Championship Odds & Betting

 

 

• How does Championship betting work?
• Facts and trends
• Latest Championship Odds: What to look out for
• Tips for 2022/23
• FAQs

 

 

Check out all the latest EFL Championship odds with 888sport. England’s second tier is famous for its competitive fixtures, thrilling relegation battles, shock results and play-off drama. So let us guide you through the action, and offer you a chance to bet on any one of this season’s dramatic twists and turns in the Championship.

 

With an opportunity to join via a laptop, tablet or mobile, we make it simple to place a wager – even if you are dipping your toes in Championship betting for the first time.

 

Sign up today with 888sport and you’ll also benefit from our great welcome bonus. Deposit, place your first bet of £10 or more, and get £30 in free bets (T&Cs apply).

 

How does Championship football betting work?

 

Our extensive Championship betting odds and markets give you the chance to tackle English football’s second tier with all the energy of a busy box-to-box midfielder.

 

The Championship is renowned for being a competitive and wide-open division, with the biggest prize being promotion to the Premier League. While a long list of clubs kick off the season desperate to make it to the top flight to face the elite clubs, the Championship promotion race offers up only three spots.

 

There are two automatic promotion places and one via the play-offs – so the stakes are high, but it makes it all the more fun to try to predict the winners and losers. Championship betting options however, reach far beyond just the promotion picture.

 

Championship odds to look out for include:

 

• Outright winner – Pick the team you think will sit at the top of the tree after the long schedule of Championship fixtures.
• Promotion – Which three teams will make it to the promised land of the Premier League?
• Relegation – Who is destined to face the challenge of League One?
• Top scorer – Who will be the number one nemesis for Championship defenders this season?
• Best promoted/relegated team – Which of the teams to come up from League One and down from the Premier League will fare best this season?
• Regional odds – Who will be the top London-based side? Or the best of the North West? Or the pride of Yorkshire?

 

Click the ‘outrights’ tab above to see the odds on all of these bets and more.

 

Betting on Championship fixtures

 

We also offer the latest Championship odds on all the upcoming Championship fixtures. When betting on individual games you can:

 

• Bet on the winner – A simple, outright bet on who will emerge victorious in the match.
• Goals – Will it be a goal-fest? Or a 0-0 draw? Explore our goals markets to pick options like Over/Under 2.5 goals, Total Goals, First Half Goals and Both Teams To Score.
• Penalties – Reckon the ref will point to the spot during the match? Have your verdict on the likelihood of a spot kick cropping up in the game.
• Half time – If you spot a team that are trending as strong starters in Championship matches, you can back them to be ahead at the break.
• Goalscorer – Select from the First Goalscorer, Anytime Goalscorer and Anytime Goalscorer markets to back the player you think will find the back of the net.
• Bet Builder – From preset options like the match winner, both teams to score and total goals, create and refine a unique bet.
• Asian handicap – Get Championship odds on matches where a team has a ‘virtual head start’ by being handicapped on their form, a great option for when there is a strong match outright favourite.
• Match Combos – Pick from a range of market odds that combine different conditions of a Championship match like BTTS & Over 7.5 Corners.

 

Use the ‘live & upcoming’ tab above for up-to-date odds.

 

Championship betting: Facts and trends

 

While the history of the division reaches back to 1982, the Championship as it is known and loved today was introduced in 2004. That was when the previous Division One was rebranded and the status of the second tier was drastically improved.

 

Here are some fascinating facts about the division:

 

