The Premier League. The top-flight. The promised land. No matter what you want to call it, it’s where every club in the English footballing pyramid would love to be playing their football.
So with the Championship season well over the halfway line, we have taken a look at who are the favourites to gain promotion to the Premier League.
Even though the Premier League is the most popular among fans in terms of betting, there are also many fans who are keen to bet on the Championship. And for those of you who like a bet make sure to check out the betway bonus code on bettingbonus.online. The bookmaker offers a variety of bonus offers, from a no deposit bonus to the classic 100 % deposit bonus.
Middlesbrough 9/4
Relegated in 2017, Middlesbrough achieved a fifth-place finish in the Championship last time out and have mirrored that performance this season, and are understandably fifth favourites.
The Football Faithful‘s Peter Henry would love to see the Boro back in the Premier League, not because he has any allegiance to the North East club, but just so that he can see a little bit more of his not so secret man crush, Tony Pulis.
West Brom 11/8
When Darren Moore took over at the Hawthorns, the Baggies were so far behind the pack that relegation was all but a certainty. However, the former central defender made a fantastic job of trying to keep the club in the top flight, although it was a mountain that was just too tall.
His heroics earned himself the West Brom job on a permanent basis, and he is making an excellent fist of steering the club back to the Premier League at the first attempt, an achievement rarely achieved in recent years.
At 11/8, the bookies clearly think that the Baggies have a chance of ‘boinging’ straight back up.
Sheffield United 10/11
The Blades are flying high, and have been hovering in and around the Championship’s top two all season, and are odds on to gain promotion back to the top flight for the first time since their relegation back in 2007.
It has been a long road back for the South Yorkshire side, who spent six years in the third tier of English football before gaining promotion out of League One in 2017.
Their first season back in the Championship got off to a great start, however, it was at around this time of the season that their form tailed off and they drifted out of the play-offs towards an eventual 10th placed finish.
Will history repeat itself or can they maintain their form this time out?
Leeds United 4/7
Is this finally the year that Leeds United make it back to the big time? Well, it is certainly the best chance they have had in many a year.
It’s been a bloody long time since Elland Road was a top-flight stadium, with the Whites dropping out of the Premier League back in 2004, only three years after featuring in a Champions League semi-final.
Since then, it has been a long and arduous road (also via League One) back to the top, with a number of owners and even more managers all failing to steer the West Yorkshire side back to the top division.
The installation of Marcelo Bielsa and his team of spies have propelled them into the automatic promotion places, although their form has taken a nosedive in 2019, with the Argentine’s side winning just two games since the turn of the year.
Is it just a blip in form, or is the Leeds squad starting to feel the effects of Bielsa’s high-intensity football?
Only time will tell, but the bookies still think they can…
Norwich 1/3
It was a bang average season last time out for the Canaries, who hovered around the mid-table area of the Championship for virtually the entirety of the campaign.
However, despite selling last season’s top scorer James Maddison to Leicester, and second highest scorer Josh Murphy to Cardiff, Norwich have had a fine season under German coach Daniel Farke, and have been in and around the automatic promotion places for the majority of the season.
They have capitalised on Leeds’ slip-ups in recent weeks to move to the top of the Championship and over the last month, the Canaries’ odds have shortened from 6/5 third favourites to 1/3 favourites to fly back into Premier League next season
