100% jeopardy: Every Championship team can still go up or down

Four days, 24 teams, everything to play for.

The Championship is set for a blockbuster weekend to reaffirm its position as one of Europe's most exciting leagues.

As X account Albion Analysis, external pointed out this week, mathematically every team can still be promoted or relegated this season.

With a full set of fixtures on 18 April and again on 21 April, a bank holiday weekend full of drama and intrigue awaits.

BBC Sport looks at the reasons why so many people love the Championship.

According to data analysts Opta's predictions model, which estimates the probability of each match outcome 10,000 times, only QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea have a less than 0.1% chance of reaching the play-offs or being relegated.

Mathematically, QPR can go down, while Wednesday, Swansea and Norwich could go up or down.

Liverpool have been destined for the Premier League title for some time, sitting 13 points clear at the summit. The Reds went top of the table in September and have remained there ever since - bar one week in October.

The relegation places look equally sewn up. Southampton are already down, while Leicester and Ipswich are 17 and 14 points adrift of safety respectively with six games remaining.

That relative lack of intrigue - contrasted with the thrill of Champions League knockout football - has got people asking if the Premier League is boring...

Jump down to the Championship, however, and it is a different picture.

Leeds and Burnley are locked on 88 points at the top, with Sheffield United five points adrift in third.

Fourth-placed Sunderland are all but certain of a play-off spot, but the remaining two spots are up for grabs, with 11 points separating fifth-placed Bristol City and 14th-placed Wednesday.

At the bottom, Plymouth and Luton are level on points, with Cardiff only two points better off and Derby one point above safety.

"The Championship should be considered one of the best leagues in Europe," Derby fan writer Amelia told BBC Sport.

"OK, you don't tend to have £100m stars gracing the pitch every week, but you always seem to get box-office drama and entertainment.

"It is the underdog division, with arguably the greatest entertainment value in the world."

Premier League parachute payments have often been accused of distorting competition in the Championship.

In the past 10 seasons half of relegated teams (15 of 30) have bounced straight back to the Premier League.

Although recently relegated Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United look well placed for an immediate return, Luton - who went down last season - are in danger of dropping into League One.

Over the past decade 14 teams in this year's Championship have spent time in the top tier, while no team has spent more than 10 years in the division. QPR were relegated in 2015, while Bristol City and Preston - neither of whom have played in the Premier League - were promoted in the same year.

That unpredictability and feeling anyone can beat anyone was highlighted last weekend, when joint-bottom Plymouth beat Sheffield United..

"Ignoring the fact that the clubs relegated from the Premier League have an unfair financial advantage because of parachute payments, a well-run, hardworking, well-coached team that is astute in the transfer market has every chance of making it to the play-offs, where stature counts for nothing," David from the Forever Bristol City Podcast told BBC Sport.

"Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton have all shown what can be achieved from humble foundations."

The video assistant referee (VAR), introduced to the Premier League in 2019, has been a source of frustration for some supporters.

The system is often accused of causing lengthy delays, removing some of the spontaneity as players and fans fear goals will be ruled out on review.

The EFL does not have VAR, although it continues to monitor the situation. The technology has been used in the play-offs since 2022.

The unpredictable nature of the Championship is reflected in its attendances.

More than 12 million people bought tickets to Championship games in 2023-24 - an increase of 22% on the previous season and the highest overall attendance since records began in 1892.

The figure is higher than Germany's Bundesliga, Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A, making the Championship the second highest-attended league in Europe, behind the Premier League.

"The Championship is English football's last stand - a league with few millionaire players and fewer billionaire owners, where crunching tackles are cheered, flamboyant dives booed and there is no VAR," Adonis from Leeds fan channel the Roaring Peacock told BBC Sport.

"Fans are often those with decades-long connections to football clubs that are at the heart of their communities.

"And they demand to see their values reflected in their club. Hard work is celebrated and can trump talent, levelling the playing field so that anyone can beat anyone."