Championship 2026: Teams to Watch and Predictions
The Viking Row, Wonderwall, Mexican ducks and endless hydration breaks can all stay in the summer of 2026. The circus has moved on. The Championship is back – and this year it looks even wilder than usual.
Across nine months and 46 games, a division already famed for chaos somehow feels even more open. Only four clubs arrive with parachute money – West Ham, Wolves, Burnley and a Southampton side starting on minus four after the “spygate” scandal that poisoned the end of last season. Lincoln City are back at this level for the first time since 1961, Cardiff return after a year away, and Bolton rejoin the party after seven years out.
From promotion chasers to survival scrappers, here’s how the 24 clubs are shaping up – for now, at least, with the transfer window open until 1 September.
Birmingham City – aiming higher, but must leave home comforts
Chris Davies heads into his third season with Birmingham knowing the excuses have gone. Tenth last year felt underwhelming; this time a top-eight finish is the bare minimum expected by the owners, and the fanbase quietly agree.
The mood is helped by continuity. A younger, hungrier squad was built on the fly last season and now gets a full campaign together. Carlos Vicente, Jhon Solis and towering striker August Priske all look ready to kick on, while Christoph Klarer and Phil Neumann give Davies one of the division’s more imposing centre-back pairings.
The catch? Birmingham were dreadful away from home. Five wins on the road, among the Championship’s worst, and only two teams scored fewer away goals. St Andrew’s was a fortress – 44 points, fourth-best in the league – but that imbalance killed any play-off tilt.
Priske might be the one to change the equation. The 6ft 5in Dane scored his first Blues goal on the final day at Portsmouth, bulked up over the summer and has been scoring freely in pre-season. At 22, he has the look of a 15-goal striker if the supply line holds.
Jobi McAnuff’s prediction: 11th.
Blackburn Rovers – experience of suffering, but still short
Blackburn’s target is brutally simple: don’t repeat last season’s mess. They finished 20th, won just four times at Ewood Park and lived far too close to the trapdoor.
Tony Mowbray wants more quality and more bodies, and he knows the squad still lacks Championship nous in key areas. That was flagged by Michael O’Neill before him and remains an issue, particularly with both goalkeepers, Balazs Toth and Aynsley Pears, entering the final year of their deals. Toth could yet depart.
The upside is that this group knows how to scrap. Two relegation battles in three years have hardened the dressing room. Keep the core fit and Rovers should at least avoid another late-season panic.
The name on everyone’s lips is Tom Atcheson. The centre-back, who turns 20 in September, has been handed the number six shirt and starts the season as first choice. Premier League scouts are already circling.
McAnuff’s prediction: 22nd.
Bolton Wanderers – back in the big time, eyes wide open
Promotion via the League One play-offs brought Bolton home. Now comes the hard part.
Steven Schumacher, who knows this league from his Plymouth days, is clear-eyed: consolidation first. That doesn’t mean a lack of ambition; it means understanding the step up. Bolton will fancy bloodying a few noses, but they must adapt quickly.
The budget is one of the smallest in the division, so recruitment has to be sharp. Eight new faces have arrived already and more are expected. The attack is the biggest concern. Bolton create chances but don’t score enough, a problem that won’t fix itself just because the stadiums are bigger.
Ryan Hardie could be crucial. His best scoring form came under Schumacher at Plymouth. Reuniting the pair might be Bolton’s smartest move of the summer.
McAnuff’s prediction: 21st.
Bristol City – big changes, bigger hopes
Ashton Gate has felt stuck in neutral for years. This summer, Bristol City have hit the reset button.
Michael Skubala arrives as head coach, James Ellis as sporting director, and eight new signings have injected belief – and a bit more spending than many fans expected. There’s talk, cautiously, of finally mounting a serious promotion push, even if everyone accepts that so much change will take time to bed in.
