Middlesbrough's hopes of winning automatic promotion from the Sky Bet Championship remain alive after they thrashed Watford 5-1 at the Riverside.
With second-placed Ipswich drawing at West Brom, Kim Hellberg’s side have moved to within a point of the top-two positions with one game to play, although Ipswich still have a game in hand as the promotion battle heads towards its climax.
Boro’s 5-1 victory was their joint-biggest win of the season and came courtesy of doubles from Morgan Whittaker and Tommy Conway plus a goal from David Strelec.
Watford’s goal came at the start of the second half from James Abankwah, but while the visitors were a match for their opponents for most of the first period, they were comprehensively outplayed after the break.
West Brom confirmed their Championship status for a second time in a week after they held promotion-chasing Ipswich to a 0-0 draw at the Hawthorns.
Albion were hit with a two-point deduction for breaching Profitability and Sustainability Rules on Friday evening to leave them mathematically vulnerable to relegation with two matches left of their season.
A point here, though, meant they cannot be caught and Oxford have been relegated.
For Ipswich, they move back into second place and with all eyes on their meeting with top-two rivals Southampton on Tuesday evening.
Hull's play-off hopes were dealt a major setback as Jayden Fevrier’s second-half goal earned Charlton a 2-1 victory at The Valley.
The Addicks, who led through Charlie Kelman’s seventh goal of the campaign, ended a seven-game winless run and mathematically secured their safety.
John Egan had headed the Tigers level at the end of the first half but they have not picked up a victory in their last six matches, taking four points from a possible 18, as they failed to jump back above Wrexham and into the top six.
Will Lankshear scored twice as Oxford beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 in the battle of the already-relegated clubs at the Kassam Stadium.
With one match of the season to go, Wednesday still have only one victory to their name, and they were comprehensively outplayed by Oxford.
Lankshear put Matt Bloomfield’s team into a sixth-minute lead when he met Stan Mills’ low cross from the right with a skilful flick past keeper Pierce Charles at the near post.
The Tottenham loanee then took his tally for the season to 12 – 11 of them in the Championship – with a curling 25-yard shot over Charles and into the top corner in the 27th minute.
Former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Will Vaulks made it three with a thumping left-footed shot, after controlling the ball neatly with his right, in the 66th minute – his first goal of the campaign.
Substitute Will Grainger pulled one back for the Owls on 72 minutes with a smart 20-yard shot high into the net.
Yet Oxford restored their three-goal advantage a minute later when Myles Peart-Harris swivelled and shot past Charles from 14 yards.
Jaydon Banel scored a late winner for Derby as they twice came from behind to beat QPR 3-2 and stay in the race for a play-off place.
Harvey Vale put Rangers ahead and Oscar Fraulo levelled with his first Derby goal, before Richard Kone put the west London side back in front with his 10th league goal of the season.
Sondre Langas hauled the Rams level again, and Banel's 88th-minute strike – the youngster’s third goal in five matches – secured the points for John Eustace’s men.
The winner was scored with QPR down to 10 men after forward Rumarn Burrell, recently back after a three-month absence, went off injured with Rangers having made all their permitted substitutions.
Derby’s vital – and rare – away triumph means they will go into the final weekend of the season eighth in the table and with a chance of making the play-offs unless sixth-placed Wrexham beat champions Coventry on Sunday.
Norwich's unlikely bid to reach the lay-offs ended after being held to a 1-1 draw by Swansea at Carrow Road.
Needing a win to keep their slim hopes alive, the Canaries went behind just after half-time when Zan Vipotnik slotted home his 25th goal of the season from the spot.
Player of the season Kenny McLean converted another penalty in the 83rd minute to make it interesting but the home side, who were in the bottom three at the turn of the year, were unable to find a winner.
Liam Lindsay was Preston's unlikely goalscoring hero as they dramatically secured a 3-2 victory over Sheffield United.
The former Stoke centre-half had only previously netted six league goals in five years with the club, but Preston’s inspirational captain bagged two in just 15 minutes – the first double of his career – to strike a dagger blow into the Blades.
Lindsay rose high to meet Jordan Thompson’s in-swinging left-footed corner and head past helpless keeper Adam Davies in the fifth minute.
And he escaped his markers once more, sprinting to the near post to bullet home Alfie Devine’s corner from the other side in the 20th minute to hand the visitors a 2-0 lead which laid the platform for success.
They were the 30 year-old’s first league goals of the season in the penultimate game as the Lilywhites leapfrogged United, rising from 16th up to 12th in the Championship table.
Blades midfielder Gus Hamer hammered home a 71st-minute penalty after Femi Seriki was tripped by Andrija Vukcevic.
But Lewis Dobbin responded five minutes later after latching on to Devine’s superb defence-splitting pass, racing from halfway to round the beaten Davies.
Former Leeds striker Patrick Bamford reduced the deficit again with his 12th goal of the season in the 82nd minute to set up a frantic finish, but Preston held on.
Bristol City interim Roy Hodgson suffered defeat in what is expected to be the final away game of his 50-year managerial career in the St Andrew's sunshine.
The former England boss watched his side lose 2-1 to Birmingham after first-half goals from Phil Neumann and Jhon Solis as Tomi Horvat’s late penalty turned out to be mere consolation.
Adrian Segecic scored a maiden EFL hat-trick as Portsmouth beat Stoke 3-1 to record a first ever victory at the bet 365 Stadium.
The Australian born Croatian gave Pompey a 32nd-minute lead and netted again after 66 minutes following Lamine Cisse's equaliser two minutes into the second half.
Top-scorer Segecic then completed his landmark treble with a 20-yard left-footed effort to wrap up the points eight minutes from time.
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