Championship 2022/23 outright odds: who are the favourites for promotion after the opening weekend?
Two months on from the end of the play-offs, the Championship has finally returned for the 2022/23 season.
At the end of the 2021/22 campaign, the Championship said goodbye to Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, all of whom were promoted, as well as the relegated Peterborough United, Derby County and Barnsley.
But there has been no time to miss them, with the Championship now underway with an early opener due to the 2022 World Cup this winter. The Championship is the breathless existence of English football — so who will be jumping for joy come this time next year?
Here are the latest odds for promotion to the Premier League in the 2022/23 season.
Odds* to win the EFL Championship in 2022/23
| Team | Sky Bet | Paddy Power |
| Norwich | – | 5/1 |
| Watford | – | 5/1 |
| Burnley | – | 13/2 |
| Sheffield Utd | – | 15/2 |
| Middlesbrough | – | 17/2 |
| West Brom | – | 17/2 |
*You have to be 18+ to gamble. All odds within this article are accurate at the time of writing (16:00, 31/07/2022). BeGambleAware.
The Premier League is not only the top league of English football, it’s one of the top leagues globally with fans around the globe tuning in to keep up with the action.
The promotion system in English football allows three teams from the Championship to be promoted to the Premier League. This is at the sacrifice of the bottom three teams in the top league, moving down to Championship level.
The top two teams in the Championship qualify for promotion automatically, making those top two spots some of the most lucrative in all of football. The third team worthy of promotion is then decided with a playoff with the teams finishing 3rd to 6th entering a play-off tournament. The winner of this playoff tournament is then promoted to the Premier League.
Who are the favourites to win the Championship this season?
Watford
The Hornets seem to change divisions as much as they change managers, and new boss Rob Edwards brings an element of uncertainty as to his capabilities in the second tier of English football. Regardless, they have largely been backed by bookmakers in these early stages to, not only bounce back at the first time of asking, but also do so as the Championship winners.
They have been promoted to the Premier League on four occasions, but never as the table-toppers, either claiming a spot as the runners-up or coming up through the play-offs. Can they do it this time?
Norwich
The Canaries likewise have generated a reputation as a bit of a yo-yo club in recent years. They claimed the Premier League’s wooden spoon last season, but bookmakers already have them as one of the favourites to triumph in the second tier next term, particularly with Dean Smith at the helm, a man who knows the lower divisions very well having famously guided Aston Villa to promotion in 2015.
Burnley
Like many on this list, there remains so much uncertainty at Turf Moor as to whether the man in the dugout has the capabilities of navigating a clear path through the turbulent waters of second tier English football. Vincent Kompany has been the man entrusted to guide the Clarets out of the Championship and back into the Premier League, with the former Man City defender returning to English football for the first time since leaving the Etihad in 2019.
They certainly looked the part in their opening win over Huddersfield on Friday night.
The recently relegated Premier League side nearly produced a late resurgence under Mike Jackson to avoid the dreaded drop, but Leeds and Everton were just good enough to get their noses in front. Since 2009, the Clarets have enjoyed three promotions to the Premier League, so they are more than aware of what is required to get the job done.
Middlesbrough
Boro were unfortunate to just miss out on the play-offs last season, but that was the price they paid for a quarter-final run in the FA Cup, in which they claimed the scalps of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur before coming up short to Chelsea. Chris Wilder knows the lower ladder of English football like the back of his hand and famously guided his beloved Sheff Utd to promotion in 2019, so he certainly understands the demands of securing Premier League promotion.
West Brom
The Baggies gambled on Valerien Ismael in the season just gone, and it looked a shrewd appointment after he guided Barnsley to the play-offs, but for one reason or another he was unable to translate that form to the Hawthorns and faced the axe in February to be replaced by Steve Bruce. The ex-Newcastle man has enjoyed promotion on four occasions as a manager so certainly knows what it takes to get out of the Championship.
Sheffield United
Paul Heckingbottom worked well to get the Blades up to fifth last season and book a spot in the play-offs. They ultimately came up short to Nottingham Forest, who went on to win at Wembley, but bookies have them as fourth favourites to bypass the Championship’s lottery phase next season and secure promotion outright as the competition’s winners.
READ MORE:
Premier League predictions & tips
Football Accumulator tips
Latest live streaming fixtures
