Sheffield Wednesday's inevitable relegation from the Championship could be confirmed this weekend.
The Owls' 2025/26 season was effectively over before it had begun due to the downfall of former owner Dejphon Chansiri, whose calamitous tenure ended when the club entered administration in October. A series of transfer restrictions subsequently left the team with a threadbare squad that could not compete in the second tier.
Wednesday were docked 12 points for entering administration and received a further six-point deduction for breaches of payment obligations, but have picked up just 11 in total leaving them on -7 for the campaign.
Sheffield Wednesday could become the first team to be relegated in FEBRUARY
Henrik Pedersen's side head into the weekend 41 points adrift of 21st-place West Bromwich Albion with 14 Championship games remaining.
It means Wednesday's relegation will be confirmed if they fail to beat rivals Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday lunchtime - although they will already be down if 20th-place Blackburn Rovers avoid defeat against Preston North End on Friday night and West Brom beat leaders Coventry City on Saturday.
If results go against the Owls this weekend, their fate will be sealed by February 22 - which appears to be the earliest a club's relegation has been confirmed in English football history.
Stockport County are believed to hold the record for the quickest post-war relegation in Premier League and Football League history, with their demotion from the First Division - now the Championship - in 2001/02 confirmed on March 16. The Hatters ended the season on 26 points, 23 short of safety.
It will come as no surprise that Derby County's disastrous 2007/08 campaign remains the earliest relegation in Premier League history, with the Rams - who gained a record-low 11 points that season - demoted thanks to a 2-2 draw against Fulham on March 29.
They were almost pipped to that dubious honour by Huddersfield Town in 2018/19, when the Terriers were mathematically doomed after a 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace on March 30.
And although Southampton staved off the inevitable until April 6 last season, they also became the first team in Premier League history to be relegated with seven games left to play as they ended the campaign with just 12 points.
The earliest EFL relegation in recent years came in 2016/17, when Rotherham United were relegated from the Championship on April 1 following a 1-0 home defeat by Fulham.
That was even earlier than Luton Town's demotion from League Two on April 13, 2009, despite the Hatters' 30-point deduction.
Stoke City still hold the record for the lowest points total in a Football League season after amassing just 17 points in 42 games in the top flight in 1984/85, but a large number of matches towards the end of the campaign meant their relegation was not confirmed until late April.
