The EFL Championship consists of 24 teams and operates on a double round-robin system, where each team plays every other team twice, once at home and once away. Points are awarded as 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. At the end of the season, teams are ranked by their accumulated points; if points are equal, rankings are determined by goal difference, total goals scored, and other criteria. The top two teams are directly promoted to the Premier League, while the remaining four teams finishing from 3rd to 6th place enter a two-legged, home-and-away knockout promotion play-off, with the 3rd-placed team facing the 6th-placed team and the 4th-placed team playing the 5th-placed team. A draw decides which team plays at home first. If the aggregate score remains tied after both legs of the semi-finals, extra time will be played, and if still tied, a penalty shootout will determine the winner. The two victorious teams will then contest a single-match final at a neutral venue, with the winner earning promotion to the Premier League. Meanwhile, the bottom three teams at the end of the standings are relegated to League One. Southampton has been disqualified from the playoff final for rules violations, and Middlesbrough has advanced to the final as their replacement.