City look strong through the middle if injuries relent. Last season they were down to the last man standing in defence, so the arrivals of Lisav Eissat and midfielder Gibson Yah should help. The big caveat is potential outgoings: with Max Bird already gone, Jason Knight’s future remains uncertain. Lose him as well and the spine needs rebuilding again.
Up front, Lorent Tolaj and Dom Ballard have lit up League One, but neither has kicked a ball in the Championship. They excite supporters, but they’re still a question mark, as is the squad’s adjustment to Skubala’s style.
The wild card is Yu Hirakawa. The winger helped Hull City into the Premier League last season but has been on the fringes at Bristol City while managers shunned out-and-out wide men. Under Skubala, that changes. Hirakawa could be exactly what City have lacked against deep, stubborn defences.
McAnuff’s prediction: 14th.
Burnley – promotion pedigree, but pieces still missing
Burnley have made a habit of making the Championship look easy. The last two times they were here, they went up with 100 points or more.
This time feels different. Relegated from the Premier League in 19th, they’ve appointed Nicky Hayen, added Ugo Raghouber, and watched key names like Maxime Esteve, Jaidon Anthony, Luca Koleosho and Florentino Luis depart. There is still plenty of business to do before anyone can confidently label them favourites.
What they do have is a squad full of players with a point to prove. Aaron Ramsey has barely got going due to injuries since his big-money move three years ago. Stay fit, and he could feel like a new signing. Mike Tresor struggled under Burnley’s previous two managers; Hayen is expected to hand him a fresh slate.
The real fear is further exits. Zian Flemming has Premier League suitors and would be extremely hard to replace. Hayen has been blunt: anyone who doesn’t want to be here can go – if the offer is right.
Marcus Edwards, who impressed in the second half of their last promotion season, might be the one to light it all up again. Many Burnley fans felt he was underused in the top flight. The Championship could be his stage.
McAnuff’s prediction: 5th.
Cardiff City – fearless kids, ruthless league
Cardiff’s first job is survival. Anything else is a bonus.
Brian Barry-Murphy’s adventurous style has brought life and noise back to the club. Promotion as League One runners-up was fuelled by a young, homegrown core who play at a ferocious pace and with a freedom Cardiff fans haven’t seen in years. Keep that tempo and they’ll trouble anyone.
But youth cuts both ways. Only three players in the squad are over 30 and last season’s naivety was punished even in League One. In the Championship, mistakes are magnified. On paper, a couple of seasoned second-tier pros would help, yet Barry-Murphy has stuck to his principles so far.
If this season is to be more than a learning curve, Yousef Salech must fire. The powerful Dane scored eight goals in 20 Championship games two years ago and hit 15 last season before a serious neck injury stopped him cold. Fully fit again, he can bully defenders at this level.
McAnuff’s prediction: 23rd.
Derby County – ambition checked, but not cancelled
Derby started the summer dreaming big. A proposed takeover promised fresh money and a transfer jolt. Then it collapsed.
John Eustace is left with a squad high on quality but short on depth. Wide areas, full-back, central midfield and the forward line all need reinforcements if Derby are to turn top-half ambitions into reality. The final weeks of the window feel decisive.
What they do have is a solid spine. Jacob Widell Zetterstrom offers assurance in goal, Lewis Travis is set for his first full, injury-free season as captain, and Carlton Morris can be a handful up front if he rediscovers pre-injury form.
Bobby Clark, 21, could be the breakout star. Signed from Salzburg, he has the talent to become one of the club’s most valuable assets. And lurking on the horizon is Patrick Agyemang. Out until January after the injury that cost him a World Cup, his return could feel like a mid-season marquee signing.
McAnuff’s prediction: 10th.
Lincoln City – smallest budget, biggest leap
Sixty-five years after their last second-tier appearance, Lincoln are back. Survival would be a triumph.
