Championship odds 2026/27: Can West Ham bounce straight back to the Premier League?

The Championship is a notoriously difficult league to get out of, but every year most of the 24 teams competing in it believe they have what it takes.

The relegated trio from the Premier League, as is usually the case, lead the Championship odds markets for promotion and the title – but they will have several ambitious clubs snapping at their heels.

The door to the promised land has been opened a little wider, however, with the EFL’s new play-off format making its debut this season. Now, seventh and eighth place will also enter the post-season tournament, which should keep even more teams in the hunt right up until the final weeks of what is a relentless 46-game marathon.

We’ll dive into those we expect to be involved at the sharp end, how West Ham and Wolves will readjust after several years in the top flight, and who will look to push them all the way.

Championship promotion odds 2026/27

• West Ham – 8/15 with BOYLE Sports
• Wolves – 13/8 with bet365
• Burnley – 11/4 with Sky Bet
• Middlesbrough – 3/1 with Betfred
• Birmingham – 4/1 with Paddy Power
• Southampton – 9/2 with Betway
• Sheffield United – 5/1 with BetVictor
• Norwich – 6/1 with Betway
• Wrexham – 11/2 with bet365
• Millwall – 8/1 with BOYLE Sports

West Ham have been here before, having been relegated from the Premier League in 2003 and 2011. On both previous occasions, they’ve needed the play-offs to escape the second tier. 

This time around, it’s expected that they won’t need to rely on that route. They’re priced around 7/4 or 9/5 to win the Championship title, with the next nearest team – Wolves – at 11/2. They’re the only team to be odds-on to win promotion (by any means) – at around 8/15. Wolves are 13/8 to immediately bounce back up to the top flight.

The third of the three relegated teams – Burnley – are available at 11/4 to go up but are a distant 10/1 to win the title, which suggests the bookies believe the competition will be too strong for new head coach Nicky Hayen to emulate his compatriot Vincent Kompany in winning the division with The Clarets in 2023.

Last season’s beaten play-off finalists – Middlesbrough – and the likes of Southampton, Birmingham and Norwich are all in the 3/1-5/1 range to go up.

The Premier League’s fallen giants

One by-product of expanding the play-offs is that it leaves an even greater margin for error for those who’ve slipped out of the Premier League. Due to the widening gulf in TV deals and sponsorships between the two leagues (as well as parachute payments), a higher ratio of recently relegated clubs have been able to bounce back at either the first or second attempt in recent seasons. 

We have, however, seen two clubs in the last two seasons (Luton and Leicester) fall even further and straight down into League One – so parachute payments are by no means a silver bullet! This year, West Ham, Wolves and Burnley are the three looking to avoid a relegation hangover.

West Ham

The early signs are indicating that West Ham have collectively had a long, hard look in the mirror and have a clear plan to navigate the Championship, which is always the biggest concern when a club of their size has sleepwalked through the trap door. 

Manager Nuno Espírito Santo is a former winner of the second tier, when his Wolves side amassed 99 points in some style. Captain Jarrod Bowen – scorer of 65 Premier League goals for The Hammers – has also committed himself to the cause after positive talks with the club’s owners. Retaining these two has sent out a message to the rest of the division that they don’t plan on hanging around.

Like every relegated club, however, they have had to lose a couple of their stars. The sales of Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville have brought in an enormous amount of cash. The former smashed the record as the highest amount received for a player by a Championship club. They’re yet to reinvest this money, but watch this space in the remaining weeks of the window.

Even without those two, or with whoever they bring in to replace them, West Ham are expected to be simply too powerful for everyone else at this level. They’re odds-on for an instant return to the top flight.

Back West Ham for promotion at 8/15 with BOYLE Sports

Wolves

Wolves would’ve begun preparing for life in the Championship from very early in the season after they matched the joint-lowest points total (2) on Christmas Day in Premier League history. They did manage to improve in the new year, eventually winning three games and finishing on 20 points.

Surprisingly, however, the club decided to sack manager Rob Edwards – who had been brought in with the upcoming season in mind, or so most people thought. The new man in charge is Cesar Peixoto, who has managed a number of clubs in Portugal – most recently Gil Vicente, who he guided to sixth place in the top flight. 

