Championship Outright Tips 2026/27
In a league where anything can and will happen over a 46-game season and a nerve-shredding play-off run, our Championship outright tips are here to help you make sense of it all going into an action-packed 2026/27 season.
Championship Outright Winner
It should come as no surprise that the three sides relegated from the Premier League last season lead the market as far as the outright winner of the Championship for 2026/27 goes.
But it’s West Ham at 7/4 that are the heavy favourites to win the title, something that’s hard to disagree with given the Premier League quality Nuno Espirito Santo still has at his disposal despite some recent outgoings – especially with Jarrod Bowen captaining the side.
Bowen has recorded 20 or more Premier League goals and assists in each of his last three seasons. In a lesser league he should easily hit those numbers again, if not smash them.
Wolves look the likeliest to give the Irons some bother given they too have retained a lot of names from last season – all while adding key experience in the form of Kieran Trippier and the returning Raul Jimenez off the back of an emotional World Cup campaign for Mexico.
The biggest question mark for them is new manager Cesar Peixoto, who replaced former Middlesbrough manager Rob Edwards in the summer.
Peixoto has bags of experience as both a player and manager – mostly in Portugal, so how well that translates in one of the most attritional leagues in Europe remains to be seen going into the new season.
That said, his Old Gold have more than enough talent to keep the favourites looking in the rear-view mirror; all the way to the wire perhaps.
Championship Teams to Achieve Promotion
West Ham and Wolves lead our Championship 2026/27 Promotion odds followed by Middlesbrough, who came agonisingly close to promotion after reaching the play-off final at Wembley last year.
Boro have made some impressive signings over the summer – despite selling star man Hayden Hackney to Everton – with the likes of striker Will Lankshear from Tottenham and goalkeeper Radek Vitek from Manchester United joining their ranks.
It’s clear Boro have wasted little time in reaffirming their mission statement going into this season and they look set to be in the conversation to achieve promotion to the Premier League.
Our outsider pick for promotion was also in a lot of conversations last season… and have paid the price for it with a four-point deduction before a single ball is kicked.
Southampton are currently 4/1 to achieve promotion – something that isn’t out of the realm of possibility when you look at their form from last season and the quality of their squad compared to the other 23 teams.
The Saints have kept hold of key players like Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Nathan Wood, Flynn Downes and Leo Scienza while making the loans of goalkeeper Daniel Peretz and striker Cyle Larin permanent.
This isn’t a Sheffield United season 2025/26 situation, where it takes them months to get out of their predicament.
No, the fact that they have avoided a mass exodus after ‘Spygate’ tells us that ordeal is more likely to motivate one of the best sides in the Championship last season.
Championship Top Scorer
Bowen’s consistent goal-scoring numbers in the Premier League put the winger top of our Championship top scorer odds at an enticing 5/1. The Hammers also have striker Taty Castellanos in the top three at 10/1.
While never a bad problem to have, this should be considered when entering our Championship top scorer market as having more than one player in the running suggests the goals may be spread across the frontline.
That’s why we’re leaning more towards a Zan Vipotnik type of player – a focal point, as Vipotnik will be for Swansea, is more likely to score the lion’s share of the goals for their respective side.
Vipotnik, of course, won the Championship golden boot last season with 23 goals – 16 more than the season prior – and is a worthy outsider at 20/1 to prove that what he did in front of goal in 2025/26 wasn’t a one-off.
Another potential disrupter this season is one Lorent Tolaj of Bristol City. Currently priced at 16/1, he comes with a decent reputation for scoring goals at all ends of the football pyramid.
Tolaj joined the Robins this summer after scoring 17 goals for Plymouth Argyle in League One last season, 14 for Port Vale in League Two the one before that and 19 for Aldershot in the National League three seasons ago.
These are lesser leagues, yes, but there’s a clear through-line of consistency here making him a worthy option should you be looking outside of the usual suspects like Bowen, Jimenez, Castellanos and Lankshear.
Relegation Predictions
Lincoln City’s historic 29-game unbeaten run to earn promotion to the Championship after a 65-year hiatus was one of the feel-good stories of last season – one that doesn’t have as happy an ending as once thought.
Losing manager Michael Skubala to Bristol City just weeks after winning League One, and appointing not one but two inexperienced head coaches to share the role in his place, is virtually dicing with death in the most competitive league in England.
And that’s without analysing the quality of the squad and the lack of notable incomings to help them compete in England’s second tier.
Bolton Wanderers find themselves in a similar situation as one of the other newly promoted sides. The Trotters punched their ticket to the Championship in the League One play-off final after finishing 16 points behind the Imps.
Who completes this unlucky trio is where it gets tricky.
Cardiff, Charlton, Blackburn and Portsmouth all have a case for relegation. But we’re going with Preston, currently priced at 5/2 to face the drop.
Paul Heckingbottom’s side flattered to deceive last season and have since sold club captain Ben Whiteman to Wrexham.
There is a clear void in the team since his departure, on top of multiple holes in the squad yet to be filled.
It’s early signs of a squad that could struggle this season.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change
