The 2021-22 EFL Championship kicks off this weekend and although it is set to remain somewhat disrupted due to Covid it will be interesting to see how having fans back in the stadium’s impacts performances. The relegated clubs have usually been amongst the front runners for promotion the following season, and we don’t envisage much change this time. Fulham has spent big in the close season and we expect them to figure prominently along with both West Brom and Sheffield United, who suffered the common second season blues last year. Anyway here is how we see it panning out.
EFL Championship Winners
It’s hard to look past Fulham given they have kept the nucleus of their squad intact and have added some real quality for this level with the signing of Welsh international Harry Wilson from Liverpool. Lack of goals and too many draws were the main issue last season and his addition will give their attack an extra dimension this time around. It won’t be easy but they should be the class of the division and it’s harder to make a case for them not going up than for them winning it.
Automatic Promotion
Both the other newly relegated teams West Brom & Sheffield United have strong cases for making an instant return. West Brom has unloaded a lot of their fringe squad players but their starting eleven looks strong. They have raised a bit of money which gives them a bit of budget when the January window opens. They have spent 12 of the last 17 seasons in the Premier League and with a shiny new manager in Valérien Ismaël (who worked wonders at Barnsley last season) they should be Fulhams main challenger.
Sheffield United also have a new manager in Slaviša Jokanović who has guided both Fulham & Watford to promotion from the Championship in the past. He has the experience but it remains to be seen as to how well the squad adjusts to life back at this level. They may need a season to consolidate.
Playoff Contenders
There are a number of teams who look to have set their sights on the Premiership by investing in the squad or recruiting managerial talent who are capable of getting the job done. Bournemouth may have lost Sam Sturridge to divisional rivals Stoke, but we love the signing of Emiliano Marcondes. The Danish U21 international was part of Brentford’s Playoff winning team last season and getting him for free is good business. They also have funds in the kitty thanks to the Sturridge sale so could strengthen in January.
QPR finished the season well and they have added some proven Championship level talent to an already capable squad. We expect them to improve on last seasons 9th place this time around.
Middlesborough should be in the hunt. They were 10th last season but Neil Warnock has now had time to assess the squad and has added some interest with the signing of Argentinian Martin Payero for £6.1M. That’s a sizable transfer fee at this level and if he adjusts to European football he could be a difference-maker.
We also like Cardiff City who Mick McCarthy almost got into the playoffs last year despite only taking over in January. With a year under his belt, we expect them to go up.
Image: JoelOrme/shutterstock.com
How Will the Newly Promoted Teams fare?
It’s hard to see any of the three newly-promoted sides troubling the top half of the table. Blackpool finished well last season and was deservedly promoted via the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if their star striker Jerry Yeates fares at this level. He is still improving and if he can maintain his scoring rate then they should at least stay up.
Similarly, Peterborough’s fate could rest on the goal-scoring exploits of Jonson Clarke-Harris. He was League One’s top scorer by some margin in 2020-21 and keeping hold of him shows they have ambitions at this level.
Hull City were League One Champions last season and they will hope to ride that momentum into 2021-22. The squad doesn’t look strong enough to us but they should be good enough to stay up.
EFL Championship Relegation candidates
We expect fans of the following teams to have a somewhat nerve-wracking season and although we are pretty certain that Derby will go down it’s any two from six for the other places.
Derby has so many problems that it will be a near miracle if Wayne Roony manages to keep them up. Transfer restrictions and a paper-thin squad mean that they are our tip to finish bottom. Newly promoted Hull & Peterborough will also face a stiff step up in class and although we think they could both survive it could be close and seeing either or both in the bottom three come seasons end will be no surprise.
Preston looks to have regressed having lost long time stalwarts, Paul Gallagher & David Nugent. They will be hard to replace and with no transfer budget, the only additions has been free transfers and loan signings. Sepp van den Berg & Daniel Iversen both look to have potential but will that be enough to keep the team up in what is a highly competitive division?
Huddersfield’s post Premier League hangover showed no sign of going away last season and they were far from impressive last season. They conceded the most goals in the division in 20-21 and although we like the signings of Jordan Rhodes & Tom Lees this might not be enough to make up for the squad turnover disruption.
Blackburn & Coventry are the other two teams we could see being sucked in especially if they get hit by injuries.
EFL Championship Final Table Prediction
- FULHAM
- WEST BROM
- BOURNEMOUTH
- QPR
- CARDIFF CITY
- MIDDLESBROUGH
- SHEFFIELD UTD
- MILWALL
- NOTTINGHAM FOREST
- STOKE CITY
- BARNSLEY
- SWANSEA CITY
- BRISTOL CITY
- BLACKPOOL
- LUTON TOWN
- BIRMINGHAM
- READING
- BLACKBURN ROVERS
- COVENTRY CITY
- HULL CITY
- PETERBOROUGH UTD
- PRESTON NORTH END
- HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
- DERBY COUNTY
Playoff Final Cardiff (promoted) Vs Middlesborough
So there we have it, our predictions for what could be the most exciting of the four Football League Divisions in 2021-22. Why not check out our most recent Championship posts while you are here or have a go at one of our growing bank of Football Quizzes.
Scotty ✅
