EFL Championship

In the football world, you’ll often hear people talk of the ‘Big Five’; the major leagues that are considered the most important in European football, but if you were to measure the many leagues throughout the continent on the basis of the number of spectators then the EFL Championship would appear very high up on the list indeed. 

The gateway to the Premier League enjoys a massive amount of interest, and betting on the EFL Championship is huge, while the competitiveness of the league itself is so high that it’s often, quite rightly, considered one of the toughest divisions in world football. 

English Football League Championship betting guide, odds & tips

Top EFL Championship Betting Sites

Your search for the best EFL Championship betting sites should start with the trusted brands below. These are the cream of the crop bookmakers with a proven track record when it comes to not only football betting in general but also directly in relation to the way they cover the English second-tier. In other words, if you want to make the most of your bets in the EFL Championship 2022/23 season, then we’d direct your attention to this group of providers.

1
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mr.play Sport
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9.7
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Luckland Sportsbook
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9.4
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The Pools
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9.3
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18+, UK only. Deposit and place a minimum £10 cash bet at single or accumulated odds of 1/1 or greater and we will give you 1 x £5 in free bets plus an extra 3 x £5 Free Bets the following day. Applies to first cash bet only. Free bets credited as 4 x £5 bets to use on 3x Any sport & 1x Virtuals. Cashed Out, Void or Draw No Bet wagers do not qualify for this promotion. 1 x £5 Free Bets are credited upon qualifying first bet settlement, other free bets credited by midday the day after your first bet settles. 7-day free bet expiry. Available once per customer. This offer cannot be combined with any other promotion.

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Betfred
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Where to Bet On the EFL Championship

Placing a bet on the EFL Championship should not be an afterthought. You shouldn’t just sign up with the first bookmaker that catches your eye and then place your bet and then cross your fingers and hope for the best. 

The search for a great bookmaker, or even just a good one, should start by paying close attention to the key aspects that a sports betting site needs to cover adequately in order to make your sports betting experience as rewarding as possible. 

Here are the key areas to focus

  • Reputation
  • Promotions
  • Odds
  • Site Interface
  • Payment Methods
  • Customer Service

Reputation

You wouldn’t buy a used car from just anyone, right? You’d look to purchase one from a proven respectable dealer. When it comes to finding a bookmaker to sign up with, you need to adopt a similar mindset, perhaps even more so given the online nature of the business.

You need to know that the site and brand you join is one that is entirely trustworthy and isn’t going to offer a sub-standard service. Clearly, the term reputation covers a multitude of sins, it can mean that the operator pays out swiftly when you win a bet, but it also means that the service offered as a whole is one befitting a leader in its field. 

Tread carefully and take your time. Don’t rush into signing up with just any bookmaker, be sure that the one you choose is worthy of your business.

Promotions

Every bookmaker will look to entice you with a strong welcome bonus or some level of incentive to convince you to join. Make sure that what is offered is the real deal. Often the promotion they sell is a little bit more complicated than it seems. 

Also, steer clear of sites that only give bonuses and offers to new users. Sadly there are quite a few brands, even prominent ones, that don’t put enough effort into giving strong promotional benefits to existing customers. Look for a bookmaker that knows that loyalty is a two-way street.

Odds

No one likes to win a bet and then see the joy of that victory severely dented by the knowledge that the same bet placed elsewhere would have resulted in a more significant payout. Compare bookmakers in terms of the odds for specific markets, and you’ll then learn just how good they really are.

Site Interface

In 2023 a bookmaker can’t afford to have a site, or app, that makes you feel you just stepped into a time machine (going backward in time). Some brands are very forward-thinking in this area, and others are stuck in the past.

Given that most of your betting on the EFL Championship is likely to be via a mobile device, as that’s the way the overall market has moved, you want a bookmaker that has an app that is fit for purpose. That means one that is not glitchy and is fast and easy to use, and ideally offers as much depth as their desktop service.

Payment Methods

Maybe you want to conduct your sports betting activities via an e-Wallet service like Paypal, perhaps for privacy or security reasons. Some sites offer only basic payment options, but the best bookmakers offer a wide range of options, and these are the operators you should be considering when you are contemplating where to sign up.

Customer Service

Perhaps you’ve signed up and placed a bet, but in the process of placing that super timely bet, the site went down, and you want to know if the bet was placed. You don’t want to have to be left waiting for a response to an email, and you want to know where you stand. 

A good bookmaker will offer its customers as many options as possible with a 24/7 live chat facility, with a real human at the other end being a must. Be sure to check out how reliable a brand is in this area before you select a provider.

How to Bet On the EFL Championship

The level of interest in EFL Championship betting is very high, and that’s mirrored in the number of potential markets you can place your bets within. The types of betting open to punters range from the markets relating to a single game, where a large proportion of betting activity occurs, to outright markets that deal with a more long-term betting strategy.

Let’s start with the first of these types.

