Who Will Win 2024/25 Championship: Favourites, Predictions and Odds on Promotion
The new Championship season kicked off on August, 9. Three sides relegated from the Premier League last season will do their best to get back to the highest division. While there are some other teams who would like to join the top tier after some years that had to spend in the Championship. 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 Burnley have the best chances for the direct promotion. While Middlesbrough, Sunderland and West Bromwich 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 one of the best goal differences in the league. By the fifth round, the team ranks in the top three for the number of shots (41) and is the best in terms of passes (2,112). Brenden Aaronson is tied for third place in the number of goals scored.
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. The manager is happy to see the third best goalscorer of last season Crysencio Summerville staying with the team. Just as the second best assistant Georginio Rutter.
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.
Burnley: Will The Clarets Work on Mistakes?
The team has fallen out of the top five, but this seems to be temporary. They are only a couple of points away from third place. As one of the two highest-scoring teams in the league (averaging 2.5 goals per game), they are pushing hard to return to 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 — the team is among the bottom five in the league for the number of yellow cards, averaging three per game.
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. Last season, Burnley hovered in the middle of the table for this metric (169), which is unusual for a team that often plays on the counter
Middlesbrough: Fresh Blood vs Experience
Middlesbrough are trying to keep up with Burnley, trailing them only in goal difference.
Last year, Middlesbrough finished eighth in the Championship, outscoring two teams from the top 7. The team's attacking line looks 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.
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.
Bookmakers rate the chances of one of the oldest teams in England and Wales to advance to the Premier League even higher than the current leaders Sunderland.
Sunderland: Can The Black Cats Avoid Jinxing Their Luck?
Sunderland are 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. However, despite their current top position and impressive results, bookmakers do not consider them the favourites for promotion.
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.
Sunderland lead the league with both the highest number of goals scored (10) and the fewest goals conceded (1). They have exceeded their expected goals (xG) by 3.82, having an xG of 6.18. Defensively, they’ve also outperformed their expected goals against (xGA), allowing just 1.91 xGA, the lowest in the league, and are one of only two teams with an xGA under 3.0. As a result, this is the best start for the team in the past hundred years.
West Bromwich: Finally Ready?
The team is fighting for the highest positions, trying to keep up with the unstoppable (at least initially) Sunderland.
Last season, West Bromwich reached the playoffs but did not make it past the semifinals. Yes, they finished in fifth place, but the gap from fourth was so significant that it seemed the team was not yet ready for the Premier League. It's a different story now. The Baggies are deservedly at the top of the table, with their goals and xG closely aligned. And Opta's supercomputer, after running thousands of simulations, has placed them second by the end of the season.
With one of the most balanced squads, West Bromwich have a great chance to go through the season without any major setbacks. Josh Maja is one of the top three scorers of the season, while Tom Fellows is one of the top two assist providers in the Championship.
EFL Championship Promotion Odds
No surprise that the same team that are considered favourites to win the league are the favourites to be promoted. 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, necessary transfers, and experience make Leeds United, who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League last year, the clear favourite for the season. Odds on Leeds to win the Championship are
29/20
and odds on them to be promoted to the Premier League are
2/5
The chances of the other five favourites are close. Given the sluggish transfer policy in the summer window, much will depend on acquisitions during the season. In these circumstances. Sheffield's position appears the weakest, as the team was already penalised with a two-point deduction before the season for failing to meet financial obligations to other clubs. If the violation is repeated, they risk losing at least two more points.
Everton
Chelsea
Manchester Utd
Bournemouth
Real Madrid
Sevilla
Tottenham
Liverpool
Leicester
Wolverhampton Wanderers
