The Championship is a notoriously difficult league to get out of, but every year most of the 24 teams competing in it believe they have what it takes.The relegated trio from the Premier League led the Championship odds markets for promotion and the title before a ball was kicked. There has already been some movement however after 11 rounds of fixtures, as one of the three – Burnley – sit 22nd, while Swansea City are setting the pace at the top.The door to the promised land has been opened a little wider, with the EFL’s new play-off format making its debut this season. Now, seventh and eighth place will also enter the post-season tournament, which should keep even more teams in the hunt right up until the final weeks of what is a relentless 46-game marathon.We’ll dive into those we expect to be involved at the sharp end, how West Ham and Wolves are readjusting after several years in the top flight, and who will look to push them all the way. Championship promotion odds 2026/27West Ham – 1/4 with Sky BetMiddlesbrough – 4/5 with bet365Wolves – 6/4 with Paddy PowerSouthampton – 3/1 with BetMGMBirmingham – 3/1 with Star SportsSwansea – 4/1 with BOYLE SportsWest Brom – 7/1 with William HillMillwall – 12/1 with BetfredWrexham – 12/1 with LadbrokesStoke – 14/1 with BetVictorQPR – 16/1 with bet365Burnley – 25/1 with BetVictorNorwich – 25/1 with BetVictor*Odds correct at time of writing, and are subject to change.West Ham have been here before, having been relegated from the Premier League in 2003 and 2011. On both previous occasions, they’ve needed the play-offs to escape the second tier.The top football betting sites aren’t expecting them to have to rely on that route this time around. West Ham are evens for the title and 1/4 for promotion. Middlesbrough are next in the title market at 7/2, and are odds-on to go up at 4/5. Wolves have gone the other way after defeats to Boro and Bolton, drifting to 6/4 for promotion and 9/1 for the title.Burnley opened at 11/4 to go up but have drifted all the way to 25/1. They finally won at the ninth attempt, 4-0 at Watford, but a draw with Charlton and a home defeat to Wolves followed. Fans are starting to lose patience after years of yo-yo’ing and a messy off-season, and new head coach Nicky Hayen is under pressure.Southampton are 3/1 having wiped out their points deduction, and the Spygate cloud has lifted a little. Manager Tonda Eckert was handed a suspended six-week ban by the FA, leaving him free to stay in the dugout. The Premier League’s fallen giantsOne by-product of expanding the play-offs is that it leaves an even greater margin for error for those who’ve slipped out of the Premier League. Due to the widening gulf in TV deals and sponsorships between the two leagues (as well as parachute payments), a higher ratio of recently relegated clubs have been able to bounce back at either the first or second attempt in recent seasons.We have, however, seen two clubs in the last two seasons (Luton and Leicester) fall even further and straight down into League One – so parachute payments are by no means a silver bullet! This year, West Ham, Wolves and Burnley are the three looking to avoid a relegation hangover.West HamThe early signs indicated that West Ham had collectively had a long, hard look in the mirror and had a clear plan to navigate the Championship, which is always the biggest concern when a club of their size has sleepwalked through the trap door.Manager Nuno Espírito Santo is a former winner of the second tier, when his Wolves side amassed 99 points in some style. Captain Jarrod Bowen – scorer of 65 Premier League goals for The Hammers – also committed himself to the cause after positive talks with the club’s owners. Retaining these two sent out a message to the rest of the division that they didn’t plan on hanging around.They replaced Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville – both of whom left for huge fees – with Joël Piroe and Manor Solomon, both of whom won Championship winners medals with Leeds two years ago. They also added Celtic midfielder Arne Engels for £22 million – a record fee for a Championship club.Despite a slow start, where they took just two points from the first three games, they are unbeaten in eight since and have scored a division-high 30 goals. A 6-0 win at Lincoln was followed by a 1-0 win at leaders Swansea, which left them a point off top spot.The Hammers may prove too difficult to stop once the season truly gets going. Back West Ham for promotion at 1/4 with Sky Bet WolvesWolves would’ve begun preparing for life in the Championship from very early last season after they matched the joint-lowest points total (2) on Christmas Day in Premier League history. They did manage to improve in the new year, eventually winning three games and finishing on 20 points.Surprisingly, however, the club decided to sack manager Rob Edwards – who had been brought in with this season in mind, or so most people thought. The new man in charge is Cesar Peixoto, who has managed a number of clubs in Portugal – most recently Gil Vicente, who