Championship predictions and best bets for 2025/26 season: Tractor Boys & Saints on the march

The last edition of the Championship delivered no shortage of drama on the field with Leeds winning on the final day to secure the title over Burnley on goal difference, Sunderland returning to the top flight via a dramatic play-off final and Luton Town suffering back-to-back relegations.

Expectations are therefore high for the return of the second tier, which gets underway on August 8th with the favourites for the title on betting sites, Ipswich Town, taking on newly-promoted Birmingham City.

The Tractor Boys and Southampton are the top two in the betting for both the title and promotion as they look to bounce back to the Premiership at the first time of asking.

Football betting sites got it right last year after pricing up Leeds and Burnley as the favourites for promotion, but this season’s Championship odds suggest plenty have hope of going up with Birmingham, Sheffield United and Leicester City all aiming for the Premier League.

The Championship remains perhaps the most difficult league to navigate across the EFL pyramid, though Ipswich managed to do so fairly easily as they won back-to-back promotions to earn a spot in the Premier League ahead of 2024/25.

However, it is now that things could get difficult for Kieran McKenna’s side, with relegation back into the second division making it arguably more difficult the second time round.

However, most online bookmakers have the Tractor Boys as the favourites to win the second division title, with McKenna’s experience and tactical nous clearly valued despite the high-profile departures of Liam Delap and potentially Omari Hutchinson.

The influx of Premier League cash continues to provide a huge advantage to the clubs who’ve recently been in the top flight, and that should be no different for Ipswich, who could yet add Hayden Hackney and Dael Fry to the squad after the signings of Azor Matusiwa and Ashley Young.

At present it is hard to see past either Ipswich or Southampton – who are second favourites in the Championship winner odds – but when taking into account McKenna’s experience at each level and the current crop of players, we’re going with the Tractor Boys to win the Championship.

Championship season prediction 1: Ipswich Town to win the Championship - 3/1 Virgin Bet

Last season’s losing play-off finalists, Sheffield United, are expected to challenge at the top, but the loss of Chris Wilder alongside a raft of yet-to-be-replaced loan players makes them unappealing at the current Championship promotion odds.

And fans of an intriguing wager will be interested to see newly promoted Birmingham City at third in the title odds, with bookmakers clearly taken by their League One form and the cash influx of their big-spending owners.

However, it's Southampton, another club that seems to have wisely invested its Premier League windfall, that could be the safest bet to claim one of the other promotion spots.

Though the Saints briefly threatened to produce a record-breaking failure of a season in the Premier League, they now return to the second division with high hopes.

Will Still has been appointed manager with the exciting young coach returning to England after success with both Reims and Lens in the French top flight.

There have been some notable departures with Kamaldeen Sulemana going to Atalanta, Aaron Ramsdale joining Newcastle and Jan Bednarek heading to Porto. More outgoings could be forthcoming with Tyler Dibling the subject of some transfer interest.

So far, only Damion Downs and Joshua Quarshie have joined a young Saints squad, but more incomings are likely and there’s a strong belief on the south coast that Still can turn this squad, which still contains plenty of quality players like Yukinari Sugawara, Joe Aribo and Cameron Archer, into promotion contenders.

Championship season prediction 2: Southampton to get promoted - 7/4 Betway

Unsurprisingly, it’s Sheffield Wednesday who are the overwhelming favourites for relegation from the Championship this season, with the departures of numerous first-team regulars and manager Danny Rohl adding to the Owls’ off-pitch crisis that includes a transfer ban and late payments to players and staff.

Beyond the Owls, the Championship relegation odds have a slightly strange complexion with newly-promoted Wrexham and Birmingham, who would usually be among the favourites for relegation, fancied to survive and thrive in the second tier after splashing the cash this summer.

League One play-off winners Charlton have also invested heavily and it all adds up to Oxford United being priced as the second-favourites for relegation.

The U’s returned to the Championship for the first time in 25 years last season but despite having the shortest football odds for the drop, they managed to stay up after a late run of form saw them secure 17th place.

However, their underlying statistics last season, particularly going forward, are cause for concern, and it could be tough for a club with such a small budget compared to the league’s new arrivals to beat the odds once more.

Championship season prediction 3: Oxford United to be relegated - 13/5 Bet365

The top scorer for the upcoming Championship season is one of the hardest things to predict in this league, with so many variables making it a difficult yet exciting betting market.

It is often the case that players reach the top of the scoring charts even if their team isn’t in the promotion race, as was the case last season when three Norwich City players were in the top four – winger Borja Sainz with 18 goals and striker Josh Sargent with 15.

However, you can bet on the strikers from the main promotion candidates also being there or thereabouts, with Leeds’ Joel Piroe winning the golden boot last season with 19 goals. Nevertheless, the fact that Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill came in second with 18 goals further illustrates what a volatile market this can be!

Ahead of 25/26, it’s promising Southampton striker Cameron Archer who begins as the favourite in the Championship top scorer odds. Despite only notching two goals for the Saints in the top flight last season, he played over 1,400 minutes and it seems as though bookies are backing him to have learned a lot from that experience.

Ipswich forward George Hirst is priced as third favourite in this market at around, but his lack of minutes last season sees him ranked as an outside shout, while Jay Stansfield could be an interesting wager as the second favourite.

However, we think it’s risky to back the striker of a newly promoted side, no matter how much investment they’re getting.

Championship season prediction 4: Cameron Archer to finish as top scorer - 10/1 Ladbrokes

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