How the promotion, relegation and title races are shaping up across English football

April is upon us, spring has sprung, and the end of the season is almost in sight. Over the next few weeks titles will be won, play-off berths secured, relegations endured and nails bitten down to their stumps. Here, then, is the 3 Added Minutes guide to all the ups, downs and loop-the-loops we’ll be witnessing on the rollercoaster of the remaining games in Premier League, WSL, EFL and National League.

Premier League

This is surely now a two-horse race for the title. Even if Manchester United won their two games in hand on Arsenal, they would need to make up 13 points over 10 games, which apparently has exactly the same betting odds as Benedict Cumberbatch becoming the next James Bond. So let’s assume it’s Manchester City or Arsenal, and the rest can scrap it out for top four.

United are, at least, in pole position to bag a Champions League place, while Tottenham Hotspur just about hold the edge on the chasing pack – but only if Newcastle United don’t get more than a point from their two games in hand. And with games in hand in mind, it’s still far too early to rule out any of the teams seven points back on Spurs – Liverpool, Brighton and Brentford. If either of those last two make it, then maybe old Cumberbatch needs to get his tuxedo out of the wardrobe after all.

As for relegation, we wouldn’t care to stake a single penny on how that will pan out. Just four points separate Crystal Palace in 12^th and Southampton down at the bottom, and we’re likely in for the tensest – and most expansive – battle to beat the drop in many years.

Women’s Super League

On the other side of the gender divide, an amazingly tense title race is taking shape. Just three points separates the top four of Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal – one of whom won’t even end up with Champions League football for their efforts. This is the tightest title race in Europe right now and there should be some cracking matches played over the last few weeks.

As for relegation, Leicester City have only won twice all season and sit bottom – but with Brighton, Reading and Tottenham Hotspur all struggling as well, a couple of wins could easily see them avoid the drop. The Foxes will remain favourites to find themselves in the Championship next year, however – and Bristol City are the most likely to come the other way, with a six-point lead over London City Lionesses.

Championship

Burnley have all but mathematically sewn up an immediate return to the Premier League – Vincent Kompany’s men are 13 points clear at the top and in with a solid shot of a 100-point season. They’ll be lifting the trophy before you know it. Sheffield United look most likely to take second, but only have three points on Middlesbrough, who have been hugely impressive since appointing Michael Carrick. The Blades do also have a game in hand, however.

The play-off race is, as always, a multi-directional bun fight with no clear favourites – apart from Boro, who have a meaty 10-point cushion as it stands. Luton Town, Blackburn Rovers and Millwall hold the whip hand at the moment, but Norwich City and Coventry City are but a solitary positive result away from a place in the top six, while West Bromwich Albion and Watford aren’t too far behind, and as professional yo-yo clubs they cannot possibly be discounted. Sunderland and Preston North End are just about clinging onto the play-off coat-tails.

As for those battling the drop, things look grim indeed for Wigan Athletic. With a three-point deduction for failing to pay players on time on multiple occasions, they are eight points from safety and a prompt and unedifying return to League One is very likely. Blackpool and Huddersfield Town are also in grave danger, but Cardiff City, Rotherham United and Queens Park Rangers aren’t sufficiently far ahead to feel safe just yet.

League One

Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield Wednesday might be miles apart on the map, but they’re pretty damned close in terms of points – just one of the little things separates the two teams at the very top of League One. A little bit of a look over the shoulder is needed though, as Ipswich Town are on scintillating form and sit just four points shy of the automatics with a game in hand. It could be a tense race for the top two.

Barnsley are in that conversation as well, and there’s a solid eight-point margin dividing them from Bolton Wanderers and Derby County, who make up the remaining play-off places. Peterborough United and Wycombe Wanderers are the main threats in the chasing pack, while Portsmouth and Shrewsbury Town still have a glimmer of a sliver of a chance of the top six.

At the other business end of the third tier – the more Northern Rock end of it, as opposed to the Jeff Bezos one – Duncan Ferguson’s Forest Green Rovers look doomed to continue spreading the holy cant of veganism in League Two next year, sat as they are nine points from safety. Cambridge United are also in poor shape, while Morecambe Town and Accrington Stanley sit alongside them in the danger zone. Oxford United are the team they need to catch, and they’re two points clear with games in hand. Three wins on the bounce has seen Milton Keynes Dons surge clear of danger, but both they and Burton Albion could be dragged in with a few bad results.

League Two

These are some good times to be a Leyton Orient fan, as the London outfit sit pretty on the top of League Two with an eight point buffer over the play-off places. Northampton Town and Stevenage Not-Borough-Anymore-Which-Still-Throws-Me-Sometimes are the other two teams occupying automatic promotion places, with Carlisle United breathing heavily down the hairs on the back of their necks.

The play-off race currently sees Stockport County, Salford City and Bradford City in the lead – none of whom can be ruled out of the top three – and Mansfield Town, Sutton United and Barrow are the other teams maintaining realistic hopes of a promotion party come May. The relegation places look somewhat crystalised at this point, with poor Rochdale 11 points shy of safety – as if having the world’s coldest stadium wasn’t bad enough – and Hartlepool United are liable to join them. Pool are five points behind Crawley Town and Colchester United, who alongside Harrogate Town need to keep their wits about them to ensure they don’t drop down into non-league.

National League

It’s been a remarkable season in the National League, where not one but two teams are absolutely sailing past 100 points – but with only one automatic promotion berth, there could be a ridiculously unfortunate team staying in non-league next season. Notts County sit top courtesy of goal difference (mostly thanks to 40-goal man Macauley Langstaff) but Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham, as they are officially known, have two games in hand. That other bloke who was on that sitcom may challenge the naming situation, but I can never remember how to spell his surname, so tough.

The play-off picture is complicated by the two-tier, six-team system in place. Woking, Chesterfield Town and Barnet look pretty much locked in at this stage, while Eastleigh and Boreham Wood are the most likely to join them. Bromley are next on the list, with four points to make up on possibly the only team to take the name of their town, stick an inexplicable space in it, and carry on as if that’s normal.

As for relegation to the sixth step of the football league pyramid, Maidstone United are almost mathematically gone, with near-literal miracles required for them to stay up at this point. The long-suffering supporters of Scunthorpe United are set to endure yet another relegation as well, with Torquay United and Yeovil Town the other former league teams in big danger of taking another step down the ladder. Gateshead are the team to catch, sitting two points above Yeovil as it stands.

As for the National League North and South, Ebbsfleet United are almost nailed on to make a return to the fifth tier, while AFC Fylde hold the sole automatic promotion position in the northern half of the division. One-time league teams Chester and Darlington are both firmly in the conversation to step back up a notch.

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So there we have it – all the runners and riders for the ups and downs of the remaining season. There are some seriously tense races in prospect, with almost no runaway leaders, nearly no nailed-on relegations (sorry, Rochdale and Maidstone), and a heck of a lot to play for in what could easily be one of the most exciting finales to a season in many a year. Enjoy, and try to keep an eye on your heart rates…