he guided to sixth place in the top flight.This was, reportedly, not a popular move among some of the Wolves players – including former England international Kieran Trippier, who had arrived on a free from Newcastle just days prior. Trippier, however, is an excellent signing for the level, as is Raúl Jiménez, who returns to Molineux three years after switching to Fulham. He may be 35, but Jiménez arrived off the back of scoring three times at the World Cup for Mexico, and he matched that tally with three in his first six Championship games.Wolves lost only once before the international break, at the London Stadium against West Ham, and edged out West Brom 1-0 in the Black Country derby. The break has not been kind to them. They lost 1-0 at Middlesbrough and 3-1 at home to Bolton, before a 2-1 win at Burnley steadied things.Peixoto’s side are seventh, four points off the top two, and have drifted from 10/11 to 6/4 for promotion. Tip Wolves to bounce back at the first time of asking at 9/4 with Paddy Power BurnleyBurnley have, unfortunately for them, become the archetypal yo-yo club in the last five seasons having suffered three relegations from the Premier League. They bounced back to win promotion on the first two occasions, but the bookies believed completing the hat trick would prove to be more difficult – but surely not this difficult! Burnley have dug themselves into a hole in the early stages of the season and have slipped to 25/1.The club struggled to find their new manager over the summer, with approaches for Craig Bellamy and Rob Edwards leaking publicly. They eventually turned to Belgian Nicky Hayen and, with a squad also lacking in continuity after a series of promotions and relegations, he hasn’t yet been able to find a winning formula. One win in 11 games has left them 22nd.The goalkeeper and centre back pairing that conceded a record-fewest 16 goals in 46 Championship games just over a year ago have all since departed. They also lost Jaidon Anthony and Zian Flemming – two of the few standouts from last season’s poor attempt at Premier League survival.Burnley were priced near the top in August, but that owed more to their track record in the division – the Clarets have won automatic promotion in each of their previous four seasons in the division! That streak looks as though – barring a minor miracle – it’ll come to an end this season. Back Burnley to recover from a poor start and win promotion at 25/1 with BetVictor The chasing packWhile the parachute payments may give the above three teams a financial advantage, the game is played out on the pitch and as the likes of Coventry City, Sunderland and Luton Town proved in recent years, there is every chance that those who’ve been steadily building can get in amongst it.MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough’s season ended in heartbreak after they were, at one point, on course for automatic promotion. Kim Hellberg took over from Rob Edwards, who left suddenly for Wolves and, under the Swede, Boro were quickly going through the gears until a slump near the end of the season – they went seven without a win between early March and late April.They were then beaten in the play-offs by Southampton, but were handed a reprieve following the verdict of the Spygate scandal – the EFL threw the South Coast club out and sent the Teessiders to Wembley. Unfortunately, after that whirlwind of events and emotions, they were beaten again under the arch, 1-0 by Hull.Hellberg will be desperate to put that behind them and emulate Coventry from last season who shook off play-off pain to win the title.Boro were one of the most active teams in the market, adding young Spurs striker Will Lankshear, US internationals Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten, and Kyle Joseph from Hull. They did, however, see midfield maestro Hayden Hackney depart for Everton.It has translated immediately. Lankshear fixed their goalscoring issues with six goals in the first eight games, a tally bettered only by Cyle Larin at that stage. Boro beat Wolves 1-0 and won 3-2 at Stoke after the break, and sit third, level on points with West Ham. The market has noticed, cutting their promotion price from 5/2 in the summer to 4/5. Bet on Middlesbrough securing promotion at 4/5 with bet365 SouthamptonSouthampton were quick to wipe out the -4 points they started the season on in the wake of Spygate. Not only did members of the Saints’ coaching staff enter Middlesbrough’s training ground, they were found guilty of doing the same to a couple of other teams during the regular season too.The club backed manager Tonda Eckert, and the FA’s verdict allowed him to carry on, with his six-week ban suspended.Despite initial reports of a squad revolt – due to a loss of earnings – when the club were thrown out of the play-offs, they kept most of the playing staff together – signing striker Cyle Larin and goalkeeper Daniel Peretz permanently after successful loan spells.They’ve scored for fun at St Mary’s – demolishing Millwall 5-1, Bristol City 4-1 and beating Swansea 3-1. Their