As September draws to a close, the action has no signs of letting up as we bring you drama across a range of sports where vital matches take place that will define seasons for all teams involved.

Tuesday 22nd September EFL Trophy: York City v Rotherham United 19:00

Both York and Rotherham take a break from League Two action for a flurry in the EFL Trophy, a break which will come as a welcome reprieve for one and somewhat of a distraction for the other.

Unsurprisingly, it is newly promoted York who will not welcome the change very much, as they have made a storming start to their return to the football league.

After ten years away from professional football, some of which were spent in the sixth tier, many wondered how they would adapt to life back where they belong. But in the opening seven matches they have been far from out of their depth and instead find themselves towards the top end of the table at this early stage.

This is despite the fact that there was a hint of turmoil behind the scenes as the higher ups in North Yorkshire decided they no longer needed the services of Stuart Maynard, the man who guided them to promotion and sacked him in late July due to “differences of direction and vision”.

Former Crawley Town boss Scott Lindsay is now in the hot seat and has looked to be a shrewd appointment in a situation that could have been disastrous.

Instead, it has been a majorly positive appointment and season so far for York, with three wins already from seven matches. The Minstermen did suffer their second loss of the campaignChesterfield, a result that saw them slide down from the automatic promotion places down from the automatic promotion places and into seventh spot.

A win over Rotherham could be just the thing needed if they are to gain back some momentum after that Chesterfield loss and their 3-1 loss to the Newcastle U21s in their opening EFL Trophy fixture.

Rotherham may need a good result in this one in order to continue building some semblance of confidence too, as the side that was once a frequent inhabitant of the Championship is looking to remain competitive in League Two.

Rotherham spent just two seasons back in League One after being relegated from the second tier and now find themselves in mid-table, with their sharp decline leading some to believe it could continue to pile on further misery.

The Millers sit in 14th and were helped massively by their weekend result, where they won 1-0 away from home in Northampton, just their second win of the season.

That victory took them away from another week looking over their shoulder towards the relegation zone and maybe even upwards now as they sit just two points away from next opponents York in the last playoff spot.

A matchup between the two sides in the EFL Trophy could be a good test to see how far apart the two are when it comes to where they may finish in the league, but with the added factor of both probably relinquishing their strongest elevens and opting to save their best for their next League Two matches.

Date: 22/09/2026
Time: 19:00
Venue: York Community Stadium, York
The match will be shown on Sky Sports+




Thursday 24th September: County Championship One: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire 10:30

A tantalising matchup in the County Championship top division takes place at Trent Bridge as third placed Nottingham welcome Yorkshire who are looking to close the gap in the final fixture of the season.

Nottingham are defending champions and are hoping to retain that title but do find themselves off pace in third with 188 points.

That is 15 points away from current league leaders Warwickshire, who have only lost one match all season. Nottingham have only lost one more than them and do look in the hunt to creep up past Somerset, who are only four points ahead, and even past Warwickshire, despite them looking like they are unmovable.

They will have to do one better than their last match, though, which ended in the tightest of losses, as they were beaten by just 7 wickets against Sussex last week.

Yorkshire are still looking to keep pace with those above them as they sit on 161 points after 13 matches with an inconsistent record of five wins and four losses and draws a piece.

That record has them in fifth place, but just 15 points behind Sussex, which could be overtaken with a win over Nottingham.
The Yorkshiremen will be buoyed by their recent form, where they have earned back-to-back wins with a 390-284 win over Essex and a 487-302 win over Somerset last week.

A win for either would help immensely for their position in the table and the confidence needed to finish the season in style.

Date: 24/09/2026
Time: 10:30
Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
The match will be shown on ECB



Friday 25th September Betfred Super League Playoffs: Leeds Rhinos v Warrington Wolves 20:00

The semi-finals of the Super League playoffs are finally here, and with it a meeting between Yorkshire and Lancashire as Headingley Stadium hosts Warrington Wolves in a make-or-break match for both sides.

The Rhinos have looked imperious for most of the season and etched their way into the top two and stood firm at the top for a long time until a late-season loss of form saw them pipped to the league leaders' shield in the penultimate match of the regular season.

Their ‘collapse’ occurred at Headingley Stadium when they met with Wigan, where their usual devastating attack was completely nullified, scoring only eight points and shipping 40. From that point they lost the top spot and could only count on beating Hull FC in the last match and hoping Wigan lost.

Instead of finishing off on a high, they suffered one of their most surprising results of the whole campaign, being beaten 18-12 by 11th-placed Hull and finishing four points behind the Warriors.

A second-place finish did put them straight into the semi-finals, though, and set up a match against Warrington, who finished level on points with Leeds.

The Wolves have had a stunning season in 2026, finishing in third, which is a huge upgrade on their 8th-place finish in 2025.

They finished the season much better than Leeds too, with just one loss in their last eight regular season games.

That confidence translated into the playoff quarter finals too, where they faced defending champions and quadruple winners Hull KR.

A tight first half which had the Wolves 12-6 up brought no more worries for Warrington as they held KR to scoring just 6 more points whilst getting to grips with the match and ending up winning 35-12.

Leeds have had the upper hanthat spells good signs for this one, but with Warringtonh and a more devastating 34-6 win in mid-June. The Rhinos will hope that that spells good signs for this one, but with Warrington being full of confidence, it could be the perfect opportunity for them to get their first win over Leeds since March 2025.

Date: 25/09/2026
Time: 20:00
Venue: Headingley Stadium, Leeds
The match will be shown on Sky Sports