This was, reportedly, not a popular move among some of the Wolves players – including former England international Kieran Trippier, who had arrived on a free from Newcastle just days prior. Trippier, however, is an excellent signing for the level, as is Raúl Jimenez, who returns to Molineux three years after switching to Fulham. He may be 35, but Jimenez arrives off the back of scoring three times at the World Cup for Mexico and should be deadly in the Championship.

Having shown more competitiveness in the second half of last season, and having arguably strengthened their squad so far – rather than seeing it weakened – Wolves are understandably being touted as the next strongest team behind West Ham.

Tip Wolves to win promotion at 13/8 with bet365

Burnley

Burnley have, unfortunately for them, become the archetypal yo-yo club in the last five seasons having suffered three relegations from the Premier League. They bounced back to win promotion on the first two occasions, but the bookies believe completing the hat trick will prove to be more difficult.

In fact, The Clarets have been promoted in each of the last four seasons in which they’ve played in the Championship dating back to the Sean Dyche era – and they did so automatically every time too!

This edition of the Championship, however, looks set to be much tougher – with West Ham and Wolves, as well as a number of strong second tier sides, vying for the top spots this time around. 

Having gone up and down so often, the squad that new manager Nicky Hayen inherits is also very unsettled. The goalkeeper and centre back pairing that conceded a record-fewest 16 goals in 46 Championship games just over a year ago have all since departed. They’ve also lost Jaidon Anthony – one of the few standouts from last season’s poor attempt at Premier League survival. They’re expected to lose Zian Flemming too. 

Burnley are being priced near the top, but – to me – that owes more to their track record in the division than anything else. I would wait and see just what their squad looks like after the transfer window closes, and also how comfortable they look at playing Hayen’s high-energy, high-pressing style.

Back Burnley to bounce straight back up again at 11/4 with Sky Bet

The chasing pack

While the parachute payments may give the above three teams a financial advantage, the game is played out on the pitch and as the likes of Coventry City, Sunderland and Luton Town proved in recent years, there is every chance that those who’ve been steadily building can get in amongst it.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough’s season ended in heartbreak after they were, at one point, on course for automatic promotion. Kim Hellberg took over from Rob Edwards, who left suddenly for Wolves and, under the Swede, Boro were quickly going through the gears until a slump near the end of the season – they went seven without a win between early March and late April.

They were then beaten in the play-offs by Southampton, but were handed a reprieve following the verdict of the Spygate scandal – the EFL threw the South Coast club out and sent the Teessiders to Wembley. Unfortunately, after that whirlwind of events and emotions, they were beaten again under the arch, 1-0 by Hull. 

Hellberg will be desperate to put that behind them and emulate Coventry from last season who shook off play-off pain to win the title. Boro have been one of the most active teams in the market, adding young Spurs striker Will Lankshear, US internationals Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten, and Kyle Joseph from Hull. They have, however, seen midfield maestro Hayden Hackney depart for Everton.

It’s a strong squad, fuelled by the injustice of a few months ago. They should be in the mix again.

Bet on Middlesbrough securing promotion at 3/1 with Betfred

Birmingham City

Many expect Birmingham City to jump up a few places this season given all the noise from their ownership group, Knighthead Capital. Tom Wagner and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady have pumped a lot of money into Blues over the last couple of years, and have unveiled plans for a massive new stadium to be opened in the near future. They clearly have no intention of staying in the second tier for long.

That has led to speculation that manager Chris Davies could be one of the first managers on the Championship chopping block this coming season, despite leading them to the record points total in League One just over a year ago. He followed that with a solid 10th-place finish in their return to the second tier, but they were never serious contenders to gatecrash the top 6.

With the top 6 becoming a top 8, and with some more incomings rumoured this month, Birmingham should be more of a threat this time around.

Back Birmingham to return to the Premier League at 4/1 with Paddy Power

Southampton

Southampton will start the season on -4 points following the aforementioned Spygate scandal. Not only did members of the Saints’ coaching staff enter Middlesbrough’s training ground, they were found guilty of doing the same to a couple of other teams during the regular season too. The club have backed manager Tonda Eckert – for now. Amidst the spying episodes, the German oversaw a remarkable rise up the table.