first away win finally came at Norwich after the break, alongside a 1-0 derby win over Portsmouth and a goalless draw with Bolton. Without their deduction, the Saints would be fourth.Anyone betting on a Saints promotion push is essentially banking on the squad staying united. Their price has eased slightly, from 9/4 to 3/1. Tip Southampton to win promotion at 9/4 with BetMGM Swansea CityYou’d have gotten very decent odds on Swansea to be promoted at the start of the season! But the Swans have very quietly been building a strong side, and a strong identity under Portuguese coach Vitor Matos. The 38-year-old was not believed to be the top target when the club sacked Alan Sheehan in November 2025 – that was reportedly Kim Hellberg, who was en route to South Wales before dramatically u-turning and heading to Middlesbrough.Results under Matos in the second half of the season were encouraging, and they managed to keep hold of last season’s Championship top scorer – Žan Vipotnik. They made a number of impressive signings in the summer, including Elijah Just and Stephen Eustaquio – who caught the eye at the World Cup – and landed two exciting new wingers in Joseph Opoku and Moussa Yeo.Their defence is giving them a great platform. They have conceded a division-low eight goals, and kept four clean sheets in a row between matchdays 2 and 5. Their mettle was tested after the break by Norwich, Millwall and West Ham. They beat the first two before losing 1-0 at home to the Hammers, but are still top of the table. Bet on Swansea City to return to the Premier League after nearly a decade away at 4/1 with BOYLE Sports Birmingham CityMany expected Birmingham City to jump up a few places this season given all the noise from their ownership group, Knighthead Capital. Tom Wagner and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady have pumped a lot of money into Blues over the last couple of years, and have unveiled plans for a massive new stadium to be opened in the near future. They clearly have no intention of staying in the second tier for long.That led to speculation that manager Chris Davies could be one of the first managers on the Championship chopping block this season, despite leading them to the record points total in League One just over a year ago. He followed that with a solid 10th-place finish in their return to the second tier, but they were never serious contenders to gatecrash the top 6.With the top 6 now becoming a top 8, Davies has Birmingham well placed in fourth after 11 games, having lost just once. Turning draws into wins was the early issue, with five stalemates. They have won all three games since the break without conceding: 1-0 at West Brom, then 4-0 against Preston and 3-0 against QPR. Back Birmingham to return to the Premier League at 3/1 with Star Sports There’s another way to bag even more value with the Blues this season, however! If you haven’t signed up to Coral before and you believe they can reach the play-offs, you have the chance to score boosted odds of 50/1! They don’t even need to win the play-offs, just reach them – in 8th or above! Should this land, you’ll secure 10x £5 Free Bet Builders! Who else could challenge?The two extra play-off spots increase the chances of a team appearing from nowhere to put themselves within two (or three) wins of the Premier League. The further you move down the division, the less there is to choose between many of the teams. Here are a few more sides who have every right to feel buoyant.Norwich CityNorwich were expected to be a play-off team at the very least this season after Philippe Clement led a remarkable recovery in the second half of last season. The Belgian stepped in with the Canaries at their lowest ebb since their relegation to League One in 2009.They had just nine points on the board in the middle of November and had set an unwanted club record of seven home defeats on the trot to start a season (eight if you include their early Carabao Cup exit).The former Rangers boss quickly had the Canaries chirping again and eventually, they finished just shy of the play-offs and were only mathematically out of the hunt following their penultimate game.Norwich fans hoping that they would carry that momentum into the new season have been quickly hit with a reality check. They won three and lost five of their first eight, including back-to-back 4-3 defeats before the break. The three-week pause did not help. Defeats to Swansea, Southampton and Portsmouth have left them 21st, with eight losses from 11 games and no goals in their last two. Clement now has problems at both ends, with 21 goals conceded. Back Norwich to claim one of the promotion spots at 25/1 with BetVictor MillwallMillwall have been knocking on the Premier League door for a couple of years and have had a series of near misses either in the play-offs, or in their attempt to finish in the play-off places.When Alex Neil’s side won at Middlesbrough on Good Friday last season, the race for automatic promotion looked well and truly on. Unfortunately for the Lions, they weren’t able