The EFL Championship 2020 has kicked off in high gear, ushering in an exciting season of on-pitch action. Along with it comes plenty of opportunities to back your favourite teams to victory and potentially earn winnings on savvy wagers. To help you get the most from the 2020 season, we’ve put together this handy Championship betting guide.
Top EFL Championship Bookmakers
What's in this article
- Top EFL Championship Bookmakers
- EFL Championship Bookmakers
- Most Important Info
- EFL Championship Preview 2020
- Popular EFL Championship Bets
- Outright Winner
- Top 6 Finish
- Promotion
- To Make the Play-Offs
- Relegation
- Top Goalscorer
- Advice for EFL Championship Betting
- EFL Championship Recent Stats
- Recent EFL Championship Winners, Runner-Ups and Promoted Teams
- A Brief History of the EFL Championship
- FAQs
- Conclusion
If you want to get involved with all the sporting action, then you’ll first want to make sure you have found the best online bookmakers with the most competitive Championship odds. Here are some of our top picks.
EFL Championship Bookmakers
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Most Important Info
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Top EFL Championship Bookmakers: Discover all the best online bookmakers to place your wagers this Championship season
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EFL Championship Preview 2020: Check out the favourites to win, the forecasted results and all the players to watch this season.
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Popular EFL Championship Bets: Understand all the different ways you can bet on the on-pitch Championship action
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Advice for Betting on the EFL Championship: Bet smart with our handy tips on how to choose winning Championship wagers
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EFL Championship Recent Stats: Get an insight into the recent statistics from the Championship league to best inform your betting decisions
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Recent EFL Championship Winners, Promoted and Relegated Teams: See which teams have enjoyed the best success and worst outcomes recently
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A Brief History of the EFL Championship: Learn how the EFL Championship has come to be what we know today
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FAQs: Find all the answers to your most frequently asked questions about betting on the EFL Championship
EFL Championship Preview 2020
Nothing is a sure thing in the world of football, and everything can change in a single moment. However, to help you understand how each team are currently standing and to know which players to keep your eyes on, here is our quick Championship preview for 2020.
Favourites to win:
- Leeds United: Beaten by Derby in the play-off semi-final, Marcelo Bielsa’s talented side are in prime position to lift the trophy.
- Fulham: Returning to the Championship after one season in the Premier League, Fulham have spent over £100 million on new talent to pose a fresh threat.
- West Bromwich Albion: Hoping to overcome their disappointment after losing to Aston Villa in the play-off semi-finals, West Brom are a determined side.
- Swansea City: The Welsh side have shown a surge in performance quality, putting fire behind their promotion aspirations.
- Cardiff City: Despite suffering a mixed start to the Championship season, bookmakers still see plenty of potential in the relegated Cardiff side.
Favourites to be relegated:
- Wigan Athletic: The side faced struggles in signing targeted talents, meaning Wigan Athletic start the season on the backfoot.
- Barnsley: Things started well for these League One risers but with the central defence facing a breakup, Barnsley are looking weakened.
- Hull City: With rumours of Jarrod Bowen’s departure and on-pitch struggles, Grant McCann has a challenge on his hands to keep Hull in the tournament.
- Luton Town: Luton have lost key players, James Justin and Jack Stacey, adding to the sheer challenge ahead of the side.
- Huddersfield Town: After one season in the Premier League, some bookmakers are expecting them to slip further down the divisions.
Favourite players for top goalscorer:
- Aleksandar Mitrovic: Fulham’s Serbian striker has passion for his team and plenty of talent to back up all that fire.
- Patrick Bamford: Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford is simply magic on the pitch, impressing in both attack and midfield roles.
- Borja Baston: Replacing Oli McBurnie in Swansea’s third pre-season friendly, Borja has since shown himself as an irreplaceable force.
- Karlan Ahearne-Grant: Huddersfield may have suffered heartbreak in Premier League regelation but at least they can fall back on the talents of this exceptional forward.
- Lewis Grabban: Nottingham Forest’s striker Lewis Grabban is more than capable of tasting the back of the net every time he steps up on the field.
