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The closest EFL Championship title races, 1992-93 to 2025-26

The tightest EFL Championship race charted came in 2024-25: Leeds United over Burnley on goal difference. Below, every title race charted since 1992-93, ranked three ways: by final margin, by lead changes, and by days spent within three points. How each list is computed is spelled out under the lists.

Companion pages: Biggest EFL Championship comebacks and collapses and Days in first place.

Tightest finishes

  1. Leeds United won the 2024-25 EFL Championship race over Burnley on goal difference, with 31 lead changes, taking first place for good on April 28, 2025.
  2. Newcastle United won the 2016-17 EFL Championship race by 1 point over Brighton & Hove Albion, with 30 lead changes, taking first place for good on May 7, 2017.
  3. AFC Bournemouth won the 2014-15 EFL Championship race by 1 point over Watford, with 24 lead changes, taking first place for good on May 2, 2015.
  4. Leicester City won the 2023-24 EFL Championship race by 1 point over Ipswich Town, with 18 lead changes, taking first place for good on April 20, 2024.
  5. Reading won the 2011-12 EFL Championship race by 1 point over Southampton, with twelve lead changes, taking first place for good on April 13, 2012.
  6. Sunderland won the 2006-07 EFL Championship race by 2 points over Birmingham City, with 22 lead changes, taking first place for good on May 6, 2007.
  7. West Bromwich Albion won the 2007-08 EFL Championship race by 2 points over Stoke City, with 19 lead changes, taking first place for good on April 28, 2008.
  8. Fulham won the 2021-22 EFL Championship race by 2 points over AFC Bournemouth, with 16 lead changes, taking first place for good on January 15, 2022.
  9. Charlton Athletic won the 1999-00 EFL Championship race by 2 points over Manchester City, with nine lead changes, taking first place for good on January 11, 2000.
  10. Middlesbrough won the 1994-95 EFL Championship race by 3 points over Reading, with twelve lead changes, taking first place for good on March 21, 1995.

Most lead changes

  1. The lead in the 2024-25 EFL Championship race changed hands 31 times, and Leeds United won it over Burnley on goal difference.
  2. The lead in the 2019-20 EFL Championship race changed hands 31 times, and Leeds United won it by 10 points over West Bromwich Albion.
  3. The lead in the 2016-17 EFL Championship race changed hands 30 times, and Newcastle United won it by 1 point over Brighton & Hove Albion.
  4. The lead in the 2018-19 EFL Championship race changed hands 26 times, and Norwich City won it by 5 points over Sheffield United.
  5. The lead in the 2014-15 EFL Championship race changed hands 24 times, and AFC Bournemouth won it by 1 point over Watford.
  6. The lead in the 2006-07 EFL Championship race changed hands 22 times, and Sunderland won it by 2 points over Birmingham City.
  7. The lead in the 2015-16 EFL Championship race changed hands 22 times, and Burnley won it by 4 points over Middlesbrough.
  8. The lead in the 2009-10 EFL Championship race changed hands 21 times, and Newcastle United won it by 11 points over West Bromwich Albion.
  9. The lead in the 2007-08 EFL Championship race changed hands 19 times, and West Bromwich Albion won it by 2 points over Stoke City.
  10. The lead in the 1997-98 EFL Championship race changed hands 19 times, and Nottingham Forest won it by 3 points over Middlesbrough.

Most days within three points

  1. The top two in the 2024-25 EFL Championship race ended 118 of its 126 playing days within three points of each other, and Leeds United won it over Burnley on goal difference.
  2. The top two in the 2019-20 EFL Championship race ended 101 of its 116 playing days within three points of each other, and Leeds United won it by 10 points over West Bromwich Albion.
  3. The top two in the 2016-17 EFL Championship race ended 97 of its 110 playing days within three points of each other, and Newcastle United won it by 1 point over Brighton & Hove Albion.
  4. The top two in the 1997-98 EFL Championship race ended 96 of its 120 playing days within three points of each other, and Nottingham Forest won it by 3 points over Middlesbrough.
  5. The top two in the 2001-02 EFL Championship race ended 94 of its 140 playing days within three points of each other, and Manchester City won it by 10 points over West Bromwich Albion.
  6. The top two in the 2018-19 EFL Championship race ended 91 of its 104 playing days within three points of each other, and Norwich City won it by 5 points over Sheffield United.
  7. The top two in the 2014-15 EFL Championship race ended 89 of its 93 playing days within three points of each other, and AFC Bournemouth won it by 1 point over Watford.
  8. The top two in the 2004-05 EFL Championship race ended 88 of its 112 playing days within three points of each other, and Sunderland won it by 7 points over Wigan Athletic.
  9. The top two in the 2006-07 EFL Championship race ended 87 of its 111 playing days within three points of each other, and Sunderland won it by 2 points over Birmingham City.
  10. The top two in the 2015-16 EFL Championship race ended 87 of its 113 playing days within three points of each other, and Burnley won it by 4 points over Middlesbrough.

How these lists are ranked

Everything on this page comes from the same season files the charts draw, with standings read as each day ended. All 34 charted EFL Championship races from 34 finished seasons enter: every title race from 1992-93 to 2025-26. Wild card races are not ranked; their story is the playoff cutoff, not first place. The 2026-27 season joins these lists when it ends.

Tightest finishes ranks races by the final gap between first and second place, in points. Ties are broken by how late the winner took first place for good, then by lead changes, then oldest first. Two teams the standings cannot separate are shown as level, with no winner named; where the league settled such a race another way, the linked race page tells that story. A margin of zero with a winner named means the race was decided on goal difference or goals scored.

Most lead changes counts a change only when a new team passes the leader outright. A day spent tied on top stays with the team already leading, so a tie can never inflate the count.

Most days within three points counts the days on which this race's teams played and the top two ended the day within three points of each other, the most a single result can make up. Days a league stood idle (a strike, a pause) are not counted: a frozen gap says nothing about a race.

Only finished seasons are ranked. Seasons shortened by strikes or other stoppages count as played; every irregularity in the record is listed in the data notes.