Ahead of the start of the Sky Bet Championship this weekend, we spoke to Andy Clark of Thatsagoal.com to get his thoughts on the season ahead, the latest odds and which teams could make a push for the play-offs in what is billed as the most difficult league in the world.
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Who will be pushing for Promotion from the Championship?
Predicting the Championship is always so tough, and this season is no different. Leicester have a points deduction hanging over their head, Southampton might be about to lose their star man Tyler Dibling and Ipswich have lost Liam Delap. This brings into play the teams on an upward curve such as Birmingham City, Coventry and even Wrexham.
The latest betting odds have Ipswich (11/10) as the favourites for promotion, ahead of Southampton (7/4) and Sheffield United (2/1). Birmingham have been the talking team over the last 12 months with their big spending to get straight out of League One, and that hasn’t stopped as they look to climb back into the Premier League. Kyogo Furuhashi has arrived for £10m from Rennes and the statement signing is well fancied to be near the top of the Championship top scorer tables come the end of the season too.
Sheffield United (2/1) will likely be there or thereabouts again, but their play-off heartache (again) from last season may well be lingering around Bramall Lane.
Wrexham (11/2) are the team that people are betting on to get promoted to the Premier League, and the ‘rags to riches’ story shows no signs of stopping. It will be a tough task to get this team into the top six but Phil Parkinson has added some experience to the squad, with Conor Coady the latest addition.
Other teams worth a mention are Frank Lampard’s Coventry (4/1), Norwich City (11/2) and Millwall (10/1), who narrowly missed out on the play-offs last time around.
Championship Relegation Odds
Down the other end of the table, Sheffield Wednesday are the 1/3 favourites to be relegated due largely to their off-field problems. Oxford United come next at 13/5 and Charlton are 3/1. Blackburn are the team that have caught the eye of the shrewd punters, though, backed into 5/1. They narrowly missed out on the play-offs last season but have lost some key players over the summer, and are struggling to bring new faces in with their financial restrictions. The owners continue to cause unrest amongst the supporters, and it could be a long season for the Lancashire outfit.
Preston survived by the skin of their teeth last season, finishing just a point above the bottom three, and their fans will be hoping for a better campaign this time around; however, they have made wholesale changes to their squad, and it remains to be seen how quickly the new faces can bed in. Milutin Osmajic will be the key to scoring goals, but his temper might be his downfall and lead Preston to another long season at the wrong end of the table.
Last season’s League One play-off winners, Charlton Athletic, are 3/1 to be relegated at the first time of asking, but they have done some decent business this summer and their fans will be confident of remaining in the division, at least. They lost just four of their last 28 league matches last season and were unbeaten at home in that time, so another strong season in front of their home fans should secure Championship safety.
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Championship Top Goalscorer Odds
The bookies make Southampton’s Cameron Archer the 13/2 favourite to be top scorer this season, but this isn’t a bet I’d be touching. He couldn’t make it stick in the Premier League last season and he’s only got to double figures once in his career (on loan at Middlesbrough in the Championship). This league looks like his level, and I expect Southampton to go well, but Archer won’t be topping the goalscorer charts.
Jay Stansfield ripped up League One last season, and he won’t get things as easy this time around, but at 10/1, he will have his fans. However, it is Birmingham City’s new Japanese striker Kyogo Furuhashi, who has been all the rage in this market. He is 16/1 to be the top scorer in the Championship, and if we put a line through his disastrous season in France, he scored 63 goals in 116 matches for Celtic before that move.
Sammie Szmodics is the player of interest for me, though. He couldn’t quite get to the level in the Premier League and was playing second fiddle to Liam Delap last season, but back in the Championship, and with Delap moving on, he can recreate his top-scoring season from 2023/24 when he bagged 27 goals for Blackburn.
Final Word from Andy at Thatsagoal.com
“As ever, this is a really tough league to bet on, but the three prices that interest me the most are Blackburn to be relegated at 5/1, Sammie Szmodics to be top scorer and an each-way bet on Kyogo Furuhashi in the same market. The top of the table is always ultra-competitive, and there is always a team that makes a late run for a play-off place. I’d be keeping an eye on Charlton and Derby to upset the applecart and sneak into the top 6 come next May.”
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