They expect to have the lowest budget in the league, just as they did in League One before ripping that division apart. The hope is that continuity and clever coaching can defy the odds again. The core of last season’s title-winning squad remains, with experienced Championship campaigners like Tendayi Darikwa and Adam Reach adding know-how.
The club’s boldest move is in the dugout: co-head coaches Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw. It raised eyebrows, but both are highly rated and the set-up might prove inspired rather than risky.
It has been a quiet window so far, and more arrivals are likely before the end of August. Between the posts, though, they are settled. George Wickens, who endured a tough first year before flourishing last season, has signed a new deal and continues to develop under goalkeeping coach David Preece. Lincoln know all about keepers suddenly hitting the spotlight – just ask former loanee Carl Rushworth.
McAnuff’s prediction: 24th.
Middlesbrough – one more push
Middlesbrough came within a game of the Premier League last season, only to lose in the play-off final. The response from Kim Hellberg and his players is simple: go again.
With Hayden Hackney and Dael Fry sold, there is change at the back, but the expectation is clear. In a season with expanded play-offs, Boro simply have to be in the mix. Coventry’s title win last year showed that you don’t need parachute money to go up.
Hellberg’s side were defensively sound and ruthless at protecting leads. At their best, his attacking football overwhelmed teams. The flaw was obvious: when opponents sat deep and handed them the ball, Boro often ran out of ideas. A run of two wins in 10 at the end of the campaign cost them automatic promotion.
The club hope Will Lankshear and Kyle Joseph add a more direct threat up front – the ability to batter the door down when the lock won’t pick. Lankshear, a big-money signing from Tottenham, is the headline act. Behind him, USA international Sebastian Berhalter, excellent at the World Cup, is expected to knit things together in midfield, while Adilson Malanda’s partnership with Alfie Jones at the back could give Boro the platform to dominate again.
McAnuff’s prediction: 2nd.
Millwall – no fear, no illusions
Millwall finally cracked the play-offs last season, finishing third and shredding reputations along the way. The aim now is to prove it wasn’t a one-off.
Alex Neil is central to that. He understands the club, the fanbase and the unique edge of The Den, and he has a track record of winning promotions. His game management in big moments could again be the difference in tight games.
Money, though, remains the ceiling. The Berylson family have backed Neil, and new signings like Kyrell Lisbie and Lyndon Dykes add depth, but Millwall will still be trading punches with clubs who spend far more. That gap might tell over 46 games.
They have long searched for a reliable goalscorer. If Josh Coburn can stay fit and replicate his best spells from last season, Millwall may finally have the striker to turn pressure into points.
McAnuff’s prediction: 6th.
Norwich City – calm at last, and quietly dangerous
Norwich finished ninth but only three teams took more points than them in the second half of last season. That explains the cautious optimism around Carrow Road.
Philippe Clement arrived last November to rescue a team drifting towards League One. He did that and more, imposing a clear style and, crucially, enjoying a full pre-season this time. After two chaotic summers of coaching changes and scattergun recruitment, the quieter, more controlled approach has gone down well.
Continuity is Norwich’s biggest strength. The squad know the system and each other. The club have added Andre Brooks, Sam Field, Darlin Yongwa and Bruno Alves without ripping anything up.
The worry is injuries. Clement was exasperated by the revolving door to the treatment room last season, prompting a revamp of the sports science and fitness staff. They’ve already lost Ali Ahmed to an ACL for the year, while Kellen Fisher, Jovon Makama and Lucien Mahovo are sidelined early on.
Makama, signed from Lincoln, looked a revelation before his campaign was cut short after 13 goals. Australian striker Mo Toure arrived in winter and promptly scored 10 in 12 league games, then struck 40 seconds into this season’s Carabao Cup. Add an impressive-looking Brooks and Norwich have plenty of firepower – if they can keep it on the pitch.
McAnuff’s prediction: 7th.
Portsmouth – cautious climb, fragile depth
Portsmouth’s first priority is simple: stay well away from the relegation fight that consumed them last season.
