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 tables.
Companion page: Biggest EFL Championship comebacks and collapses.
| Rank | Race | Result | Margin (points) | Lead changes | First place for good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2024-25 EFL Championship | Leeds United over Burnley on goal difference | 0 | 31 | April 28, 2025 |
| 2 | 2016-17 EFL Championship | Newcastle United over Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 | 30 | May 7, 2017 |
| 3 | 2014-15 EFL Championship | AFC Bournemouth over Watford | 1 | 24 | May 2, 2015 |
| 4 | 2023-24 EFL Championship | Leicester City over Ipswich Town | 1 | 18 | April 20, 2024 |
| 5 | 2011-12 EFL Championship | Reading over Southampton | 1 | 12 | April 13, 2012 |
| 6 | 2006-07 EFL Championship | Sunderland over Birmingham City | 2 | 22 | May 6, 2007 |
| 7 | 2007-08 EFL Championship | West Bromwich Albion over Stoke City | 2 | 19 | April 28, 2008 |
| 8 | 2021-22 EFL Championship | Fulham over AFC Bournemouth | 2 | 16 | January 15, 2022 |
| 9 | 1999-00 EFL Championship | Charlton Athletic over Manchester City | 2 | 9 | January 11, 2000 |
| 10 | 1994-95 EFL Championship | Middlesbrough over Reading | 3 | 16 | March 21, 1995 |
| Rank | Race | Result | Lead changes | Margin (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2024-25 EFL Championship | Leeds United over Burnley on goal difference | 31 | 0 |
| 2 | 2019-20 EFL Championship | Leeds United over West Bromwich Albion | 31 | 10 |
| 3 | 2016-17 EFL Championship | Newcastle United over Brighton & Hove Albion | 30 | 1 |
| 4 | 2018-19 EFL Championship | Norwich City over Sheffield United | 26 | 5 |
| 5 | 2014-15 EFL Championship | AFC Bournemouth over Watford | 24 | 1 |
| 6 | 2006-07 EFL Championship | Sunderland over Birmingham City | 22 | 2 |
| 7 | 2015-16 EFL Championship | Burnley over Middlesbrough | 22 | 4 |
| 8 | 2009-10 EFL Championship | Newcastle United over West Bromwich Albion | 21 | 11 |
| 9 | 2007-08 EFL Championship | West Bromwich Albion over Stoke City | 19 | 2 |
| 10 | 2023-24 EFL Championship | Leicester City over Ipswich Town | 18 | 1 |
| Rank | Race | Result | Days within three points | Playing days | Margin (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2024-25 EFL Championship | Leeds United over Burnley on goal difference | 118 | 126 | 0 |
| 2 | 2019-20 EFL Championship | Leeds United over West Bromwich Albion | 101 | 116 | 10 |
| 3 | 2016-17 EFL Championship | Newcastle United over Brighton & Hove Albion | 97 | 110 | 1 |
| 4 | 1997-98 EFL Championship | Nottingham Forest over Middlesbrough | 96 | 120 | 3 |
| 5 | 2001-02 EFL Championship | Manchester City over West Bromwich Albion | 94 | 140 | 10 |
| 6 | 2018-19 EFL Championship | Norwich City over Sheffield United | 91 | 104 | 5 |
| 7 | 2014-15 EFL Championship | AFC Bournemouth over Watford | 89 | 93 | 1 |
| 8 | 2004-05 EFL Championship | Sunderland over Wigan Athletic | 88 | 112 | 7 |
| 9 | 2006-07 EFL Championship | Sunderland over Birmingham City | 87 | 111 | 2 |
| 10 | 2015-16 EFL Championship | Burnley over Middlesbrough | 87 | 113 | 4 |
Everything on this page comes from the same day-by-day 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.
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.