Popular EFL Championship Bets
There are so many different ways to wager online today, meaning you can find the Championship bets that suits you best. Here, we are going to take a look at some of the most popular ways to bet on both Championship matches and the overall outcome of the tournament.
Outright Winner
If you want to back your favourite team to victory, then this is the wager for you. Simply choose which team you think will finish on that coveted top spot of the tournament table and place your money on them. Remember that odds can change over time, so be sure to keep up to date with the latest.
At Bet365, you’ll find great competitive odds across all Championship outright winner bets, making this a clear bookmaker favourite for football fans.
Top 6 Finish
If you don’t think your team is going to make it to first place but will still finish towards the top of the table, then you can place a Top 6 wager. If your team finishes anywhere between the first and sixth position, your bet will win. This type of bet can vary between bookmakers, with some offering Top 2 or Top 3 Finish bets.
Ladbrokes offer some fantastic odds across all the EFL Championship teams to finish in the top six positions. This makes them a great choice if you’re wanting to place this type of wager.
Promotion
The top two teams and the winner of the Championship play-offs will receive promotion to the Premiership ever Championship season. This takes the most successful teams up into the top-flight of English football. It’s a highly coveted position and this wager type lets you pick which teams will make it there.
Head on over to Coral for excellent coverage and odds of the Championship season. All this coupled with their Cash Out feature gives them a big thumbs up from us and a recommendation to wager on outright Championship promotion bets there.
To Make the Play-Offs
Fancy your side will make the Championship Play-Offs? Well, you can put your money where your mouth is with this wager. The teams that finish between third to sixth position will playoff with each over two legs to decide which one gets promoted.
Not all online bookmakers offer this outright bet to their customers, but then again, Paddy Power are not all online bookmakers. Their unique sense of personality, attention-grabbing promotions and wide selection of sports coverage certainly makes them stand out from the crowd.
Relegation
On the other side of the table, you can also wager on which sides you think will face the dreaded prospect of relegation at the end of the 2020 season. The teams who finish in the bottom three positions will all be relegated to the League One tournament.
Relegation may be a rather pessimistic prospect, but Betfair give you a reason to be optimistic when placing this wager. Their excellent odds and all-around fantastic online experience makes them an ideal choice for Championship bettors.
Top Goalscorer
If you prefer to focus on player performance, you can instead bet on which individual player you think will manage to hit the back of the net the most throughout the tournament. The top goalscorer bet is a tense one, as you never know if injury or being sidelined to the bench will affect your chances of winning, but that’s what makes it all the more exciting.
Amongst the best of the best bookmakers, it’s no wonder that 888Sport make a great pick for where to bet on the Championship season. They offer great odds on who is expected to receive the Golden Boot award.
Advice for EFL Championship Betting
There’s so much to keep track of in the fast-paced world of English football, and the EFL Championship is no exception. If you want to enjoy the best chance of winning your wagers, you will want to go the extra mile to ensure you are fully clued up.
1) Keep an eye on the news: One of the best ways to do this is to keep track of all the most recent football news. This will inform you of injuries, manager disputes and any other controversy or success that can affect the outcome of the games. Plus, with apps like Sky Sports, it’s never been easier to stay up to date while on the go.
2) Check in with the Championship table: Another thing you will want to pay close attention to is the table. This is like a Championship betting preview into how each side is faring so far in the tournament.
3) Look beyond your favourite team: Don’t be tempted to just pay attention to the team you support. Look at how their competitors are performing but remember that great performances don’t always translate into points.
4) Let the stats inform you: That’s why you’ll also want to take a glance over the stats to understand who poses the greatest threat in the Championship and who gives your side the best opportunity to bag those all-important three points.
5) Shop around for the best odds: Once you are pretty confident of which wager you want to place, don’t be afraid to shop around for the best odds. These can vary significantly from bookmaker to bookmaker and this can make a big difference to the winnings you receive. Our recommended operators all offer competitive odds, making them a great place to start.
EFL Championship Recent Stats
Any football bettor worth their salt will tell you that the key to placing successful wagers is to understand the stats of the game. Sites like WhoScored.com can be a fantastic way to get a snapshot of all the on-pitch action and should always help inform your betting decisions.