John Mousinho’s side finished 18th but have already doubled last summer’s spend. Even so, the budget remains modest for this level, so any move up the table will be hard-earned. Any improvement on 18th would be a job well done.
There are reasons to believe in progress. Josh Murphy and Abu Kamara could be one of the Championship’s most exciting wing pairs if they stay fit, while Terry Devlin’s rapid development has already surprised many. Adrian Segecic’s 11 goals in his debut season were another bright spot.
The concern is depth. Injuries hammered Pompey last year and they don’t have the squad to absorb similar blows. Their new signings bring promise, but little Championship experience. Opponents no longer treat Fratton Park as an easy day out; they sit deep and frustrate. Pompey have often struggled to break those teams down.
Murphy is the potential game-changer. When fully fit, he’s one of the best players in the division. Last season was ruined by injury and he’ll miss the opener, but if he recaptures his form from two years ago, Portsmouth’s survival prospects improve dramatically.
McAnuff’s prediction: 20th.
Preston North End – record signing, familiar questions
Preston have gone big. A club-record £6m has brought Alfie Devine in permanently from Tottenham after his impressive loan spell, a statement of intent from a side that finished 14th.
Paul Heckingbottom still wants more signings, and he needs them. Several key loanees have gone, experienced figures like Robbie Brady have moved on, and the departures of Lewis Dobbin, Harrison Armstrong and Daniel Jebbison leave serious gaps in attack.
Off the pitch, Preston have spent more than £1.5m on a new Deepdale pitch after last winter’s surface became a running joke and hindered their football. The hope is that a pristine pitch will allow Heckingbottom’s side to play with more consistency and control.
Devine is the obvious focal point. He already looks like the standout player and now has the security of a permanent deal. For Preston to push beyond mid-table, he’ll need help – and quickly.
McAnuff’s prediction: 19th.
QPR – tightening up or treading water?
QPR shipped 73 goals last season. Only Sheffield Wednesday conceded more. That statistic hangs over everything.
Julien Stephan now has a full Championship season behind him and has reshaped the squad more in his image. The summer business has been encouraging: Calum Ward, Pierce Charles, Boy Kemper, Tariq Lamptey, Glen Kamara and Dennis Cirkin all arrive to bolster a side that finished 15th.
Optimism at Loftus Road is cautiously high. A top-half finish would represent clear progress; with a strong start and fewer injuries, the top eight doesn’t feel impossible. But they must fix that defence.
Stephan’s experience and familiarity with the league should help. So might a breakout season from Rumarn Burrell. The forward has the tools to thrive at this level – if he stays fit and gets the service.
McAnuff’s prediction: 13th.
Southampton – minus four, plus expectation
Southampton start the season in the red after their play-off expulsion and spygate fallout left them with a four-point penalty. It hasn’t dampened the ambition.
Head coach Tonda Eckert and his players have been clear: they want automatic promotion. Nothing else will do.
They have reasons to believe. The core of the side that went 21 league games unbeaten at the end of last season remains intact. Cyle Larin and Daniel Peretz, both on loan during that run, are now permanent. Divin Mubama has arrived from Manchester City to replace Ross Stewart, bringing huge potential after five goals in 20 starts at Stoke before injury.
The risk is obvious. Mubama still has to prove he can deliver over a full Championship campaign. If he struggles, Southampton’s attack could look light.
Most fans, though, look to Leo Scienza. The Brazilian winger terrorised full-backs last season and, barring a huge bid from elsewhere, will be doing so again. In a league this tight, a player who can unpick a game on his own is priceless.
McAnuff’s prediction: 4th.
Stoke City – defence first, but who scores?
Stoke’s hierarchy have been blunt: they expect a play-off challenge.
Mark Robins, in from Coventry, inherits a team that started last season strongly thanks to a rock-solid defence and superb goalkeeping from Viktor Johansson. The formula is clear – keep that base, add more punch.
