Preview | NPL play-offs

A total of 16 teams across the four divisions will compete for promotion over the next week, culminating in the three Step 4 play-off finals on Saturday afternoon and the NPL Premier Division finale on Bank Holiday Monday.

Below, we run through all the sides vying for promotion, and what's on the line on a busy Tuesday night of NPL action.

NPL Premier Division

Semi-final fixtures:

• FC United of Manchester vs Warrington Rylands
• Hednesford Town vs Stockton Town

Beaten to the title by Hebburn Town on the final day, Hednesford Town will need to go the long way round if they're to earn promotion to the league above.

But winning the play-offs is a feeling they're used to, having done so in the NPL West Division last season.

Can lightning strike twice? Their home form certainly suggests so, the Pitmen having lost just one of their 20 league games at Keys Park so far this season.

The only side to beat them, Stockton Town, are their opponents on Tuesday night.

The Anchors, gracing the Step 3 play-offs for the second successive season, won 2-1 at Hednesford at the end of October.

The pair traded first-half goals before a sending off for Hednesford's Max Sheaf saw the hosts reduced to 10 men for more than half the match. In the end, Stockton netted the winner four minutes from time as Joshua Scott fired home from close range.

Michael Dunwell's side have done it once already this season, but can they repeat the trick?

The other Premier Division semi-final sees Neil Reynolds take his Warrington Rylands side to Broadhurst Park to face his former club, FC United of Manchester.

Reynolds left the Reds in September 2024 after nearly six years in charge, and having been snapped up by the Blues soon after, has since led them to a second play-off finish in the last three seasons.

Both regular season meetings were won by the away side, and, given FC United are the hosts on Tuesday night, it could well give their opponents a slight psychological edge.

But FC United have been one of the frontrunners all season long, and will hope to cap off a memorable season with promotion.

Manager Mark Beesley led Warrington Town to play-off glory back in the 2022/23 season and would love to do so again with his new club, against his former side's fiercest rivals.

A run of one win in five to end the campaign may have thwarted FC United's title hopes, but they will no doubt look to use that disappointment as fuel heading into a pivotal few days.

NPL East Division

Semi-final fixtures:

• Emley vs Dunston
• Matlock Town vs Bradford (Park Avenue)

The dominance of East Division champions Redcar Athletic means it has long been a case of who can be 'best of the rest'.

That fight was won by Matlock Town, whose season has been far from smooth sailing.

The Gladiators boast a star-studded squad but have struggled at times during the campaign, leading to Adam Clayton being dismissed as manager after a 3-0 Boxing Day defeat at Ossett United.

Clayton was reinstated just days later after a remarkable U-turn by the club, but it was only a temporary reprieve as he was dismissed for a second time at the end of March.

Since his departure, the club have won six straight games, including all three at home by an aggregate scoreline of 13-0.

The form team heading into the play-offs, Matlock will host a Bradford (Park Avenue) side whose top-five spot was only secured with a 2-1 win at Ossett on the final day.

It feels like a lifetime since the pair played out a goalless draw at the Proctor Cars Stadium on the opening weekend of the season, but now their paths will cross in Derbyshire once more.

Completing the line-up in the battle for promotion from the East Division, Emley host a Dunston side that are no strangers to the top five, having reached the play-offs in each of the last three seasons.

Beaten on penalties by Stocksbridge Park Steels last season and Stockton the year before, Dunston will desperately hope for no more shootout heartbreak.

But to get that far, they'll need to win away at Emley, who hit Newton Aycliffe for six on the final day to confirm their top-five spot and ensure they head into Tuesday's clash full of confidence.

Having fallen to defeat at Dunston in last season's play-offs, courtesy of a 94th-minute winner from Dan Turner, the Pewits will have revenge on their minds and scores to settle.  

NPL Midlands Division

Semi-final fixtures:

• Carlton Town vs Racing Club Warwick
• Basford United vs Belper Town

At the turn of the year, Carlton Town were 11 points clear in the Midlands Division.

And by the end of February, their advantage remained the same.

So, the fact that they have found themselves in the play-offs after a stuttering end to the campaign, coupled with a perfect 11-game winning run from Anstey Nomads, is all the more remarkable.

The Millers finished the season on 90 points and scored a league-high 84 goals in 42 games, therefore seeing them head into the play-offs as favourites for promotion.

But a closer look at results over the course of the season shows that they have actually picked up more points on their travels that at home.

To add further intrigue, Tuesday's opponents, Racing Club Warwick, have found form at just the right time, too.

They have tasted defeat just once in 11 matches since the start of March - away at champions Anstey - and ended the season with three successive wins.

The club ended the season with their biggest-ever points tally at Step 4, but the job isn't yet over, and they remain a dark horse to reach the league above.

Another intriguing affair on Tuesday night will see Basford United and Belper Town - two sides who don't have to go back too far for the last time they graced the Premier Division - do battle at Greenwich Avenue.

With the joint-fewest defeats at home of any side in the Midlands Division this season, Basford will hope that familiar surroundings can prove to be the catalyst for further success.

Two East Midlands rivals who couldn't be separated in either of the previous meetings this season, the stakes couldn't be any higher heading into a big night under the lights. 
 

NPL West Division

Semi-final fixtures:

• Avro vs Lower Breck
• Stalybridge Celtic vs Runcorn Linnets

Heading into the season, few would've expected this to be the make-up of the West Division play-offs.

But the fact that it is speaks volumes about how certain sides have adapted to life at Step 4, namely Avro and their opponents on Tuesday night, Lower Breck.

Despite the highest-ever league finish in the club's history having already been secured, Avro will be bitterly disappointed to have missed out on being crowned Champions of the West.

Crucial back-to-back defeats against Kidsgrove Athletic and Bootle at the end of March gave Bury a lead in the title race that they would not relinquish, and not even a run of five straight wins - including a remarkable 13-0 victory over already-relegated Darlaston Town on the final day - could claw back the gap.

Still, Avro remain in a strong position to cap off a memorable season at Step 4 with promotion.

Standing in their way on Tuesday night are Step 4 debutants Lower Breck, who have also enjoyed a campaign to remember.

Breck have adapted incredibly well to life in the West, and in the early knockings of November found themselves top of the table.

And yet, a stuttering run of results in 2026 led some to wonder whether Gary Moore's men would make the top five at all.

In the end, a crucial 4-0 victory at home to nearest challengers Vauxhall Motors on Easter Monday and a 3-1 win at Shifnal Town on the final day saw them over the line.

Having made the play-offs, you'd argue that it is somewhat of a free hit for a Breck side who were perhaps unfancied at the start of the season.

But dark horses they certainly are now, ahead of Tuesday's trip to Greater Manchester.

The other semi-final sees two sides much more established at this level go toe-to-toe.

Stalybridge Celtic are another who hit form at the ideal time, a run of eight straight wins towards the end of the campaign catapulting them into play-off contention.

They ended the campaign two points ahead of Runcorn Linnets to guarantee home advantage, and will be determined to kick on and find another gear at the business end of the season.

But Linnets are regulars of the play-off scene by now, reaching this stage of the season in three of the last four campaigns.

So near yet so far on previous occasions, the club will hope the decision to re-appoint Michael Ellison as manager at the turn of the year will bear fruit.

Leading Widnes to the West Division title last term, Ellison's next task is to help get this talented crop of players over the line after going oh-so-close in recent times.

And if he can manage to take Linnets all the way, Ellison will further cement his legacy at a club he has already created so many special memories with as a player and coach.