Championship 2025/26: Everything you need to know in our Ultimate Guide

• How to watch the EFL Championship 2025/26

• Six new teams and nine new managers feature

• Favourites and dark horses all covered

• Full list of teams and form at this level

• Read our 2025/26 Premier League Ultimate Guide here

• Check out our player-by-player guide to the Golden Boot market

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Listen to Football...Only Bettor Championship 2025/26 season preview

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When does Championship 2025/26 kick off and how to watch?

The 2025-26 EFL season will consist of 33 weekend rounds, nine midweek rounds, and four Bank Holiday rounds and cumulatively amounts to 552 matches. Not for nothing is the league compared to a steeplechase, one that is fiercely competitive and extremely arduous.

It all begins on the weekend of August 8th, 9th and 10th with Birmingham City and Ipswich Town opening proceedings with a televised fixture on the Friday evening. The game will be screened live on Sky Sports along with two further contests the following day and Leicester City v Sheffield Wednesday on the Sunday. All other matches can be viewed via Sky Sports+.

Televised games are also available on the streaming service NOW.

The 2025/26 Championship campaign kicks off one week before the new Premier League season and one week after the League One and Two seasons get underway.

Live TV games up to 30 August:

*Please Note: All live Championship games are broadcast on Sky Sports.

Friday 8 August

- Birmingham City v Ipswich Town (20:00) - Sky Sports Football

Saturday 9 August

- Southampton v Wrexham (12:30) - Sky Sports Football
- Sheffield United v Bristol City (17:30) - Sky Sports Football

*all other games on Saturday 9 August are live on Sky Sports+

Sunday 10 August

- Leicester City v Sheffield Wednesday (16:30) - Sky Sports Football

Saturday 16 August

- Wrexham v West Brom (12:30) - Sky Sports Football
- Derby County v Coventry City (12:30) - Sky Sports+
- Portsmouth v Norwich (12:30) - Sky Sports+

Sunday 17 August

- Ipswich Town v Southampton (12:00) - Sky Sports Football

Friday 22 August

- Derby County v Bristol City (20:00) - Sky Sports Football

Saturday 23 August

- Charlton Athletic v Leicester City (12:30) - Sky Sports Football
- Hull City v Blackburn Rovers (12:30) - Sky Sports+
- Swansea City v Watford (12:30) - Sky Sports+

Friday 29 August

- Leicester City v Birmingham City (20:00) - Sky Sports Football

Saturday 30 August

- Middlesbrough v Sheffield United (12:30) - Sky Sports Football
- QPR v Charlton Athletic (12:30) - Sky Sports+
- Stoke City v West Brom (12:30) - Sky Sports+

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Big early Championship match-ups you don't want to miss

We don't have to wait long for fascinating fixtures, with two promoted sides from League One pitted against recent Premier League teams on the opening weekend. Birmingham host Ipswich and Wrexham take a long journey down to Southampton.

The following weekend sees the Saints head to Portman Road, their last encounter with Ipswich a top-flight affair back in February. Both teams are strongly fancied to make a swift return to the Premier League next May, priced up at 10/111.91 (Ipswich) and 17/102.70 (Southampton) to gain promotion. Even at this very early juncture the points will matter.

Matchweek 3 has Middlesbrough travel to Norwich and again this is an early 'six-pointer' with both teams under new management and widely tipped to challenge for a Play-Off spot or better.

Staying with Southampton, their relegation puts them in the same division with their historic rivals Portsmouth. The first South Coast derby for 13 years takes place at St Marys over the weekend of 13/14 September.

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Meet the Championship newbies

Having won back-to-back-to-back promotions a lot of eyes will be on Wrexham this term, not least because of the heavy investment and Hollywood glamour that is behind their rise.

Yet in the betting, it was Birmingham who took the early interest with 19% of the bet-share going into June backing the Blues to finish as champions for a second year running. Like the Red Dragons, Brum are well-financed and additionally have a shrewd tactician in Chris Davies at the helm.

After accruing an EFL record-breaking 111 points last season, momentum can do funny things.

Completing the promoted sides, Charlton Athletic will be looking to consolidate, competing in the second tier after a five-year absence.

Benefiting from parachute payments and with Premier League-standard players among their squads, much greater demands will be placed on Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton who all make a quick return to the Championship after a single, doomed campaign in the promised land.

All three clubs have focused on cutting their cloth accordingly, resisting making any big waves in the transfer market.

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Who are the favourites to go up from the Championship?

For the reasons stated above, all three of the sides relegated from the top-flight in May feature strongly in the promotion betting.

Ipswich Town are 10/111.91 to go up, via automatic promotion or the Play-Offs. Kieran McKenna's men are 11/43.75 to finish top of the pile.

Under new-management, Southampton are also strongly fancied to yo-yo back to the Premier League. The Saints are promotion second favourites at 17/102.70.

Leicester City are a lengthier 10/34.33 possibly due to the dramatic nature of their slump from December on last term. There are also significant financial constraints and the retirement of Jamie Vardy to factor in.