The problem is goals. Outside of Sorba Thomas, who carried much of the creative burden last year, Stoke lack proven attacking threat. There is no prolific striker, and the rest of the squad have yet to show they can chip in enough.
New signings Ethan Galbraith, Djibril Soumare, Svante Ingelsson and Josh Griffiths add depth, while centre-back Luke Graham, signed from Dundee, is one for the future. Left-footed, aggressive and confident stepping out with the ball, he has the tools to grow into a top defender over the next couple of seasons.
McAnuff’s prediction: 15th.
Swansea City – pressing on, but waiting on Vipotnik
Swansea have finished 11th in back-to-back seasons. The aim is obvious: turn mid-table stability into a genuine play-off charge.
They’ve spent ambitiously again, bringing in Elijah Just, Joseph Opoku, Tiago Parente, Ross Stewart, Stephen Welsh and Moussa Yeo. But the whole project still hangs over one name: Zan Vipotnik.
The Championship’s top scorer last season transformed Swansea’s attack. His future is uncertain, and Ethan Galbraith, another key performer, has already gone. If Vipotnik leaves, the scoring burden falls on Adam Idah – who struggled in his first season – and new signing Stewart.
Under Vitor Matos, appointed last November, Swansea press aggressively, especially at home, a style influenced by his time alongside Jurgen Klopp. That won’t change. What must improve is the away form that undermined last season’s push.
Out wide, the squad was weak last year. Significant fees for Opoku and Yeo show where Swansea think the fix lies. Opoku, a 21-year-old Ghanaian winger, looks physically ready for the league, while academy product Filip Lissah, excellent on loan at Falkirk, is poised to become a first-team regular at centre-back.
McAnuff’s prediction: 12th.
Watford – talent at the edges, holes in the middle
Watford’s board will talk about a promotion push. Many fans are bracing for something more modest.
Last season’s late collapse – eight games without a win to finish 16th – has drained belief. Recruitment has been slow, with Federico Ravaglia, Iker Bravo, Omar Traore and Jordan Zemura arriving, while Giorgi Chakvetadze and Nestory Irankunda have gone. A mid-table finish currently looks the most realistic outcome.
The squad still has flair. Othmane Maamma is the standout, a gifted wide attacker with balance, touch and goals who looks destined for the top level. Kwadwo Baah and Rocco Vata need to rediscover form and fitness, and Edoardo Bove should improve after a full pre-season.
The spine is the worry. Watford have only two recognised centre-backs when most clubs carry five. Central midfield is light, with Imran Louza’s future uncertain, and up front the young strikers are not yet at Championship level. Loans will arrive, but they must adapt instantly under new head coach Alessio Dionisi.
Maamma is the obvious difference-maker if he stays. Keep him fit and in the building, and Watford always have a puncher’s chance. Behind him, young attacker Amin Nabizada is tipped for a breakout year.
McAnuff’s prediction: 16th.
West Bromwich Albion – back to basics, aiming up
West Brom flirted with disaster last season. Relegation to League One felt unthinkable, yet they finished 21st.
James Morrison stepped in, went 10 games unbeaten and kept them up. Now in permanent charge, he’s expected to turn that rescue job into a reset. With two extra play-off places available, Albion should be thinking big, but with a younger, developing squad, a top-half finish would still represent progress.
Morrison’s turnaround was built on structure. He went 4-4-2, put players in their best positions and tightened everything up. Seven clean sheets in nine games told its own story, yet Albion also increased their entries into the opposition box thanks to adventurous full-backs. It was organised, but it wasn’t dull.
The issue is goals. Only four teams scored fewer last season, and two of those went down. Aune Heggebo managed nine in his first year in England and will want more, but he needs support. The whole team has to contribute.
