The EFL Championship is one of the most-watched leagues in the world despite it not being the biggest league in England. Given the EFL Championships popularity, it’s popular with punters when it comes to placing a football bet. Check out our EFL Championship Predictions too help you decide which way to bet this weekend.
The EFL Championship is the second tier of English football and is renowned for being one of the most exciting football leagues in the world. Each season, 24 teams compete for a place in the promised land of the Premier League, with three promotion places being up for grabs. The value presented by the parity that often exists in the Championship makes this a popular league for football punters to bet on.
Here, we will cover all fixtures in this season's Championship, starting with the first weekend of the campaign right the way through the highly-anticipated Play-Offs. A total of 46 games are played during the season to decide the two automatically promoted and three relegated sides via their league position. The teams ranked from third to sixth will then compete in the Play-Offs, starting with two, two-legged semi-finals before the Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium to determine the third promoted side.
Find our expert team's dedicated betting tips and predictions for all competing teams in the EFL Championship below.
Each season, 24 teams compete in the Championship, which is the second tier of English football. A total of six new teams enter the Championship every year, three of which come from being relegated from the Premier League and three that come via winning promotion from League One.
The Championship works in a double round-robin system that sees each competing club face one another twice over the course of the season — once at home and once away. That results in each club playing a total of 46 league matches over the course of the Championship season, with the league table being decided by the number of points that each team earns from those matches.
Points are awarded on the following basis — three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat. The team with the most points at the end of the season will be crowned champions of the Championship for that season. If teams are level on points then goal difference, goals scored and head-to-head records can come into play to decide the order of the table.
One of the most exciting elements of any Championship season is the Play-Offs, which occur at the end of the 46-game season. Automatic promotion to the Premier League is awarded to the teams in the top two positions in the table, leaving the teams ranked third to sixth to battle it out in the Play-Offs. It starts with the semi-finals where the competing teams play a two-legged tie to decide who will compete in the Championship Play-Off final at Wembley, as third plays sixth and fourth plays fifth. The two semi-final winners will then collide at Wembley to decide who will take the third promotion place to the Premier League.
At the bottom of the table, things are far more straightforward as the three teams that finish in 24th, 23rd and 22nd will be relegated directly to League One and replaced by the three promoted sides from that division. The competitive nature of the Championship often leads to a dramatic final day of the season where promotion, play-off and relegation places are still to be decided.