With the Championship season now just around the corner, all 24 teams involved are going through their final preparations for what is likely to be an action-packed campaign. This includes the three teams that suffered relegation from the Premier League last year, as Leeds, Southampton, and Leicester all hope to bounce back at the first attempt.
Who Are Favourites To Bounce Back?
It is little surprise that the three clubs fill the first three places in The Championship bet odds for the season ahead, but life could be a little bit tougher than expected after a tumultuous summer. The Championship is notoriously one of Europe’s toughest leagues to compete in, but fans of three of England’s biggest clubs will be hoping that their teams can make an instant return to the promised land.
So, let’s discuss the big three’s chances.
Leicester City (10/3)
Probably the biggest shock of last season was the fall from grace of Leicester City. The Foxes are the 10/3 favourites to win the title this season and are also popular amongst all of the Championship betting tips on offer.
It is hard to fathom that just seven years have passed since Leicester shocked the footballing world by winning the Premier League, and although things remained solid in the following years, including an FA Cup win in 20/21, last season proved to be a disaster.
Former Man City coach, Enzo Maresca, is now in charge at the King Power Stadium, and fans will be hoping that he will have learned plenty from his time under the wing of Pep Guardiola.
Top players, Harvey Barnes and James Maddison, have jumped ship, but Jamie Vardy remains at the club and he could have a big say on the season.
Leeds United (5/1)
After 16 years in the doldrums, Leeds finally returned to the Premier League in 2020, but now find themselves back in the second tier after just three seasons at the highest level. Jesse Marsch’s impressive start to life at Elland Road came to an end abruptly during last season, and the strange decision to hire Javi Gracia turned out as many suspected it might.
Sam Allardyce couldn’t stop the rot after his late appointment and as The Whites face into the new campaign, it is now Daniel Farke that will be sitting in the dugout. The German has a successful history from his time with Norwich in the Championship, but having lost some key players over the summer, there could be another miserable season ahead for the Leeds faithful.
Southampton (15/2)
It was obvious from early in the season that Southampton were going to struggle to retain their top-flight status last year. The club’s new business plan of bringing in unproven young players from rival Premier League clubs failed to fire, and the decision to appoint Nathan Jones as the successor to Ralph Hassenhuttl proved to be the wrong one.
The Saints are stubbornly trying to hang on to their top players in the transfer window, and the new boss, Russell Martin, will be praying for the window to close with some of his stars still at the club. Martin has the potential to be a top manager given time, and if he can hit the ground running with his style of football at St Mary’s, it might just be a short stay for Southampton in the Championship.
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