New signing Felix Horn Myhre might be the key. The 27-year-old midfielder arrives from SK Brann with European experience and a reputation – in Norway, at least – as his former club’s most important player. If he adapts quickly, he could become Morrison’s on-pitch conductor. Young loanee Jimmy-Jay Morgan, five goals in pre-season, is another intriguing option, even if the club are wary of piling pressure on him too soon.
McAnuff’s prediction: 17th.
West Ham United – promotion or bust
Relegation cut deep at West Ham. The response is uncompromising: anything less than promotion at the first attempt is failure. Automatic is the target; the play-offs an acceptable, if unwanted, Plan B.
Nuno Espirito Santo staying put is a huge boost. He has already won this division with Wolves, racking up 99 points in 2017-18, and retains a core of players capable of dominating the league. Jarrod Bowen, in particular, looks like the standout player in the Championship, with 131 goal contributions in 228 games for the club since 2021.
There are cracks. Ownership wrangles continue behind the scenes and could yet affect transfer business. Losing talents like Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville inevitably lowers the squad’s ceiling unless West Ham recruit astutely.
But as long as Bowen is on the pitch and Nuno is on the touchline, the Hammers will expect to dictate terms.
McAnuff’s prediction: 1st.
Wolverhampton Wanderers – scars, stars and a second-tier reset
Molineux was raw last season. Relegation, unrest, poor recruitment – it all bled together. Yet when over 21,000 turned up for a Carabao Cup tie last Friday, the mood had shifted. Optimism is back.
New executive chairman Nathan Shi has already set the target: Wolves must be a Premier League club again by 2027-28. The quickest way to that is immediate promotion, and it’s not hard to see why fans believe it’s possible.
Cesar Peixoto can call on players with proven Premier League pedigree like Raul Jimenez and Kieran Trippier, plus Adam Armstrong, whose January arrival was seen as the first big step towards building a serious Championship side. Crucially, some of those who performed well in a grim top-flight campaign, and were expected to leave, have not yet pushed for moves. Jimenez’s decision to return and Andre’s choice to stay hint at a renewed sense of unity.
Questions remain. Is the exodus merely delayed? Can Wolves avoid repeating last summer’s mis-steps in the market if late departures force their hand? Is there enough defensive depth beyond Ladislav Krejci, whose pre-season was shortened by World Cup duty? And will at least one of the club’s two international goalkeepers still be here when the window shuts?
Amid the uncertainty, Mateus Mane offers clarity. A year ago he was a name known mainly at Rochdale and in Wolves’ youth ranks. Under Rob Edwards he was thrown in, perhaps too often, but he still showed flashes of real quality. This summer he has looked fresh, focused and fully aware that a dominant Championship season could launch him into a different stratosphere.
McAnuff’s prediction: 3rd.
Wrexham – ruthless finishers, fragile foundations
Wrexham missed the play-offs by a whisker last season. This time they want to be on the right side of the line.
Phil Parkinson’s side are unapologetically ambitious. A top-eight finish in the expanded play-offs would be judged a success, but they’ll aim higher. With Danny Imray, Ben Whiteman and Anthony Patterson added to a squad already boasting Josh Windass, Callum Doyle and Kieffer Moore, they have the firepower.
They are also one of the most clinical teams in the league. Last season they outperformed their expected goals by 12.21 – more than any other Championship side. Maintain that edge in front of goal and they’ll trouble the top half again.
Defensively, though, they creaked. It took Parkinson a long time to settle on a back three, and injuries at wing-back disrupted everything. The expectation inside the club is that, with a year’s experience at this level, the back line will tighten up.
Imray could be the glue. The right-sided flier, the club’s first signing of the summer, has already racked up 76 senior appearances across two loan spells. If he stays fit, he offers the consistency Wrexham badly lacked out wide.
McAnuff’s prediction: 9th.
The parachute clubs have money. The rest have plans, projects and, in some cases, pure chaos. Across England and Wales, squads are still being built and dreams are still intact.
In a league this unforgiving, who dares to believe that will still be true by May?