They haven’t (so far) lost any of their standout players, despite reports of a squad revolt – due to a loss of earnings – when the club were initially thrown out of the play-offs. Naturally, anyone betting on a Saints promotion push are banking on Eckert managing to reunite the dressing room. It’ll be interesting to see how it pans out.

Tip Southampton to overcome a points deduction and win promotion at 9/2 with Betway

Who else could challenge?

The two extra play-off spots increases the chances of a team appearing from nowhere to put themselves within two (or three) wins of the Premier League. The further you move down the division, the less there is to choose between many of the teams. Here are a couple more teams who have every right to feel buoyant heading into 2026/27.

Norwich City

Speaking of remarkable rises up the table, Philippe Clement stepped in at Norwich with the East Anglian club at its lowest ebb since their relegation to League One in 2009. They had just nine points on the board in the middle of November and had set an unwanted club record of seven home defeats on the trot to start a season (eight if you include their early Carabao Cup exit). 

The Belgian, formerly of Rangers, quickly had the Canaries chirping again and eventually, they finished just shy of the play-offs and were only mathematically out of the hunt following their penultimate game.

Clement has brought the best out of a previously much-maligned squad, and achieved consistent results despite an ever-growing injury list. With him in charge, Norwich’s floor should be a top 8 push, but who yet knows where the ceiling could be.

Back Norwich to claim one of the promotion spots at 6/1 with Betway

Wrexham

One club that’ll never be far from the headlines is Wrexham. Following three straight promotions from Non-League, the “Rob & Ryan”-backed Welsh club found the Championship to be a lot tougher – but still competed very well, and could’ve sneaked into the play-offs on the final day.

Surprisingly, it has been a quiet summer so far on the transfer front, with full back Danny Imray the only new face at the time of writing. The squad assembled last year, however, is packed with Championship experience and should be strong enough to contend for the top 8.

Bet on Wrexham to complete the journey to the Premier League at 11/2 with bet365

How this year’s play-offs work

As mentioned a few times already in this article, the landscape of the Championship is about to change this season, with more teams having more to play for come the last few weeks of the season.

Here is how the new system will work:

The play-offs used to see 3rd meet 6th and 4th meet 5th in two-legged semi-finals, with the 3rd and 4th-placed teams also having the advantage of playing the second leg at home.

Now, those two teams will await the winners from the eliminator round. 5th will host 8th, and 6th will host 7th in one-off “win-or-go-home” ties. The lowest remaining side will then take on the 3rd-place team over two legs and the higher of the two advancing will meet the 4th-place team. The two winners of those ties head to Wembley to contest the richest game in club football!

Frontrunners in League One and League Two

For those looking to create a promotion acca by including the two lower EFL tiers, here are some of the key storylines for each: 

League One frontrunners

Leicester City are the clear favourites here after suffering unfathomable back-to-back relegations. Russell Martin will oversee the rebuild, following a mass exodus of former Premier League and Championship title-winning stars including Abdul Fatawu, Ricardo Pereira and Harry Winks. 

Another giant club, Sheffield Wednesday, are hoping they can put a horror year behind them now that the Dejphon Chansiri era is finally over. Arise Capital Partners completed their takeover at the very end of last season.

Elsewhere, Jack Wilshere’s Luton Town and Aaron Ramsey’s Oxford United – the last of the relegated trio out of the Championship – will be hoping to challenge.

League Two frontrunners

Salford City are the favourites to finally get out of the fourth tier and into the third, and are the 5/1 favourites to do so as champions. The Ammies were like the original Wrexham story after the likes of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and other former Manchester United legends got involved. They reached League Two in 2019, and last season’s play-off final – where they were beaten 3-0 by Notts County – is the closest they’ve come to taking the next step.

Bristol Rovers and Barnet enter the season as the next shortest-priced teams in the fourth tier. 

