It might not have the same fanfare and pomp of the Premier League, but the Championship is undoubtedly up there as one of the most competitive football leagues in Europe, if not the world.
With 24 teams battling it out over a busy season for the chance to join the elite clubs in the top division, there is definitely a lot at stake. And there is certainly plenty at stake when it comes to placing bets on the Championship season. From wagering on the outright winners to betting on which team will be relegated further down into the English Football League system, punters have plenty of opportunities to make this season a little bit more interesting.
Here’s our low down of how the Championship season is shaping up with a look at some of the best bets on offer.
To Win the Championship
It’s safe to say that, even though we’re already 8 games into the Championship season, there is still a long way to go. Some teams have got off to absolute flying starts while others look like they might need a few more games to really hit a run of form, and you can see this from the range of odds on offer for the outright winner markets.
Pre-season favourites such as Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Fulham have seen their odds lengthen significantly after having mixed fortunes in the opening round of games this season. Of the three clubs, it is Middlesbrough who are clinging on to the bookie’s favour with odds of 7/1 despite currenly sitting in 7th position. Aston Villa, who are 13th, can be found at odds of 25/1 while Fulham in 14th are available at 16/1.
At the the top of the list of Championship winner odds is a bit of a surprise. Early leaders Wolves are currently at 11/4 to win the league after having had an impressive start to the campaign – although it’s not too much of a surprise when you consider the intent they showed in the summer transfer window, bringing in Ruben Neves from FC Porto.
Two more surprise packages are Cardiff and Leeds, both of whom got off to unbeaten starts until the seventh and eighth round of games respectively. The early success has paid off for the clubs with Leeds being pipped at 7/1 to win the league and Cardiff at 8/1. Even though it is arguable that both clubs had an easy fixture list for the start of the season, they have built a very solid foundation to launch a title-winning season.
Then there is Preston North End, the team who currently sit in fourth place having won 4, drawn 3 and lost one. This isn’t by complete chance either as the Lanchashire club have beat the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Cardiff City and Reading while holding Leeds and Middlesbrough to draws away from home. North End are looking like strong contenders under manager Alex Neil who was experience being promoted from the league with Norwich in 2015. So, with odds of 50/1 available, it’s not too bad a shout to back Preston to win the Championship.
Promotion Markets
Of course, every fan would be ecstatic if their team won the league. But in the Championship, finishing in top spot is often an added bonus to promotion into the Premier League. And, you guessed it, there are markets out there which offer odds on the likelihood of a team getting promoted, be that through one of the top two automatic promotion places or via the play-offs.
The Championship is such as long season and anything can happen if a team manages to put together a string of results. With this in mind, you can expect to find a pretty tightly packed up bunch of teams when it comes to the promotion odds. Top of pile are Wolves at 11/10 while Middlesbrough and Leeds can be found at 2/1. Cardiff aren’t too far behind at 13/5 and Fulham are after them on 7/2. Sheffield Wednesday, Derby and Norwich are teams that have been in and around the promotion battles for the past few seasons and you can get them at odds of 5/1, 11/2 and 7/1 respectively.
Again, Preston North End are a very enticing option at 12/1 to get promotion and it is certainly a good option for any punters who want to back a longer shot. Then again, you would be wise to remember that early season form very rarely lasts and the question you have to ask is whether Preston can continue to compete with a limited squad of mostly young and home-grown players.
If you want to get really specific then you can even back a team to win the play-offs with Middlesbrough currently favourites on 15/2 while Leeds and Wolves are both on 9/1.
Relegation Battle
From the joy and elation of promotion to the harsh realities of relegation. No-one enjoys seeing a team going down (unless it’s a close rival!) but it’s an inevitability of the football world. And besides, you can always make a bit of extra pocket money out of it all.
At the moment, it appears to be a battle of the B-teams with Bolton (4/9), Burton (10/11), Barnsley (11/10), Birmingham (7/2) and Brentford (9/1) all wallowing about at the bottom. Even though Brentford are currently sitting on no wins, they have managed to grind out some important draws against teams like Bristol City and Wolves, which is perhaps why the odds for them to do down aren’t too bad compared to the likes of Burton and Barnsley who have only really managed to pick up points from teams outside of the top 8 teams.
There are plenty of other clubs in the league who could get sucked into a relegation fight with Millwall on 7/1, Sunderland at 8/1, QPR at 8/1 Reading on 9/1 and Ipswich on 11/1. If you do want to place an outright bet on the relegation market then it would be a good idea to look ahead to each team’s final run of fixtures as this could have a profound effect on their survival.
Top Goalscorer
If there’s one thing we like about Championship football, then it is the goals upon goals that are scored on a weekly basis. That said, whether you want to believe it or not, the number of goals scored in Championship matches is actually lower than many of the other leagues in the world. Although this just goes to show how competitive the league is since it is very rare to see more than three goals in a game.
With this in mind, the race to be the top goalscorer is even more open than ever, with a wide range of strikers from various teams pipped at odds of 33/1 or better. Leading the pack is Middlesbrough’s £15 million signing, Britt Assombalonga, who currently has 5 goals and sits in joint second place in the top scorer rankings along with Wolves’ Diogo Jota (33/1) and Hull’s Jarrod Bowen (66/1). There is no doubt that Assombalonga is a prolific net-finder but it’s worth keeping in mind that Middlesbrough have historically been a defence-minded outfit. So, you might fancy the chances of someone like Leeds Uniteds’ Pierre-Michel Lasogga at 14/1 or Derby County’s Matej Vydra for 16/1. And remember, the leading goalscorer doesn’t always play for the team that goes on to get promotion!
