The English Football League (EFL) may not have the finances or profile of the Premier League, but it certainly does not lack excitement, drama, and outstanding football action! In this New Year feature, we will take a look at some of our key Championship predictions for 2025!
In addition, we’ll take you through some of the top outright betting markets available at sites like bet365 Sport, as well as a look at an example of a typical Championship weekend, complete with match details and betting tips.
Of course, we always encourage everyone to gamble safely and to ensure that when they do, they follow all responsible gambling advice and guidance!
Let’s begin with a look at a typical weekend of action in the EFL Championship.
This weekend, the Championship teams will be in FA Cup Third Round action, but in the following midweek, there are three matches postponed from earlier in the season being played.
Additionally, from the 17th to the 19th, there is a full weekend of Championship fixtures to be played.
Here's our EFL Championship predictions for both sets of games. All games are 3pm kick off unless stated.
Two struggling teams come into this game on the back of some better form of late. Plymouth have drawn their last two at home, Oxford their last away game making a share of the spoils a solid choice.
Betting Tips – Draw – 3.40
Cardiff's resurgence with Omer Riza as manager has stuttered of late but they are unbeaten in three. They face a Watford side with four defeats in their last five and a poor away record. Goals could be at a premium in this clash.
Betting Tips – Under 2.5 Goals – 1.72
Rovers have lost their last two at home, Portsmouth their last four away. Pompey have the better recent form of the two with two wins in five, compared to two draws in five for Rovers. It's time for Blackburn to get back to winning ways.
Betting Tips – Blackburn to win – 1.75
A huge clash for the top of the Championship. Burnley are unbeaten at home in their dozen games (W6, D6), Sunderland have the fifth-best away record in the division.
Betting Tips – Burnley to win and both teams to score – no – 2.75
A South Wales derby game will aways be a passionate affair. The two teams drew 1-1 earlier on this season and given their indifferent recent form, a similar scoreline looks likely.
Betting Tips – Draw – 3.40
Just two points from the last 12 has Millwall dropping to 14th in the table. Hull picked up four points over the same period, but lie 22nd. Neither team scores many goals, so a low-scoring affair is on the cards.
Betting Tips – Millwall to win by one goal – 3.50
QPR's resurgence has seen them lose just one of their last 11 games, winning six. Plymouth's poor form has continued since Wayne Rooney's departure and form suggests the best they can expect here is a point.
Betting Tips – Draw – 3.40
The Blades got back to winning ways after picking up just one point in their last nine. They face a Norwich side with three wins and a draw in their last four but who lie 11th in the table.
Betting Tips – Sheff Utd to win and both teams to score – 4.33
Luton come into this game on the back of four straight defeats and they are 20th in the table. Preston lie 15th with two wins and a draw in their last four games but they have lost both their last two away games and have won just once on the road this season.
Betting Tips – Elijah Adebayo (Luton) to score at any time – 3.00
Oxford United have won their last two at home and face a Blackburn Rovers side lying seventh but who find scoring goals tough on the road. This is a tricky one to predict in terms of result hence our goalscorer pick here.
Betting Tips – Dane Scarlett (Oxford Utd) to score at any time – 3.60
Portsmouth's home form of late has been excellent with four wins and a draw in the last five, scoring 14 goals in those games, conceding just two. With Middlesbrough's freescoring attack and leaky defence, we should see goals in this game at Fratton Park.
Betting Tips – Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals – Yes – 2.00
Coventry's form has improved under Frank Lampard, but Bristol City are unbeaten in their last four and will. be a tough prospect here. Expect a very keenly fought and close contest.
Betting Tips – Draw – 3.40
Derby's recent form is poor, but they have lost one of their last three at home, winning the other two. Watford's away record is very poor too and as such, you have to fancy the home town Rams to land the win here.
Betting Tips – Derby County to win – 2.40
Table-toppers Leeds take on a resurgent Sheffield Wednesday in a real white rose battle for Yorkshire. The home team have scored the most goals in the division (48) while only two teams have conceded more than Wednesday's 40 goals this season. Expect a battling home win here.
Betting Tips – Leeds to win and both teams to score – 3.50
If you are looking for longer-term Championship predictions or betting tips for 2025, then the outright markets are the place to look. Here, you can choose long-term markets based on either a team or a player's performance for the season.
Some of the top outright betting markets for the Championship include:
Arguably the most popular outright bet on the Championship is betting on which of the 24 teams in the division will be top of the table come the end of the 46-game season in May.
Currently, bet365 lists the top three of Leeds United (1.33 favourites), Sheffield United (6.50) and Burnley (7.00) as the teams most likely to be challenging for top spot, with only Sunderland (17.00) and Middlesbrough (41.00) ranked at better than 101.00 from the remaining teams.
Betting Tips – Leeds are the form team, but we feel that despite a stutter in form recently, Sheffield United (6.50) have what it takes to last the distance and take top spot.
Backing any of the 24 teams to be promoted from the Championship is another popular outright bet with customers. It is a flexible bet as the team can either gain promotion by finishing first, second or winning the playoffs. That makes it very appealing to punters who may feel picking the outright winner is perhaps a little too precise.
Of course, that flexibility in the to be promoted market comes at a cost of lower value odds with the top three teams all ranked below even money at present (Leeds 1.04, Burnley 1.66 and Sheff Utd 1.72).
Those prices reflect the fact that it is likely two of those three teams will finish first and second in the table, according to our predictions. However, promotion via the playoffs is much more open which is where our tip will focus.
Betting Tips – I think Sheffield United and Leeds will take the top two spots in the table, meaning Burnley will go into the playoffs. That makes things a lot tougher for them and that could give other teams a chance. Middlesbrough at 3.50 are a team to consider here.
Last season it was Sammie Szmodics, then of Blackburn Rovers, now of Ipswich Town, who was the top goalscorer in the Championship. Norwich’s Borja Sainz leads the way this season with 15 goals, three ahead of West Brom’s Josh Maja at the time of writing and four in front of Josh Windass of Sheffield Wednesday.
There is a clutch of players on nine goals (Joel Piroe of Leeds, Emmanuel Latte Lath of Middlesbrough, Josh Brownhill of Burnley, Vakoun Bayo of Watford, Callum Lang of Portsmouth and Thomas Cannon of Stoke).
However, with a three-goal lead, Borja Sainz is going to take some catching.
Betting Tips – Take the even money 2.00 available on Norwich striker Borja Sainz, provided he is not sold in the transfer window.
There are plenty of other Outright markets available for the Championship in 2025, including markets on which teams will finish in the top two (and gain promotion to the Premier League), the top six (and qualify for the playoffs, or gain promotion) as well on bets on which team will finish bottom or will be relegated to League One.
*All odds shown were correct at the time of writing with bet365 Sport. However, they may have changed since the post was published.
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