With that in mind, we’ve rounded up some of the most insightful statistics from the last five Championship tournaments, so you can know what to expect from the 2020 season.
- Home clubs are more likely to win: Teams who play their matches at home have won 44% of the matches they play, compared to 28% for away teams.
- Home clubs are also more likely to score first: The home team have managed to hit the back of the net first in 52% of matches.
- Scoring first as the home club signals success: When the home team managed to bag that all-important first goal, they went on to win the game in 72% of matches.
- It’s more likely than not that both teams will score: In 53% of matches, both teams managed to score at least once. The home side kept a clean sheet in 32% of matches, with them failing to score in 22%.
- More matches end with over 2.5 goals: If you’re thinking of placing a bet on the number of goals scored, then remember that 48% of matches ended with over 2.5 goals. In 27% of matches, the final result was over 3.5 goals.
Recent EFL Championship Winners, Runner-Ups and Promoted Teams
Here is a snapshot into the results of the Championship tournament’s recent history. Here, we’ll show you which teams have lifted the trophy over the last five seasons, as well as who claimed the runner-up spot and which side won the Play-Offs to receive promotion.
Championship Season | Winning Team | Runner-Ups | Play-Offs Winner |
2018/19 | Norwich City | Sheffield United | Aston Villa |
2017/18 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Cardiff City | Fulham |
2016/17 | Newcastle United | Brighton & Hove Albion | Huddersfield Town |
2015/16 | Burnley | Middlesbrough | Hull City |
2014/15 | A.F.C. Bournemouth | Watford | Norwich City |
A Brief History of the EFL Championship
Currently sponsored by Sky Bet, the EFL Championship sits just below the Premier League, as the second highest division in English football. It sees 24 highly skilled teams face off on the pitch, with the top two and the winner of the Championship Play-Offs receiving relegation to the Premier League. The three teams at the bottom of the table are relegated to League One.
The division wasn’t always known as the Championship though. It was previously called the Football League First Division before changing its name to the Championship in 2004. Even further back, between 1892 and 1992, it was called Division Two.
Since re-branding to the Championship though, the tournament has been a huge success. The inaugural 2004/05 season drew a total attendance of 9.8 million: the fourth highest at the time for a European football division. Sunderland were the victors of that season, with Newcastle United, Reading, Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers earning the most championships since with two apiece.
Today, it is the wealthiest football division to not be a top-flight league and all that attention has pushed the division to the 7th richest on the continent. It is also the second most watched secondary league in the entire world, with an average match attendance of 20,000.
FAQs
To summarise everything mentioned above in our handy EFL Championship betting guide, we’ve compiled a list of answers to the most frequently asked questions.
- 1. How does the EFL Championship tournament work?
The tournament sees 24 teams battle it out over the season to finish in the top position. Both the top two teams will be promoted to the Premier League and the sides who finish between third and sixth position enter the two-leg Play-Offs to join them. Meanwhile, the bottom three teams will be relegated to League One.
- 2. Who are the favouites to win the EFL Championship 2020?
According to the bookmakers, Leeds United are currently favourites to win the Championship, alongside Fulham and West Bromwich Albion.
- 3. Which team have won the most EFL Championship tournaments?
The teams tied as the most successful in EFL Championship history are Newcastle United, Reading, Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who have all won two championships each.
- 4. How can I bet on the EFL Championship?
Along with betting options on specific matches, there are a number of different outright bets available on the EFL Championship. These, of course, include the outright winners, as well who will be promoted, relegated and which player will score the most throughout the tournament.
- 5. Who is the favourite for the top goalscorer of the EFL Championship 2020?
Currently, the favourite for the Championship top goalscorer is Aleksandar Mitrovic, who plays for Fulham. Close behind him though is Patrick Bamford from Leeds United and Borja Baston, who plays for Swansea City.
Conclusion
- Betting on the EFL Championship can be a great way to complement the fiery on-pitch action, with loads of betting options across great online bookmakers. Just make sure you bet with your head and not just your heart by reading up on the latest news and playing close attention to the points and past stats.