Always the bridesmaid, never the bride is a phrase you often hear in sport. It is usually associated with a team that often gets to a final, but for some reason never seems to be able to get it over the line and actually win a title. It is meant as a mocking term, that for whatever reason that side is inferior in every way, and that being the bride is what every team aspires to be.
To stretch the metaphor a little further, have you ever seen how stressful it is to be a bride? You spend years planning every element of one particular day, have sleepless nights worrying about if the flowers are going to look right, if the food is going to be tasty, or if everyone is going to get along, then when the big day comes, you barely get to enjoy it because you're too worried it might rain soon. In the meantime, the bridesmaid is able to relax, enjoy themselves, have a few drinks and dance like no one is watching. I know which one I'd rather be.
If we apply this to the English football pyramid, then the Premier League is certainly the bride, wanting all the attention and getting annoyed if people aren't watching closely enough. Whereas the EFL Championship is the bridesmaid having a great time regardless of what is going on around it.
There are 24 teams in the Championship, meaning each side has 46 games per season. Three teams are relegated from the Premier League The top two automatically go up, with third, fourth, fifth and sixth fighting it out in a playoff. Then the bottom three are relegated to League One, with the top three teams from that League taking their place. It is very simple to get your head around.
Before the international break halted proceedings, each side had played five games, meaning there are 41 rounds left to go. All of the top online betting websites and the best sportsbooks have a huge range of odds on the Championship, from who they think will be promoted, the top scorers, and who might go down. Let's have a look at some of those things here.
Promotion hopefuls
There are a number of sides in the English football system who are known as yo-yo teams. These are sides who are arguably too good for the Championship, but not good enough to stay in the Premier League. Fulham, who currently sit top of the Championship table, are certainly one of these sides. They have Premier League proven players such as Anthony Knockaert, Tom Cairney and Aleksandar Mitrović, but despite spending hundreds of millions in recent seasons, they never seem to stay up for very long. Still, they are looking good this year, and will likely go up again this season, so maybe this time they'll stick the landing.
Another side who are in great form is West Brom, who are certainly a yo-yo side. Since 2001 they have been both promoted, and relegated, on five separate occasions. Their current manager, Valérien Ismaël, has experience in the Championship with Barnsley, so Baggies fans will be hoping he is the man to guide them back up to the top tier.
Top scorer candidates
With just five games played, there are already three players with four goals; the aforementioned Mitrović, Andreas Weimann of Bristol City, and Aden Flint who plays for Cardiff City. Of the three, you would imagine that Mitrović is the most likely to top the charts come the end of the season, especially as he was the joint top scorer with 26 back in 2019, and managed 11 the year before that. However, Weimann has years of experience behind him, so could also be a contender for the award when this campaign concludes in May.
Who's looking nervously over their shoulders?
At this early stage of the season, the relegation zone consists of Blackpool, Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest. Blackpool were only just promoted to the Championship, so them being so low down does make some sense, but the other two sides come as a real surprise. Only two years ago Sheffield United were wowing fans in the Premier League and were most peoples' favourite second team. However form has deserted them, they fired their long-term manager Chris Wilder, and suddenly are staring the prospect of back to back relegations in the face.
Nottingham Forest are one of England's most decorated sides, with two consecutive European Cup wins in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the only English side to achieve such a feat. They haven't been in the top flight in over twenty years, but recently just missed out on the playoffs. Now, they are rock bottom of the Championship, with only one point out of a possible fifteen. Very bad times for Forest fans.
As there is still so much action to go, all this could change in a flash. It genuinely is one of the most exciting leagues in the world, and we can't wait to see how it turns out.