Elsewhere, Birmingham City are firmly in the mix at 2/13.00, as are Sheffield United at 11/53.20. The Blades suffered Play-Off heartbreak at Wembley after finishing third in 2024/25.

Coventry City and Middlesbrough, meanwhile, are both in the reckoning priced at 3/14.00and 5/16.00 respectively. The Sky Blues have been knocking at the door for several seasons now, coming fifth, ninth and fifth. 

By general consensus, Boro (ground pictured above) possess a squad good enough to mount a promotion charge and have a new manager in Rob Edwards, who took Luton Town up in 2023.

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Dark horses and teams to swerve

They're hardly the poor cousins of the division but Wrexham are expected to have one of the lowest wage ceilings in the second tier. Yet that hasn't stopped the Dragons from spending upwards of £13m to date on upgrades, including Conor Coady and Empoli full-back Liberato Cacace. It's a free transfer though who most stands out, Josh Windass a proven plus at this level and a terrific addition.

Then there's West Brom who undoubtedly have the pedigree to compete at the top but too often flatter to deceive, finishing mid-table in three of their last four seasons. The appointment of Ryan Mason as head coach however feels like a risk.

Speaking of pedigree, Norwich City have secured promotion three times in the last decade and better things are expected from them this time out to last. The Canaries are well-priced at 4/15.00 to fly high.

Typically too, there is also a surprise package inhabiting the top six at the business end of any Championship campaign. Could Blackburn Rovers at 16/117.00 be that side in 2025/26? Rovers ended last season on a positive note, unbeaten in six, as spring appointment Valerien Ismael's methods began to take hold.

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Who are the favourites to go down?

It's no surprise to see some of the teams who struggled last term touted to do likewise again. Preston North End and Derby County finished 20th and 19th respectively last season and are backed in some quarters to suffer an even worse fate this time around. The Lilywhite are 9/25.50 and the Rams 5/16.00.

After surviving by the skin of their teeth last time out Hull City are also in the conversation at 5/23.50 but new boss Sergej Jakirovic is fancied to improve the Tigers and the Bosnian has wasted little time in overhauling his squad.

There is much less optimism surrounding Sheffield Wednesday, who are priced up as 3/101.30 favourites after the club received a registration embargo as punishment for failing to pay their players in May and June. It is reported that six players have handed in their notice after their wages went unpaid and with a stand closed due to structural integrity concerns this is a club in serious crisis.  Whether the Owls can turn their problems around over the course of the season remains to be seen, but for now their future looks bleak.

Lastly, there is Portsmouth - 5/16.00 - and Oxford United - 5/23.50 - who both came up in 2024 and ultimately saw off the threat of an immediate return to League One. Perhaps these feats are viewed by some as an over-achievement and now gravity is anticipated to do what gravity does.

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Championship trends in recent years

When assessing the last 10 years of Championship football, we find relegated Premier League sides immediately go back up a little over a third of the time.

Moreover, eight of the last 10 Championship seasons have seen at least one relegated team bounce straight back to the top-flight which is a compelling argument to find value in Leicester's odds, or Southampton at 17/102.70 or Ipswich at 10/111.91 for that matter.

Still, if 11 of the last 30 promoted teams since 2015/16 were top-flight sides 12 months earlier we must also consider the 19 teams that came down and stayed down.

Indeed, the average league finish for sides straight after dropping from the Premier League is seventh. That's outside of the Play-Off places.

Naturally, teams coming up from League One should be assessed differently, with consolidation typically their objective. There has only been one exception to that rule in the last decade with Ipswich gaining consecutive promotions in 2023/24. A year earlier, Sunderland reached the Play-Offs after coming up.

These success stories, however, are regrettably rare, with over a quarter (26.6%) of promoted sides making a swift return to League One.

The average league finish for promoted teams since 2015 is 18th.

Before we move on, some more stats that may be useful, or at least, interesting.

The last 10 Championship title-winners have averaged 95.8 points.

The average number of points needed to secure a Play-Off spot has been 73.5.

And don't be too disheartened if your title-winning pick is trailing 10 games in. Only one club in the last decade has been top after 10 games and finished as champions (Leicester in 2023/24).

In 2015/16, Burnley were sixth a quarter through the season before finding their mojo.

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Proven form in the Championship

Who are the second tier mainstays? Who has proven form for knocking at the Play-Off doors?

The table below shows how long each club has been in the Championship, their average league position in that time, and when they were last - if ever - in the top-flight.