• The Championship is not only the ninth-richest professional football league in Europe, but it also tops the table as the wealthiest non top-flight division in the entire world.
• The Championship play-off final is one of the biggest days on the English football calendar. It’s regarded as the richest game in England with the winner earning promotion to the top flight and a windfall in excess of £170 million in terms of future revenue.
• No team has spent more seasons in the English second tier than Barnsley.
• In the 2005/6 season Reading set a new record, totalling a massive 106 pts in their title-winning Championship campaign.
• Neil Warnock is seen as something of a promotion specialist in the division. He’s enjoyed eight promotions in his managerial career – including taking Sheffield United, QPR and Cardiff from the Championship to the Premier League.
• The bar for promotion can vary wildly. Newcastle United and Leicester City have both been crowned champions with 102 points, but Tony Mowbray’s West Brom won the division with just 81 points in 2007/08. Blackpool secured the lowest points tally of a promoted Championship club ever, getting up through the play-offs with just 70 points in 2009/10.
• The fight for survival in the Championship is always nerve-wracking and dramatic. Four teams have been relegated from the Championship despite having earned more than 50 points. Peterborough even went down with 54 points in 2012/13, in a season in which they scored five more goals than second place Hull City!
• The team finishing third in the Championship means that they have just missed out on automatic promotion. That’s a tough blow to take. But third-placed finishers don’t always suffer a play-off hangover. More teams have won the Championship play-off after finishing in third place than any of the other qualification spots have produced. Sixth-placed finishers have fared the worst in terms of winning the Championship play-off.
• Crystal Palace are the all-time Championship play-off leaders, having won the final four times. Derby and Ipswich have made more Championship play-off appearances than any other team (eight).
• The all-time leading goalscorer in the Championship is Billy Sharp who passed David Nugent’s long-standing record of 121 goals.
• Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic set a new league record with an astonishing 43 goals in the 2021/22 Championship season. The previous record was set in the preceding season by Brentford’s Ivan Toney with 31.
• Premier League golden boot winners Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy both warmed the bench for Leicester City in the Championship at one time. The pair were sitting on the sidelines for the Foxes during a 2013 play-off defeat to Watford.

 

Latest Championship odds: What to look out for

 

888sport has you covered when it comes to the latest odds from this brilliant league. Check out up-to-the-minute odds on upcoming matches, and dive deep into the many market options that are available.

 

Don’t forget the live in-play betting opportunities, with cash out available on plenty of markets to help you take control over your bets. You can also take a look at longer betting options like promotion, relegation and play-offs.

 

Here are a few things to weigh up when betting on Championship football:

 

Momentum – Form is so important for teams at this level. Teams can easily go on a hot winning streak as they can fall into a slump. Nottingham Forest earned only one point from their first seven games of the 2021/22 season for example. The Reds won 9 of their final 12 matches to reach the payoffs, which they won.

 

Injuries – The Championship has a tough schedule and injuries are inevitable. Clubs really need deep squads to compete, survive and thrive. A club missing its star striker, midfield general or defensive leader might well struggle to perform.

 

Transfers – The January window can be hugely influential. Fulham’s Championship hot-shot Alexander Mitrovic, for example, bagged 12 goals after a deadline day move to Fulham in 2018. His arrival was crucial to the promotion bid by the Cottagers as they suffered only one loss after January.

 

Expect surprises – The Championship has a habit of throwing up shocks. In the 2021/22 season, Blackburn were looking rock solid for a play-off place at the end of January. But Rovers won only four times in their final 18 matches and missed out on the play-offs. In 2019/20, Nottingham Forest had featured in the top six from Boxing Day right up until the final day of the season, where they collapsed 4-1 against Stoke and missed the play-offs on goal difference.

 

Looking for more on-field facts? Find even more tips and insights over at the 888sport blog.

 

Championship football betting: Tips for 2022/23

 

The teams that drop from the Premier League are usually among the main contenders to earn promotion back to the top flight. For the 2022/23 Championship season, that’s Norwich, Watford and Burnley.

 

Of those, it is Norwich who are the shortest odds to earn promotion once again as they continue to go back and forth between the top two tiers. Sheffield United, who were relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2020/21 season, appear to have assembled a strong team and could be in good shape for a promotion push.

 

The race for the play-offs is going to be hotly contested again and a couple of surprise names who could feature are Sunderland and Rotherham, both of which earned promotion from League One last season. Blackburn, QPR and West Brom are teams who could make a push as well.

 

At the other end of things, Huddersfield who finished third last season, are one of the favourites to suffer relegation to League One. The Terriers are on a huge slide and could be in big danger this term, while struggles are expected for the likes of Birmingham and Blackpool too.

 

FAQs

 

Do odds change after you’ve placed your bet?

 

No, the odds for your particular bet won’t change after you’ve placed it. However, Championship odds change all the time – especially given the competitive nature of the league – so you might well see prices lengthen or shorten for others placing the same bet as you, but the price you bet at is the price that is locked in.

 

What do odds of winning mean?

 

As with most events and sports, odds for Championship bets will typically be written as a fraction – they represent the chance of something happening and the amount of money you win if it does.

 

If something has odds of 3/1 you’d win £3 for every £1 you placed, plus your stake returned. Check out our guide to betting rules for more information about how odds work.

 

How can I predict a football match correctly?

 

There are no guarantees when it comes to betting. No-one predicts the correct outcome every time. Football betting is about trying to increase your chances of success by using studying form and stats. Considering things such as injuries and tactics when looking at Championship betting odds is another factor.