Championship Title Odds 2025/26: Ipswich Favourites; Trio Lead Goalscorer Market

The Championship season gets under way this week and betting sites reckon two of the relegated clubs are heading straight back to the Premier League.

Ipswich, who travel to fancied Birmingham in the curtain-raiser on Friday night, are the favourites to make an immediate return to the top flight, followed by Southampton, who are starting a new era under manager Will Still.

However, 2023/24 champions Leicester are not expected to finish inside the top three with the threat of a points deduction hanging over their head and only appointed a new manager to replace Ruud van Nistelrooy less than a month before the season starts.

One of the big questions is whether Wrexham, co-owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, can achieve an incredible fourth successive promotion.

Last season, the Red Dragons finished runners-up to League One champions Birmingham, who have NFL legend Tom Brady as a minority shareholder. 

Leeds finished ahead of Burnley on goal difference with 100 points, but the new campaign is expected to be much more competitive.

With that in mind, Gambling.com is looking at some of the leading contenders to win the title, the latest Championship winner odds and the players in the frame to be top goalscorer.

Championship Title Odds: Ipswich To Bounce Back?

Ipswich won just four games in the Premier League last season, so it was small wonder they dropped back into the Championship with 22 points.

Manager Kieran McKenna has been linked with several clubs in the last 12 months, including Manchester United, but he is staying at Portman Road for at least another season.

The Tractor Boys’ squad looks much weaker than last season, with star striker Liam Delap signing for Chelsea, while key defenders Axel Tuanzebe and Cameron Burgess joined Burnley and Swansea respectively.

Dutch midfielder Azor Matusiwa signed from Rennes for an undisclosed fee, former Ivory Coast international Cedric Kipre completed a season-long loan from Reims and evergreen defender Ashley Young joined on a free transfer.

However, Town seem to have beaten off competition from Birmingham for former Middlesbrough striker Chuba Akpom, having agreed a loan deal with Ajax and an obligation to buy for £7m if they are promoted to the Premier League.

Ipswich have been cut from 4/1 to 3/1 to win the title with several football betting sites in the last couple of weeks.

Championship Winner Odds: Southampton Aiming To Banish PL Memory

Southampton avoided the worst points total in Premier League history by the skin of their teeth, but they have been trimmed from 6/1 to 11/2 by Betway to bounce back as Championship title winners.

Saints garnered just 12 points, one more than Derby’s total in the 2007/08 season, which saw Russell Martin sacked in December, followed by the dismissal of Ivan Juric at the start of April when their relegation was confirmed. 

Former Reims and Lens manager Still has been tasked with wiping away the memory of last season and getting Southampton back into the Premier League.

Still has brought in a couple of players from the Bundesliga as part of a minor rebuild of an inflated squad, USA forward Damion Downs and centre-back Joshua Quarshie joining from FC Koln and Hoffenheim respectively. 

But, Saints lost several senior players over the summer, including forwards Kamaldeen Sulemana and Paul Onuachu.

Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, central defender Jan Bednarek and right-back Kyle Walker-Peters have also left for new pastures, so it’s hard to get excited about odds of 11/2 on Saints topping the table at the end of the season.

Championship Title Odds: Birmingham Shorten For Top Spot

Birmingham were 12/1 to win the Championship with betting apps towards the end of May, but several eye-catching signings have seen their odds cut to 7/1.

Demarai Gray joined on a free transfer following his departure from Al-Ettifaq, but the League One champions’ biggest coup was signing former Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi from Rennes on a three-year deal.

The 30-year-old Japanese scored 85 goals in 165 appearances for the Glasgow giants and should be a major threat in the Championship this season.

Compatriot Kanya Fujimoto, an attacking midfielder, and right-back Bright Osayi-Samuel have also joined on free transfers from Gil Vicente and Fenerbahce respectively.

The Blues had been in talks with Ajax about the possibility of signing Akpom for £6m, but the striker now seems to be heading to Ipswich.

Having brought in loan signings Tommy Doyle and England U21 goalkeeper James Beadle from Wolves and Brighton respectively, hopes are high at St Andrew’s of another promotion push.