to follow it up on Easter Monday – losing to Norwich – and Ipswich held their nerve to take second place. The London side then came up short against Hull in the play-offs.It has been an up-and-down start to this season, but back-to-back 2-2 draws with Middlesbrough and West Ham before the break showed that they should still very much feature again at the sharp end. Since then, a 1-0 win at Preston has been followed by a 1-0 home defeat to Swansea and a 2-2 draw with Lincoln. That leaves them 12th, but only two points off the top eight.The Den remains one of the most daunting away trips for the other 23 teams in the division – Norwich and Bolton have found that out in the early weeks. West Ham were on the ropes in the first half of their visit too! Tip Millwall to reach the Premier League for the first time at 12/1 with Betfred WrexhamOne club that’ll never be far from the headlines is Wrexham. Following three straight promotions from Non-League, the “Rob & Ryan”-backed Welsh club found the Championship to be a lot tougher – but still competed very well, and could’ve sneaked into the play-offs on the final day.This summer got off to an unusually quiet start on the transfer front, but they did eventually make upgrades in goal with Anthony Patterson arriving for over £8 million, and in midfield with Callum O’Hare making a deadline day switch from Sheffield United. The squad is packed with Championship experience and should be strong enough to contend for the top 8.The start has been mixed. Wrexham took two points from their opening three, losing at home to Birmingham where Phil Parkinson described two of the goals as among the softest his side have conceded in his time at the club, before a 3-0 win at Millwall put them back on track. They secured their first home win of the campaign just before the pause with a 2-1 victory over Southampton. Since the break, a 1-1 draw at Derby and a 2-1 home defeat to West Brom were followed by a 4-1 win over Preston, leaving them 14th. Bet on Wrexham to complete the journey to the Premier League at 12/1 with Ladbrokes How this year’s play-offs workAs mentioned a few times already in this article, the landscape of the Championship is about to change this season, with more teams having more to play for come the last few weeks of the season.Here is how the new system will work:FinishReward1stAutomatic promotion2ndAutomatic promotion3rdPlay-off semi-final vs lowest remaining seed, 2nd leg at home4thPlay-off semi-final vs highest remaining seed, 2nd leg at home5thPlay-off eliminator round – home6thPlay-off eliminator round – home7thPlay-off eliminator round – away8thPlay-off eliminator round – awayThe play-offs used to see 3rd meet 6th and 4th meet 5th in two-legged semi-finals, with the 3rd and 4th-placed teams also having the advantage of playing the second leg at home.Now, those two teams will await the winners from the eliminator round. 5th will host 8th, and 6th will host 7th in one-off “win-or-go-home” ties. The lowest remaining side will then take on the 3rd-place team over two legs and the higher of the two advancing will meet the 4th-place team. The two winners of those ties head to Wembley to contest the richest game in club football! Frontrunners in League One and League TwoFor those looking to create a promotion acca by including the two lower EFL tiers, here are some of the key storylines for each: League One frontrunnersLeicester City were the clear favourites here after suffering unfathomable back-to-back relegations and having won the FA Cup as recently as five years ago. Russell Martin is overseeing the rebuild, following a mass exodus of former Premier League and Championship title-winning stars including Abdul Fatawu, Ricardo Pereira and Harry Winks.They started terribly, however, with embarrassing defeats at home to Burton Albion and Oxford – losing 4-0 to the latter – and sit 14th. Bradford lead the way, a point clear of Stockport, Huddersfield, Plymouth and Cambridge, with Sheffield Wednesday a point further back with a game in hand. Stockport are now the favourites for promotion.League Two frontrunnersSalford City were the favourites to finally get out of the fourth tier and into the third. The Ammies were like the original Wrexham story after the likes of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and other former Manchester United legends got involved. They reached League Two in 2019, and last season’s play-off final – where they were beaten 3-0 by Notts County – is the closest they’ve come to taking the next step.Like Leicester, however, they didn’t start well – losing their first three. The Ammies have since recovered and now top the table, four points clear of Barnet, who have two games in hand. My Championship promotion tipsBesides the promotion market itself, there are several other ways to back teams you believe will have a strong season, but aren’t so confident in going all the way. Here are two bets I like the look of:Middlesbrough, Huddersfield & Grimsby as a promotion treble – 15.2/1 with bet365Wrexham to make the Championship