Good morning everyone and welcome to Fitzie’s EFL Championship predictions for the 2026-27 season. The Championship is the most enjoyable league to watch in club football, and this year will be no different. The playoffs have been expanded to eight teams, so the competition will be even more fierce.
And that could be a good thing because West Ham and Wolves are expected to take the two spots at the top. There’s been a lot of transfer activity too. In fact, the Championship is the sixth-highest spending league this summer, according to TransferMarkt.
Automatic contenders: West Ham and Wolves are the runaway favourites here. Nuno Espiritu Santo promoted a Wolves side some years ago, so he knows how to get it done. They’ve lost some top players though including Matheus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville. Joel Veltman is a solid get.
Wolves also added two Premier League-ready players in Kieran Trippier and Raul Jimenez who should add a ton of experience and class. But the biggest question mark is their new Portuguese manager. Was he really worth sacking Rob Edwards for?
I also think Boro should be in the mix. I like big Willy Lankshear to tear it up for them after his move from Spurs, and I think Sebastian Berhalter and Radek Vitek are solid gets too. They’ve kept most of their squad together except for Hayden Hackney and appear to have some stability in the manager position now.
Playoff race: With three spots spoken for, who else can fit into the supersized top eight? Given the gulf between the Premier League and Championship, we have to put Burnley in the mix (but I have no idea who their manager is). So, too, should Southampton whose squad is pretty much together from least season when they made the playoffs. Lewis Dobbin is a smart addition.
I’m not as high on Millwall this season after their disastrous playoff final appearance. I think it’s a step back before they take a bigger one next year.
Then you have to Hollywood heart throbs in Birmingham and Wrexham. The Blues have high hopes to be a future Premier League team, with plans for a stadium that can hold up to 62,000 people. Lots of excitement, but not as much talent as Wrexham, who just missed out on a spot last year.
I also like Norwich City to return to the playoffs this year, continuing their end-of-season form.
Midtable: There is a lot of potential here for some clubs to flirt with the playoffs (like West Brom, Sheffield United, Swansea or Bristol City) and the drop zone (like Derby County or Cardiff).
Bristol City will face the biggest drop-off from last year, while Stoke’s tailspin from last season was a truer indication of their identity than the opening months. I can imagine Derby and Cardiff struggling, but I think they’re better than some others.
There’s also Watford and QPR.
Relegation candidates: I count six probable relegation teams. The most obvious are Lincoln City, whose ground has a capacity of 10.6k. Last year was a dream when they won League One, this might bring them back down to reality.
Blackburn Rovers are in serious danger too. Their last three places were 19th, 7th and 20th, which shows there is something deeper there. Portsmouth barely survived last season, as did Charlton. And Bolton are making their return to the Championship. Preston North End would be in a much worse position if they didn’t find a way to bring back Alfie Whiteman, so I think they’ve got enough to stay up even if it will be a close call.
Fitzie’s EFL Championship Predictions:
Wolves (C)
West Ham (P)
Middlesbrough (P)
Southampton
Burnley
Norwich
Wrexham
Millwall
Birmingham
Swansea
Sheffield United
Bristol City
West Brom
Watford
QPR
Stoke
Derby
Cardiff
Preston
Charlton
Bolton
Blackburn (R)
Portsmouth (R)
Lincoln (R)
Fitzie’s track of the day: Mamba Mambo, by The Animeros
And now for your links:
The Athletic ($$): “Compelling and confounding. Cristian Romero’s legacy at Tottenham is complicated”
Alasdair Gold: “Roberto De Zerbi’s classy touch at Tottenham training ground with ‘fantastic’ gesture”
The Guardian: “Kieran Trippier: ‘The Championship is relentless … it’s totally different to the Premier League’”
BBC: “Leicester City put up for sale for more than £200m”