Championship Winner Odds: New Era For Sheffield United

Sheffield United have a new man at the helm after Chris Wilder was shown the door for losing to Sunderland in the Championship play-off final.

Last season, the Blades technically earned three points more than the 89 which proved enough for automatic promotion to the Premier League in the 2018/19 campaign, but that was immaterial to the United board who swiftly appointed Ruben Selles an hour after Wilder was sacked. 

United looked like Premier League certainties when they topped the table at the end of March, but four defeats in their final seven fixtures scuppered their hopes.

Former Hull and Reading boss Selles has vowed to implement “intense and front-footed” football at Bramall Lane, so fans can expect a thrilling season in South Yorkshire.

Defensive midfielder Vini Souza joined Bundesliga side Wolfsburg for an undisclosed fee, but Selles has brought in Braga's Djibril Soumare as a replacement on a season-long loan.

The Blades have also completed the loan signings of winger Louie Barry and centre-back Tyler Bindon from Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest respectively.

However, United sold key defender Anel Ahmedhodzic and striker Kieffer Moore to Feyenoord and Wrexham respectively a few days before the start of the season which is hardly ideal for United's preparations.  

It remains to be seen how United players adapt to Selles' philosophy, but they had an encouraging pre-season and could prove excellent value at 8/1 with William Hill if they get off to a flying start. 

Coventry And Leicester Lead Outsiders

Frank Lampard’s Coventry are 12/1 to win the Championship, having finished fifth last season only to concede a last-gasp equaliser against Sunderland in the semi-finals of the play-offs.

City were 17th when Lampard took the reins, so it was a strong finish to their campaign and they are expected to be in the mix once more. 

Coventry beat off competition from Stoke to sign Aston Villa right-back Kaine Kesler-Hayden and have kept the bulk of last season's squad which should help them in the new campaign.

Leicester, who pipped Ipswich to the Championship title two years ago, are also 12/1 as they prepare for their first season in 14 years without club legend Jamie Vardy.

The Foxes appointed former QPR manager Marti Cifuentes as their head coach on a three-year contract in mid-July, so it remains to be seen how they will perform.

Norwich and Middlesbrough are also under new management, with Liam Manning and Rob Edwards at the helm respectively.

The Canaries are generally 16/1, while Boro, who failed to win any of their five pre-season friendlies, are a best-priced 25/1.

Wrexham have been busy in the transfer market, bringing in striker Moore, defender Conor Coady and midfielder Lewis O'Brien from Sheffield United, Leicester and Nottingham Forest respectively.

The Red Dragons also signed Plymouth striker Ryan Hardie and Foxes goalkeeper Danny Ward, but have drifted to 33/1 with Betfred to win the Championship.

West Brom, who start a new era under Ryan Mason, remain 25/1, but are generally available at 20/1.

The Baggies beat Rayo Vallecano 3-2 in their final pre-season friendly and hopes are high that Norwegian striker Aune Heggebo, nicknamed The Hulk, can power West Brom into the Premier League.

Championship Top Goalscorer Odds: Trio Lead The Way

The Championship's top goalscorer market looks a tight affair before a ball has been kicked, with three strikers named as co-favourites.

Southampton's Cameron Archer, Ipswich's George Hirst and Birmingham's Jay Stansfield are all priced at 10/1 with Ladbrokes to score the most goals in the second tier this season.

Archer's best campaign came as an Aston Villa player during a season-long loan spell at Middlesbrough in 2022/23 when he scored 11 goals, but he is likely to need double that number to finish top of the pile.

Hirst is the main striker at Portman Road following Delap's move to Chelsea and he scored in every game he started during pre-season.

Stansfield was League One's second top scorer with 19 goals last season and remains on a high after helping England retain their European U21 Championship title.

The former Fulham forward scored the only goal against a strong Nottingham Forest line-up in Brum's final pre-season friendly at the weekend and his pace will be a threat to most defences.

However, his City team-mate Furuhashi could prove to be the signing of the summer and represents decent each-way value at 16/1.

Elsewhere, Ipswich's Sammie Szmodic and Southampton's Adam Armstrong can both be backed at 14/1.