Who are the Championship Contenders?
With the English Championship 22/23 season only a few days away, let’s look at the promotion favourites.
Burnley - 12/1
After six successive years in the Premier League, Burnley find themselves back in the Championship. They’ve flirted with relegation multiple times and to the bookies joy, Burnley always managed to evade it…. until last season.
In the 14/15 season, Burnley were also relegated from the Premier League, but bounced back next season winning the Championship. This was all under Sean Dyche’s impressive ten-year tenure. This time around, there’s no Dyche.
This season they will be led by Vincent Kompany who led Anderlecht in the Belgium League to three successive third place finishes. Getting Burnley back to the top division, however, will be no small task. Since relegation, Burnley have been struggling financially. On the face of it, we’re sure many people back Burnley to return to the Premier League next season. But let’s face the facts. Burnley are a Sean Dyche team. They are solid, reliable, and honestly, boring. They do enough to get the job done. If Kompany wants to put his stamp on this team, he’s going to need financial backing, and time. We think Burnley will struggle this season.
Norwich - 11/2 and Watford - 7/1
Norwich are the bookies favourites. Along with Watford, they’re known for their consistent yo-yoing between the top two flights. We’ve grouped them together here because there’s not all that much to say about them. They’ll definitely be contending. They both have squads that aren’t good enough for the Premier League but are almost too good for the Championship. We expect nothing less than a top 6 finish from either side. Especially Watford if they can manage to hold on to the likes of Dennis and Sarr.
West Bromwich Albion - 9/1
Being amongst the favourites for promotion is nothing new for the midlands team. They’ve a fantastic manger with Steve Bruce who we’re sure many would be pleased to see return to the Premier League after his unfortunate exit with Newcastle. If West Brom can achieve promotion, this will be his fifth promotion. West Brom have also acquired Jed Wallace from Milwall and John Swift from Reading. Fans will be hoping the two of them will bolster their chances of getting back into the topflight. They should definitely be amongst the best scoring teams in the league.
Middlesbrough - 9/1
Boro have one of the best managers in the league with Chris Wilder. Boro may not have as much money as other clubs but don’t underestimate the importance of having a good, experienced manager. They’ve also added depth to their ranks with Steffen, Giles and Akpom all coming to the Riverside. Another prolific striker and it would be hard to ignore Boro as title contenders.
Notable Mentions:
Sheffield United 10/1
Luton 20/1
Huddersfield 33/1
All three of these teams have the right managers and mentality to push for at least a playoff spot, if not automatic promotion.
Here's our prediction for the Championship 22/23 Season. We see Watford winning the league. Their squad on paper looks too strong. Boro take up the second automatic promotion spot, Chris Wilder's experience playing a key part in their promotion bid. Norwich, Sheffield United, West Brom and Huddersfield make up the play-off spots.
Burnley just miss out on the play-off places. Sticking with Kompany, they look good for a promotion push the following season. Newly promoted Sunderland finish an admirable 13th on their journey to bring their club back to the top flight. Blackpool, Rotherham and Reading get the chop with Birmingham only narrowly escaping.
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