Championship (England) Odds & Predictions

The Championship, also known as the Sky Bet Championship (due to sponsorship agreements), is the second-highest division of English Football. It is just behind the Premier League, and 24 teams compete here.

When it comes to promotion and relegation, the Championship works very simply. The top two finishing teams get instant promotion to the Premier League. Teams from 3rd–6th place face each other in playoff games, with the winner also going up to the Premier League.

As for relegation, the three teams at the bottom of the Championship table automatically head into League One.

Since its establishment in 2004, Newcastle, Norwich, Reading, Sunderland, and Wolverhampton Wanderers are the most successful teams, with two titles each.

English Championship Odds

As for Championship betting, there are three types of Championship odds that bookies present to all registered punters:

• Fractional
• Decimal

All of them vary in terms of presenting the odds for a certain event, but there is no difference in the potential payouts. This means that you can convert the odds from one format to another without any problem and see no difference in your payout.

When putting together Championship betting odds, bookies take into account a number of factors, such as the form of the team (at home or away), the number of goals scored in previous games, the form of the players, injuries, etc.

So, as you would imagine, the Championship odds will vary all the time. Just because a certain team is a favorite at the start of the season doesn’t mean that it will remain that way all the way to the last game.

So, all bookies have traders and computer systems that analyze tons of data to set the probability of any outcome in any Championship game. However, it is important to note that different bookies may have slightly different odds for Championship games.

Popular Championship Markets

The Sky Bet Championship is a league that bookies pay close attention to. This means that once you choose a reputable bookmaker, you can have complete access to various betting markets.

Some operators offer more than 1500 bet types for championship games, so you can just imagine how spoiled for choice you will be.

These betting sites will have both simple and complicated bets so that all types of punters can use them. Choosing the right market is essential for bettors to increase their chances of winning, so some of the most popular Championship betting markets include:

• Outright winner – who wins the Championship
• Match winner – who wins a specific game in the Championship
• Over/under – you can bet on over/under a specific number of goals, corners, yellow cards, fouls, etc.
• Handicap – one Championship team in the game get a predetermined advantage
• Double chance – you can choose two possible outcomes from the Championship match

There are also other special bets that you can make for Championship games, such as first goalscorer, anytime goalscorer, total corners, time of the first goal, etc. You are never short of options, regardless of whether you prefer team bets or player bets.

Championship Winner Odds

Before the season began, nobody expected that the Championship winner odds would be so in favor of one team – Burnley.

Burnley appointed Vincent Kompany as their new manager after they got relegated from the Premier League last season, but very few expected him to have such an impact.

The Clarets seem to run away from the other teams at the top of the table, and they haven’t tasted defeat since a 5-2 thrashing against Sheffield United back in November.

So, it is only normal that the Championship winner odds are firmly in Burnley’s favor, but the situation is far more competitive for the rest of the places that secure promotion.

Sheffield United, Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Luton, and Norwich are all fighting for the top places, but they face competition from the likes of Millwall, Coventry, and Watford, so there is plenty to look forward to until the end of the season.

Let’s see a complete table of the most successful teams in the Championship. Keep in mind that this table will only show the most successful teams in the Championship since the introduction of the current format in the 2004/5 season.

Winners List

TEAM	NUMBER OF TITLES WON
Newcastle	2
Norwich	2
Reading	2
Sunderland	2
Wolverhampton	2
West Bromwich Albion	1
Queens Park Rangers	1
Cardiff City	1
Leicester City	1
Bournemouth	1
Burnley	1
Leeds United	1
Fulham	1

English Championship Relegation Odds

Each season, we witness a big relegation fight in the Championship. Team fighters will often say that there is no feeling quite like surviving the drop, which is understandable.

So, you can just imagine that the Championship relegation odds change all the time. At the moment, Blackpool, Wigan, and Huddersfield occupy the bottom three places.

However, teams like Cardiff, QRP, and Birmingham are also quite close, so nothing is decided yet. Last season, Peterborough, Derby County, and Barnsley were relegated to League One.

English Championship Promotion Odds

Similarly to the relegation odds, the Championship promotion odds change all the time, so it is quite nervy for the teams at the top of the table.

As mentioned above, Burnley will likely storm away with the first place, but there is a big fight going on for the second place, and the places that secure play-offs.

Sheffield United have a handsome lead in second place, but the situation for the 3-6th place is far more unpredictable.

Teams like Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Luton, Norwich, Milwall, Coventry, Watford, and Sunderland are sure to fight tooth and nail for a spot in the top 6.

As for the playoff format, it is quite simple:

• The third-placed team in the Championship will play the sixth-placed team
• The fourth-placed team plays the fifth-placed team

Both games are played home and away, with the winners going head to head in the final for the third promotion spot from the Championship.

Championship Top Scorer Odds

Finally, we can take a closer look at the Championship top scorer odds. As is the case with other odds in the English second division, the odds over who gets the Golden Boot change all the time.

Chuba Akpom of Middlesbrough currently leads the way in the Championship, and he looks set to claim the Golden Boot at the end of the season. However, we can never write off Viktor Gyokeres of Coventry and Carlton Morris of Luton, who also had great seasons themselves.