play-offs – 2/1 with Paddy Power My promotion treble/accaFor value, I steered away from West Ham and Leicester and picked one team from each division who I think could emerge as either a slightly less likely automatic promotion or play-off candidate. So far, my treble is looking good. The initial combined odds of 66.37/1 have since been cut to 15.2/1, which is still a good potential return for those backing it now.In the Championship, I’m backing Middlesbrough – in a full season of Kim Hellberg – to put it all together and cope better in the crunch periods. The clinical edge has arrived already through Will Lankshear.In League One, Huddersfield are no longer flying under the radar. They opened at 9/2 and are now evens, which tells you the market has caught up with a squad carrying two proven scorers at that level in Alfie May and Joe Taylor. They sit third, a point behind Bradford, and could easily snatch a top-two spot ahead of Yorkshire rivals Sheff Weds, or come through the play-offs.In League Two, I’ll back Grimsby, after their play-off finish – plus cup exploits – last season, to go one better. They have started slowly and sit 17th, but that is reflected in a 7/2 price. Don’t forget, there are three automatic places in League Two! Back my promotion treble at 15.2/1 with bet365 Wrexham to make the play-offs7th in the Championship last season represented Wrexham’s highest-ever finish in the pyramid. An identical season this time around would be enough to finish just inside the play-offs, rather than just outside. They added just a couple of top-end Championship players, allowing Phil Parkinson to continue to work with what was an expensively assembled, and vastly experienced, squad a year ago.The 5/4 available in August has drifted to 2/1 after a slow start. They sit 14th, three points off the top eight, so this is a better price for the same argument – though the defending will have to improve on what we have seen so far. Back Wrexham to finish in the top 8 at 2/1 with Paddy Power Key dates for the 2026/27 Championship seasonThe Championship is a 46-game marathon that began on 14th August and ends on 1st May. To squeeze that many games in, there are plenty of midweek fixtures, thus creating “three game weeks”. This includes the week between Christmas and New Year where teams will play on Boxing Day, the 29th December and New Year’s Day.Due to changes in the international breaks, however, there won’t be the traditional double-header over Easter this time around. The final seven games will be played in the space of four weeks between 3rd April and 1st May.The new play-off eliminator round will then get underway shortly after, with dates to be confirmed. FAQs about the Championship 2026/27 season1. When do we begin to get an idea of how the table is shaping up?Usually around 10 or 11 games – 11 is roughly the quarter-point of the season. With 11 games played, West Ham and Middlesbrough are very much where people expected them to be, but Wolves have slipped to seventh. Swansea are something of a surprise package, and are top of the table at the quarter-point, so they should be treated as serious promotion contenders.2. Who are the favourites for promotion this season?West Ham and Wolves looked like the teams to beat before a ball was kicked, having spent several years in the Premier League. West Ham won a European trophy just three years ago, and Wolves were one of the more impressive champions in recent Championship history when they scored 99 points in 2017/18.Burnley had won promotion in each of their last four seasons at this level too, though one win in 11 has knocked them out to 25/1. Middlesbrough are looking like the best non-parachute team, alongside leaders Swansea.3. Why did Southampton start the season on -4 points?This is one of the punishments for Spygate. Southampton were caught sending staff to the training grounds of opposition clubs last season, with the most recent instance leading to their expulsion from the play-offs. The points deduction reflects the damage done from similar spying missions during the regular season.4. Where can UK fans watch Championship matches?Sky Sports will have over 1,000 EFL games (Championship, League One, League Two) once again this season, in what is the third season since they started offering all midweek games via the red button service, and an increase in 12:30pm kick-offs on a Saturday.There will typically always be at least two live games on their main channels too across any given weekend. ITV will also show the occasional game, as well as a weekly highlights show. Read more football during the 2026/27 seasonPremier League winner oddsPremier League top 4 oddsPremier League relegation oddsChampionship refereesGolden Boot oddsAbout the authorNathan HillNathan Hill is an experienced sports writer who obsessively follows football – both the round ball and American kind – as well as range of other sports including F1, basketball, darts and snooker.Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. 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