Club	Years in Championship	Average League Position	Last time in Premier League
Birmingham City	0 years	n/a	2011
Blackburn Rovers	7 years	11th	2012
Bristol City	10 years	13th	1980
Charlton Athletic	0 years	n/a	2007
Coventry City	5 years	9th	2001
Derby County	1 year	19th	2008
Hull City	4 years	15th	2017
Ipswich Town	0 years	n/a	2025
Leicester City	0 years	n/a	2025
Middlesbrough	8 years	8th	2017
Millwall	8 years	11th	1990
Norwich City	3 years	10th	2022
Oxford United	1 year	17th	1988
Portsmouth	1 year	16th	2010
Preston North End	10 years	12th	1961
Queen Park Rangers	10 years	15th	2015
Sheffield United	1 year	3rd	2024
Sheffield Wednesday	2 years	16th	2000
Southampton	0 years	n/a	2025
Stoke City	7 years	15th	2018
Swansea City	6 years	10th	2018
Watford	3 years	13th	2022
West Bromwich Albion	4 years	8th	2021
Wrexham	0 years	n/a	Never

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Managers to note in the Championship 2025/26

Southampton's appointment of Will Still is an intriguing one, the 32-year-old making headlines with Reims before arguably under-achieving at Lens last term.

Sergej Jakirovic heading to Hull fascinates too. Less than a year ago the austere head coach was in the Champions League with Dinamo Zagreb.

In South Yorkshire, former Hull boss Ruben Selles replaces Chris Wilder while Liam Manning takes charge at Norwich after performing wonders at Bristol City.

Of those in-situ, Frank Lampard has enhanced his managerial reputation at Coventry and the Sky Blues appear to be in very good hands. Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna, meanwhile, has more than proven himself at this level.

Look out too for Nathan Jones at Charlton. He has form for being highly animated on the touchline.

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The most significant transfers so far

It may have gone unnoticed, with Wrexham and Birmingham grabbing so much of the attention, but Norwich City have been among the big spenders, investing in the region of £23m on seven newcomers not including free transfers. Though new striker Mathias Kvistgaarden from Brondby demands the headlines, signing Manchester City midfielder Jacob Wright on a permanent deal is decent business. The youngster has a high ceiling, even boasting Champions League minutes under his belt.

Elsewhere, Southampton have bolstered their defence with the addition of Joshua Quarshie from Hoffenheim. The Saints shipped in 2.2 goals per 90 last term so strengthening in that area is a no-brainer. Ipswich meanwhile have bolstered their midfield, bringing in Azor Matusiwi at a cost of £11.5m. 

Incoming Swansea winger Zeidane Ioussa takes the eye, the Swede set to liven up Championship flanks at a cost of £5.5m. Millwall meanwhile have broke a club record to retain Josh Coburn, the forward impressing on loan last season. 

All told, Birmingham have recruited ten new players, and look even stronger for it. Wrexham's sustained interest in Ajax number six Sivert Mannsverk is one to watch. 

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Championship 2025/26 Golden Boot contenders

No Championship player managed to break the 20-goal barrier last season, with Leeds' Joel Piroe falling just one short on 19. Norwich pair Borja Sainz and Josh Sargent also came close which explains why both were heavily pursued over the summer. Sainz has departed for Porto. Sargent, for now, remains at Carrow Road.

Beyond those two, Wrexham's new signing Ryan Hardie is worth noting. The 28-yer-old scored 10 for a struggling Plymouth side last season. If the Red Dragons roar, he could greatly improve on that total.

Then there's Kyogo Furuhashi to consider, the former Celtic hit-man joining Birmingham after a brief spell with Rennes. Just two years ago, the 30-year-old outscored his peers in the Scottish Preimiership.

West Brom's securement of Aune Heggebo is another to note, the Norwegian prolific in Scandinavia. 

Of the three relegated clubs, two have lost their leading goal-scorers in 2024/25. That leaves Southampton who have purchased Damion Downs from Koln for £7m.

Championship Stadiums Info

Finally, if you're travelling to Championship matches in 2025/26, here is information about the grounds for all 24 clubs.

Club	Stadium Name	City/Town	Capacity
Birmingham City	St Andrews	Birmingham	29,409
Blackburn Rovers	Ewood Park	Blackburn	31,367
Bristol City	Ashton Gate	Bristol	26,462
Charlton Athletic	The Valley	London	27,111
Coventry City	CBS Arena	Coventry	32,609
Derby County	Pride Park	Derby	32,926
Hull City	MKM Stadium	Hull	25,586
Ipswich Town	Portman Road	Ipswich	30,056
Leicester City	King Power	Leicester	32,259
Middlesbrough	Riverside Stadium	Middlesbrough	34,742
Millwall	The Den	London	20,146
Norwich City	Carrow Road	Norwich	27,359
Oxford United	Kassam Stadium	Oxford	12,500
Portsmouth	Fratton Park	Portsmouth	20,899
Preston North End	Deepdale	Preston	23,408
Queen Park Rangers	Loftus Road	London	18,439
Sheffield United	Bramall Lane	Sheffield	32,050
Sheffield Wednesday	Hillsborough	Sheffield	39,732
Southampton	St Marys	Southampton	32,384
Stoke City	Bet365 Stadium	Stoke	30,089
Swansea City	Swansea.com Stadium	Swansea	21,088
Watford	Vicarage Road	Watford	22,200
West Bromwich Albion	The Hawthorns	West Bromwich	26,850
Wrexham	SToK Cae Ras	Wrexham	13,341

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Now read our Championship season preview with 1-24 league table prediction