A league where anything can happen...
The EFL Championship is one of the toughest leagues in the world and the prize for winning promotion from it is among the greatest.
The season is long, with 46 fixtures per club, which makes for plenty of twists, fluctuations in teams' fortunes and surprises. Get ready for action-packed weekends and plenty of midweek rounds to light up the dark nights of winter.
To illustrate how unpredictable this division can be, let's recall that, ahead of kick-off in 2025/26, Coventry City were 11/112.00 to finish top - a price that shortened as Frank Lampard's Sky Blues quickly emerged as the standout side in the division.
Ipswich were recognised as strong contenders for promotion, and duly obliged, but Hull were considered relegation contenders by some before the Tigers roared into play-off contention and claimed their place in the top flight. This is a division where dark horses can gallop into contention and achieve stunning results.
All of this means the Championship 2026/27 markets on Betfair Sportsbook are rich with opportunities for bettors. You will have your own opinions about which of the 24 teams will be challenging at the top of the table but it pays to know what the market predicts.
Below we discuss the top eight teams in the betting, with their odds for promotion and finishing top.
West Ham - In Nuno they trust
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Winner Odds: 15/82.88
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Promotion Odds: 1/21.50
Opening three fixtures: Burnley (A), Charlton (H), Watford (A)
The Hammers will not be happy about being back in the second tier for the first time since 2012. A summer of turmoil at the East London club, following their relegation from the Premier League, was brightened by the news that key man Jarrod Bowen is staying to try to help them win promotion at the first time of asking. Maybe Bowen's famous father-in-law and Hammers fanatic Danny Dyer had a word.
It won't be easy for West Ham to go straight back but, in Nuno Espirito Santo, they have a head coach who won the Championship title with Wolves eight years ago. He also took Nottingham Forest into Europe and, despite relegation last season, could argue that he improved West Ham after Graham Potter had already plunged them into peril. A long season awaits as West Ham plot their return to where they believe they belong. But it won't be easy.
An opening weekend trip to Burnley, could provide an early indication of how up for the fight Nuno's Hammers are this season.
Wolves - Jimenez aiming to fire Old Gold
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Winner Odds: 11/26.50
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Promotion Odds: 6/42.50
Opening three fixtures: Blackburn (H), Preston (A), Stoke (H)
Wolves' relegation to the Championship looked a dead cert from the autumn onwards after a disastrous start left them doomed. The appointment of Rob Edwards smacked of planning for 2026/27, with a manager who had previously got Luton up from the second tier taking charge. However, after engineering glimpses of a mini-revival, which at times boded well for the Championship campaign, Edwards was dismissed by the Molineux hierarchy.
New manager Cesar Peixoto is another Portuguese appointment and this is his first managerial job outside of his home country. An unknown quantity, last season he was in charge of Gil Vicente who finished sixth in the Portuguese Super Liga. Raul Jimenez is back at Wolves this season, after playing for Mexico against England at the World Cup, and should be capable of banging in a few goals in the Championship.
Burnley - New manager targetting swift return
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Winner Odds: 17/29.50
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Promotion Odds: 11/43.75
Opening three fixtures: West Ham (H), West Brom (A), Norwich (A)
English football's quintessential yo-yo club are back in the Championship for what they hope will be another promotion bid. Scott Parker is long gone and in new boss Nick Hayen the Clarets have appointed a Belgian manager who has won the league and cup in his own country.
So far, Burnley have seen more players leave the club than arrive so far this summer, with Axel Tuanzebe and Ashley Barnes among those to leave Turf Moor, and Hayen is keen to get more new faces in. They are expected to challenge for promotion again and, after going up in their last two seasons in the Championship, they will be confident that they know what it takes.
Middlesbrough - Boro must go one better
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Winner Odds: 9/110.00
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Promotion Odds: 11/43.75
Opening three fixtures: Lincoln (H), Blackburn (A), West Brom (H)
Middlesbrough got a play-off reprieve when Southampton, who beat them in the semi-finals, were disqualified for spying. The process - waiting to find out the results of the investigation after losing to Saints - left Boro in limbo and the stress showed when they were eventually beaten by Hull in the final.
Now Kim Hellberg's squad can go into the 2026/27 season believing they can go one better and return to the top flight for the first time in a decade. Boro captured promising forward Will Lankshear from Spurs, the England U21 forward knows the league having scored 11 goals for Oxford United last season. And at the time of writing, Boro were on the verge of signing USA World Cup midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, as Hellberg looks to strengthen for his first full season in charge.
Southampton - Points deduction must be overcome
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Winner Odds: 12/113.00
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Promotion Odds: 4/15.00
Opening three fixtures: Watford (A), Stoke (H), Millwall (H)
The villains of the Championship, Southampton's nickname has never been less appropriate and they can expect to be rebuked wherever they go this season - they start at Watford - due to the spygate fiasco. And it's still rumbling on with manager Tonda Eckert still to answer charges of spying on training sessions with three of Saints' opponents last season.
Most damaging for now is that Southampton start 2026/27 on -4 points - a punishment they incurred from spygate and there could be further punishments to come for Eckert. But the board, and reportedly the players, are standing by the manager. Could a siege mentality help fuel their promotion bid?
Birmingham City - Improvement essential for ambitious club
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Winner Odds: 12/113.00
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Promotion Odds: 4/15.00
Opening three fixtures: Sheff Utd (A), Bristol City (H), Wrexham (A)
Expectations were high last term for Birmingham City's return to the Championship and some believed they could achieve a consecutive promotion. It wasn't to be and, while finishing 10th after coming up from League 1 would usually count as a successful campaign, their moneybags owners will want more from the team in 2026/27.
Promotion is still the aim for the second city club and keeping hold of 23-year-old forward Jay Stansfield, as Premier League suitors circle this summer, could be key to their chances. A televised trip to Sheffield United on the first Saturday of the season will test Chris Davies' side's mettle.
Wrexham - More of the same expected
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Winner Odds: 14/115.00
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Promotion Odds: 9/25.50
Opening three fixtures: Cardiff (A), Watford (H), Birmingham (H)
The Welsh side's run of successive promotions ground to a halt last season but they did not discredit themselves in their first Championship campaign, finishing seventh and two points outside the play-offs.
That experience should stand them in good stead in 2026/27 and, although they are yet to make any signings, they will hope to be contenders again. Their famous co-owner Ryan Reynolds compared last summer's transfer market activities to a full home renovation, saying that this time they would just look to redo the kitchen. So expect some arrivals but not many as Wrexham rev up for another shot at reaching the big time.
Sheffield United - Wilder hoping to sharpen Blades
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Winner Odds: 14/115.00
Betfair Sportsbook Championship Promotion Odds:
Opening three fixtures: Birmingham (H), Swansea (A), Cardiff (A)
Chris Wilder came back for a third stint at Sheffield United after they made a poor start last year and, following a summer to develop his plans, will embark on a full campaign aiming to do much better than last season's 13th-place finish.
Forward Ryan Martin Oné should get his chance to impress for the Blades after spending last season on loan at Lincoln where he helped them gain promotion from League 1. Patrick Bamford scored 12 for United last season and the 32-year-old can still be a force up front in the Championship.
Tips for every Championship match
Want EFL Championship 2026/27 tips? Read our second tier expert Jack Critchley's tipsheet for each round, as he picks the best bets for every match from the August openers to the play-off final.
Jack's Championship tips are a big hit with punters and he's been helping them find the value for several seasons.