Who Will Win 2024/25 Championship: Favourites, Predictions and Odds on Promotion
Half of the season is behind us. As always, the bookmakers knew everything in advance. Only one team from the top 5 favorites at the start of the season has lost its status. Luton Town is languishing at the bottom. Meanwhile, Leeds are gradually packing their bags to annoy Premier League fans next season. Let's talk about the upcoming season, who has the best chances to be promoted to the Premier League and what bookmakers think about it.
EFL Championship Winner Odds
According to bookmakers Leeds United and Sheffield United have the best chances for the direct promotion. While Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Burnley will fight for the third ticket to the Premier League with three more teams breathing down their necks. Below is the table with the main contenders to win the upcoming season
Who will win the 2024/25 Championship odds
Leeds United: Another Return of The Hooligans?
After a bitter defeat by Southampton in the last season's play-off final, Leeds is the main contender for the first place. Even though Daniel Farke’s squad lost three big names including Archie Gray who left for Tottenham for the huge 41 mln euro in the midseason, The Peacocks look strong enough to win the season.
This season, Leeds have firmly positioned itself around the top three, boasting the best goal differences in the league. By the 24th round, the team ranks number one for the number of shots (265)) and is the best in terms of passes (13,017). Joël Piroe is tied for third place in the number of goals scored (9).
Being second best in the league for goals conceded (a total of 43) in the previous season, the team has further strengthened the central line with the acquisitions of Joe Rodon and Jayden Bogle.
Likely, the "most hated" team, according to the fans' chants, known for its aggressive supporters, will make a return to the Premier League after a brief absence.
Sheffield United: The real yo-yo team
Conceding 104 goals last season and setting a Premier League anti-record, Sheffield are among the favourites in the Championship. Last season after the home defeat to Arsenal 0-6, the team was even supported on social media by the "worst professional club in the world" - Real Kakamora from the Solomon Islands. It didn't help either. Sheffield finished in last place and was relegated to the Championship.
Head coach Chris Wilder used to criticise the mentality of the players over the season and promised to sell some of them. As a result, they sold 15 players, including one of their leaders, Cameron Archer, and Jayden Bogle, who went to their direct competitors - Leeds.United. The problem is that to replace them, the team acquired only a few players, the most notable of whom is Harrison Burrows - a defender from League 1.
Even though the team was penalized by 2 points, they share the top spot with Leeds and are the second favorites among bookmakers to win the tournament. Sheffield rank third in the league for goal difference (19). Incidentally, only Burnley have conceded fewer goals so far.
Burnley: Will The Clarets Work on Mistakes?
After briefly dropping out of the top three, Burnley have already surged back in. The team with the best defensive record in the Championship (0.3 goals conceded per game on average) is eager to secure a spot in the top division.
Burnley had a disastrous season in the Premier League, scoring just 41 goals (only Sheffield United scored fewer) and showing a terrible goal difference (-37). With clear problems in both attack and defence, perhaps the team's biggest weakness has been discipline. Seven red cards — the worst record in the league. This is what head coach Scott Parker will need to deal with. So far, their efforts have been met with mixed success — In terms of yellow cards, they are mid-table, receiving just under two per game on average.
Burnley fans' main hopes are linked to two French-speaking players. Belgian left winger Mike Tresor, who came from K.R.C. Genk for 18 mln euro, is in charge of fast attacking actions. While the French Maxime Estève is tasked with increasing the number of blocked shots.
Sunderland: Can The Black Cats Avoid Jinxing Their Luck?
Sunderland were perfect at the start of the season with the best goal difference in the Championship. At one point, their total time without conceding a goal almost reached 7 hours. Then they slightly declined and now can't even manage to hold onto third place
After a disastrous (and far from the first in the past 15 years) previous season, few had included the Black Cats among the favourites. Much has changed with the arrival of new head coach Régis Le Bris, who is betting on young players like the team’s top scorer this season, 21-year-old Romaine Mundle.
The team showed their best start in a hundred years. However, they couldn't maintain their momentum throughout the season. Even so, they remain one of the best teams in terms of both goals scored and goals conceded. In terms of goal difference, they are holding onto a spot in the top three (16).
Middlesbrough: Fresh Blood vs Experience
Despite being in seventh place and trailing league leaders Middlesbrough by 12 points, they are among the top five favorites according to bookmakers, ahead of both Watford and Blackburn Rovers, who are currently above them in the table.
Last year, Middlesbrough finished eighth in the Championship, outscoring two teams from the top 7. The team's attacking line looked solid, led by last season’s top-7 scorer Emmanuel Latte Lath. He fired 11 goals in the final 12 games of last season to finish his maiden campaign in England with an impressive 18 goals in total. But injuries disrupted his form, and although he ranks third on the top scorers list with 9 goals, bookmakers don’t take him seriously.
Finishing fourth in the 22/23 season, in their first year under the leadership of former Manchester United star Michael Carrick, Middlesbrough showed that they are capable of competing for the highest positions. Carrick retained all the key players, including the team's current top scorer, Matt Clarke during the off-season and is gradually integrating young players into the squad.
EFL Championship Promotion Odds
No surprise that the same team that are considered favourites to win the league are the favourites to be promoted. And in the same order. Two sides will be promoted directly, with another one will get their Premier League spot via play-offs at the end of the season.
Championship promotion odds 2024/25
Squad depth, the right transfers, and experience all favor Leeds' victory. They are navigating the season without any downturns, playing brilliantly both in defense and attack. Bookmakers are offering odds of
1/2
on their victory and an almost negligible
1/10
for promotion.
A truly intense battle is expected for second place, where Sheffield and Burnley are separated by just 1 point. But we know how Middlesbrough can push hard towards the end of the season.
Real Madrid
Red Bull Salzburg
Arsenal
Dinamo Zagreb
PSG
Manchester City
Feyenoord
Bayern Munich
Sparta Prague
Inter Milan
