes a boost, with Danny Graham's goal giving them a 1-0 win over Aston Villa that puts them level on 48 points with Nottingham Forest, who went down 2-0 at QPR and are now only one goal above the drop zone.
Harry Redknapp's hopes of keeping Birmingham up are firmly intact, however, as they survived Che Adams' 23rd-minute red card – and a missed penalty from Lukas Jutkiewicz – to beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 and move two points clear of the bottom three.
BURTON GOING NOWHERE, ROTHERHAM END WROTTEN AWAY RUN
Burton Albion will be playing Championship football next season, with Luke Varney's goal cancelling out George Moncur's opener to secure a 1-1 draw at Barnsley.
Rotherham might already be down but their recent improvement continued at Preston North End, as Richard Smallwood's first goal for the club was enough for them to end a run of 14 away defeats in a row.
Meanwhile, Derby County ended a three-game wait for a win with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Wolves. David Nugent, Bradley Johnson and Craig Bryson getting the goals, with Ben Marshall scoring for the visitors after Ivan Cavaleiro had been sent off for an off-the-ball incident.