My Championship promotion tips

Besides the promotion market itself, there are several other ways to back teams you believe will have a strong season, but aren’t so confident in going all the way. Here are three bets I like the look of:

• Middlesbrough, Huddersfield & Grimsby as a promotion treble – 64.62/1 with bet365
• Wrexham to make the Championship play-offs – 13/10 with Paddy Power
• Wolves to finish as the highest Midlands club in the Championship – 1/2 with bet365

My promotion treble/acca

For value, I’ve steered away from West Ham and Leicester and picked one team from each division who I think could emerge as either a slightly less likely automatic promotion or play-off candidate.

In the Championship, I’m backing Middlesbrough – in a full season of Kim Hellberg – to put it all together, develop a more clinical edge in front of goal, and cope better in the crunch periods.

In League One, I think Huddersfield may fly under the radar at 4/1 – they’ve got a couple of proven goal scorers at that level in Alfie May and Joe Taylor, plus a very exciting talent in Tom Iorpenda. They could easily snatch second place ahead of Yorkshire rivals Sheff Weds, or emerge victorious in the play-offs.

In League Two, I’ll back Grimsby, after their play-off finish – plus cup exploits – last season, to go one better. Top scorer Jaze Kabia is still, at time of writing, with The Mariners. Don’t forget, there are three automatic places in League Two!

Combining these three into an acca gives us combined odds of 64.62/1!

Back my promotion treble at 64.62/1 with bet365

Wrexham to make the play-offs

7th in the Championship last season represented Wrexham’s highest-ever finish in the pyramid. An identical season this time around, however, would be enough to finish just inside the play-offs, rather than just outside. They may not have brought in any more big names, but that could be an advantage as Phil Parkinson continues to work with what was expensively assembled a year ago.

Back Wrexham to finish in the top 8 at 13/10 with Paddy Power

Wolves to be the top Midlands club

This market simply needs Wolves to finish higher than Birmingham, Derby, Stoke and West Brom. Birmingham are expected to land somewhere in the play-off places, but Wolves are more of an automatic promotion contender heading into the season.

Back Wolves to finish as the top Midlands club at 1/2 with bet365

Key dates for the 2026/27 Championship season

The Championship is a 46-game marathon starting in August, ending in May. To squeeze that many games in, there are plenty of midweek fixtures, thus creating “three game weeks”. This includes the week between Christmas and New Year where teams will play on Boxing Day, the 29th December and New Year’s Day. 

Due to changes in the international breaks, however, there won’t be the traditional double-header over Easter this time around. The final seven games will be played in the space of four weeks between 3rd April and 1st May.

The new play-off eliminator round will then get underway shortly after, with dates to be confirmed.

FAQs about the Championship 2026/27 season

1. When does the 2026/27 Championship season start?

We are just over one week away from the big kick-off! Wolves and Blackburn get the new Championship season underway on Friday night – 14th August. Bolton and Preston meet in a not-quite Lancashire derby at 12:30 the following day. Six more games kick off at 3pm, and four more will be shown on TV across the opening weekend. 

2. Who are the favourites for promotion this season?

West Ham and Wolves look like the teams to beat, having spent several years in the Premier League. West Ham won a European trophy just three years ago! Wolves were one of the more impressive champions in recent Championship history when they scored 99 points in 2017/18. Burnley have won promotion in each of their last four seasons at this level too.

3. Why are Southampton starting the season on -4 points?

This is one of the punishments for Spygate. Southampton were caught sending staff to the training grounds of opposition clubs last season, with the most recent instance leading to their expulsion from the play-offs. The points deduction reflects the damage done from similar spying missions during the regular season.

4. Where can UK fans watch Championship matches?

Sky Sports will have over 1,000 EFL games (Championship, League One, League Two) once again this season, in what is the third season since they started offering all midweek games via the red button service, and an increase in 12:30pm kick-offs on a Saturday.

There will typically always be at least two live games on their main channels too across any given weekend. ITV will also show the occasional game, as well as a weekly highlights show.

About the author

Nathan Hill

Nathan Hill is an experienced sports writer who obsessively follows football – both the round ball and American kind – as well as range of other sports including F1, basketball, darts and snooker.

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