Championship predictions: West Ham to dominate and Blackburn relegated
Championship predictions: West Ham to dominate and Blackburn relegated
John PercyFri, August 14, 2026 at 8:00 AM UTC
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Jarrod Bowen (left) will be determined to get West Ham back to the Premier League at the first attempt - Richard Pelham/Getty Images
The Championship kicks off the English domestic season when relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers host Blackburn Rovers on Friday night.
Last season will be remembered for Southampton’s play-off “spygate” scandal, but there was also drama on the pitch right up until the final day.
West Ham are the biggest club in the second tier following their relegation and are rightly favourites for the title. Minnows Lincoln City are tipped to go straight back to League One.
Millions have been spent this summer as teams attempt to claw their way into the Premier League. The play-offs have been expanded from four to six teams, and there is an expectation of high drama, chaos and entertainment this season.
Promotion
West Ham, Wolves, Middlesbrough
It is difficult to look beyond West Ham. Nuno Espírito Santo romped to the Championship title with Wolves in 2018 and remains a shrewd operator (along with his No 2 Rui Pedro Silva), while convincing Jarrod Bowen to stay is significant. I am going to go for Wolves and Middlesbrough as the other two promoted clubs.
West Ham, Wolves, Norwich
We are not exactly mimicking Nostradamus by tipping West Ham for the title, but the fact they are as short as 7-4 to win the most arduous division in football tells you how much quality they have in reserve. Holding on to Bowen was important and something will have gone terribly wrong if they do not pull clear.
Wolves should follow them up, as they have plenty of class in their ranks. Norwich, the archetypal yo-yo club, are due a promotion.
West Ham, Middlesbrough, Wolves
It is hard to look past West Ham given they managed to keep Bowen. The forward managed nine goals and 11 assists in the Premier League last season and has a proven record in the Championship. After their play-off defeat and the spygate drama, Middlesbrough seem more determined than ever to secure promotion.
César Peixoto, in charge of Wolves, may not have managed in England before but he has an impressive CV and seems to have made a good first impression. The returning Raúl Jiménez should provide plenty of goals and Kieran Trippier adds crucial experience.
Raul Jimenez has made an emotional return to Wolverhampton Wanderers - David Rogers/Getty Images
Middlesbrough, West Ham, Wolves
The expectation is that West Ham and Wolves will walk the league given their financial firepower, but Middlesbrough are the team to beat for me. Their goalscoring problems of last year should be improved with the £20m signing of Will Lankshear, who looks like a natural finisher.
Dark horsesNorwich
This was a choice between either Norwich or Bristol City, but I’m going to go for Norwich. Philippe Clement is an underrated manager, able to mix an old-school mentality with modern methods. I expect him to build on last season’s excellent second half of the campaign.
Bristol City
They are 40-1 to win the league (12-1 for promotion) and, one of these days, they are going to put it together and finally secure a Premier League spot. The city is built for top-flight football, the fans have extraordinary passion and this has been a busy summer trying to lay foundations. Michael Skubala is an excellent appointment as manager following his heroics with Lincoln. It will be fascinating to see if he can devise a brand of play that will take them to the promised land.
Bristol City
There is understandably a lot of talk about Norwich because of their strong finish last season and some impressive summer signings, but Bristol City have the potential to be the surprise team.
The captures of Dom Ballard and Lorent Tolaj from Leyton Orient and Plymouth respectively are impressive on paper. Ballard was League One’s top scorer with 23 goals and Tolaj managed 18 for Plymouth and Port Vale. They could be a formidable forward partnership if they can make the step up.
Millwall
Eyebrows were raised last year when I picked Alex Neil’s side to make some noise at the top end of the table and they finished third, one point off second-placed Ipswich.
They have managed, so far, to swat away any interest in key duo Femi Azeez and Tristan Crama and have strengthened this summer with the signings of Kyrell Lisbie, Mathis Servais and Jenson Metcalfe. They should be knocking on the door again.
