Welsh giants Swansea City would have to go through the playoffs if they want to play Premier League football next season following their disappointing defeat to London team Queens Park Rangers (QPR) in their latest match in the English Championship.

Swansea City started the day in third place and six points off Watford in second spot. Only the top two teams will qualify to play Premier League football automatically, while the teams from third to sixth will fight for the third and final Premier League promotion slot via the playoffs. Swansea City would have to settle for the playoffs after they conceded a late goal against QPR.

QPR striker Lyndon Dykes scored the only goal of the game with a minute left on the clock to hand his team a 1-0 away win over hosts Swansea City. The visitors boosted their faint hopes of qualifying for the Premier League with the win. The London club moved above Welsh team Cardiff City on the league standings and into eighth spot.

The least spot for the playoffs is sixth and QPR are two places off. They trail Barnsley in sixth spot by nine points meaning that they have to win all their three games and hope that Barnsley don’t pick up any point in their remaining four matches in the division. It’s highly unlikely that QPR will secure that sixth place even if it is still mathematically possible.

For Swansea City, they are in a similar situation to QPR in their bid for an automatic slot. They have to win all of their three games between now and the end of the regular season and hope that Watford in second place don’t pick up at least one point in their final three games in the league this season.