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RelegationBlackburn, QPR, Portsmouth
I never like this part of the predictions, because the Championship is relentless and unpredictable. Blackburn appear chaotic off the field, despite the presence of the esteemed Anthony Mowbray, and QPR’s end to last season does not provide much room for optimism. For the final place I’ll risk a torrent of abuse from Portsmouth fans.
Lincoln, Bolton, Charlton
Amazing to think that 20 years ago Bolton vs Charlton was a Premier League fixture, but they have been through the wars since and they are going to endure them again, sadly. Lincoln’s story was incredible last year, the manner in which they sprung out of League One, but they are entering a new world and the step up will be too great for them.
An immediate return to League One is on the cards. As always in these situations, however, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be proven hopelessly wrong.
Nathan Jones faces a battle to keep Charlton in the Championship - Dan Istitene/Getty ImagesBolton, Watford, Blackburn
There are no obvious relegation teams this season but newly promoted Bolton have struggled to recruit players and Steven Schumacher, the manager, has voiced his own frustrations at their business.
There is usually a club that feels too big to go down that gets drawn into a relegation battle and while I am a little worried about Sheffield United, I think Watford could finally pay the price for years of mismanagement. It has been another chaotic summer, with key players departing and another new manager in the door.
Lincoln, Blackburn and Bolton
Any chance of survival for Lincoln departed with Michael Skubala in the summer. Blackburn were lucky not to go down last season and, like Bolton, have not recruited well enough to change their fortunes.
Player to watchEthan Galbraith (Stoke)
Stoke were on the fringes of my dark horses section and in Galbraith they have a player who should be one of the best in the Championship. Signed from Swansea for a fee of around £10m all in, he is very talented and many recruitment experts at other clubs tell me he could easily play in the Premier League.
Jay Stansfield (Birmingham)
He has an old-fashioned profile, first thriving in League One and then taking a decisive step up to the Championship. He scored 10 goals last season but, with his prodigious work rate, you can expect that tally to be significantly improved provided Birmingham are not persuaded to sell him before the window closes.
Interest from Coventry persists in the 23-year-old and Frank Lampard would know better than most that he has the ability to progress to the next level.
Jenson Metcalfe (Millwall)
A product of Everton’s academy, Metcalfe impressed on loan with Chesterfield in League Two before a permanent switch to Bradford City in League One last summer. It took him a bit of time to settle, but he went on to become undroppable in their run to the play-offs last season.
Metcalfe is a gritty midfielder who uses the ball well and also has the ability to score from long range. He is only likely to get better under the guidance of Alex Neil.
Mateus Mane (Wolves)
The 18-year-old showed glimpses of his talent in the Premier League last season and should continue to develop at a rapid rate in the Championship. If Wolves fail to bounce back at the first time of asking, he will be the first out the door.
What I’d like to seeThe continued absence of VAR
Hopefully the Premier League will boot it out soon, too.
Southampton finally do the decent thing and relieve Tonda Eckert of his duties
They are a good club with committed fans but the “Spygate” story at the end of last season was disgraceful and damaged their reputation. As soon as Eckert admitted his guilt for sending an intern to spy on Middlesbrough, he should have been marched off the premises. The fact he remains in position four months later, awaiting a touchline ban, is ludicrous.
Tonda Eckert is awaiting the outcome of an FA investigation in the Spygate saga - Joe Giddens/PANew play-off format to prove me wrong
I’m a big believer in not fixing what is not broken and the eight-team play-off format feels unnecessary. Hull City bucked the trend by winning promotion after finishing sixth but teams from fifth to eighth will have to play an extra game than those who finish third and fourth. That is a significant advantage. The whole point of the play-offs is that it is meant to be anyone’s game.
Can the team that finishes eighth really make it all the way to the final and win? Hopefully they can.
Southampton to struggle
Last season’s spygate scandal left a sour taste and the four-point deduction this season seems a light punishment. Here’s to praying they get ridiculed on every away day and find themselves floating below mid-table all campaign.
Source: “AOL Sports”