  • Match Outcome
  • Correct Score
  • Half-Time/Full-Time
  • Accumulators
  • Both Teams to Score
  • First Player to Score

Match Outcome

As the name suggests, here, you are simply betting on which of the three possible results may occur in any one given game. The odds on these outcomes are, of course, directly related to the quality of the teams and, indeed, the location of the game.

In other words, if Norwich City are at home to Rotherham United, then backing the Canaries won’t win you a massive sum, whereas placing a wager on the newly-promoted team would earn you a decent sum.

Correct Score

If you fancy yourself as something of a football expert or perhaps have the renewed confidence that comes from following EFL Championship betting tips (such as the ones we produce), then you might back a bet on the correct score of a given game. Here you might play it safe and select a narrow win or even a bore draw.

However, if there is a home banker on the cards, you might back, for instance, Watford to thump Wigan Athletic four or five nil. The key here is not to chase the odds but to make an informed prediction and use that as the basis of your correct score bet.

Half-Time/Full-Time

As Jimmy Greaves used to quip, it’s a funny old game, and sometimes a match can genuinely be a match of two halves. This bet gives you the option of predicting how the game will look at both the half-time and full-time whistles.

Betting on a complete switching of events carries the biggest odds but obviously doesn’t happen all that often.

Accumulators

If you feel confident enough, and accumulators should be left to those who are not novices to football betting, then you might want to place a bet that consists of a number of wagers, and when these come off, then you are very much guaranteed a very tidy payout.

The odds against accumulators are large, and that’s what you are banking on. Maybe you choose to back four home bankers and then add in a draw in a fifth game, thereby severely improving the overall odds for your accumulator. We’d suggest you consider placing these bets with bookmakers that offer Acca Insurance, which might still lead to a payout if one of your selections doesn’t work out in your favour.

BTTS

BTTS, or Both Teams to Score if you prefer, is a bet that does precisely what it says on the tin. Here you might feel that a game is evenly balanced between two attacking EFL Championship teams and feel that a high-scoring game is on the cards.

First Player to Score

The goal-scoring market is bigger than ever, and you can back any number of bets in this area, but the most popular is still the bet on who will net first. Do you back Teemu Pukki to score first and therefore win a small sum, or do you put your stake on a towering centre-back who nets once a season? The choice is yours. 

Outright Betting Markets

These longer-term bets are ideal for those with a vested interest. In other words, if you are a Huddersfield Town fan and you want to loyally back your team, then you might put in a bet on the Terriers securing promotion.

Title Winner

Here you are betting on which of the 24 teams will finish at the summit after all the EFL Championship fixtures have been played out. Arguably the list of teams that could realistically win the league would be restricted to half a dozen, and any bet outside the favourites would be a tall order, but nonetheless worthy of a bet if you feel the odds are worthy of such an investment.

Promotion

Getting out of the EFL Championship is notoriously tricky and finishing in the two automatic promotion slots is a dream for most, leaving the outside option of the play-offs as the more likely route to take. Here you are simply betting on a team getting into the Premier League by hook or by crook.

Relegation

As much as it’s a challenge to get out of this division the right way, there is also the small matter of staying clear of relegation. Here you’d pick a team that isn’t going to make it and will therefore slide into League One. Perhaps this is a chance for you to put a curse on your team’s local rivals?

Top-Scorer

Who do you fancy to top the goal scorer charts in the EFL Championship this season? Now is your chance to put your money where your mouth is. Teemu Pukki is currently the man to beat, but maybe Ben Brereton Diaz can stay clear of injury and propel Blackburn Rovers with his killer touch? Be warned, predicting the EFL Championship top scorers is a very complex matter; choose well.

EFL Championship Betting Odds

COMING SOON

EFL Championship Betting Tips

Because the EFL Championship doesn’t have the grandeur of the Premier League, you may look to take advantage of tips and picks to help you make an informed decision when it comes to the bets you place.

Good EFL Championship tips will take into account a number of factors, including history, form, and key items of news that may relate to the fitness and availability of star players. They should also ideally not only cover the big teams in the division as there are solid wagers to be found in every one of the 552 matches that take place over the course of the lengthy season. 

Profit Squad’s expert team is well versed in tips, and they know a thing or two about the EFL Championship and the teams competing within it; and as such, we’d strongly advise you to take advantage of the fruits of their knowledge and experience. 

EFL Championship History

The EFL Championship has a long and glorious history and is a league that has had immense interest and meaning for more than a century. Long before it was known as the Sky Bet Championship, the English second-tier has had genuine importance and a real prominence within the English footballing pyramid.

The league acts as a stepping stone for teams to make that big leap to the big-time, be that the old English First Division or, as it has been since 1992, the English Premier League. It’s a league that is very tough to gain promotion from and equally hard to retain your position within, with EFL League One being the undesired exit point for three teams every season.

Since the formation of the Premier League, the EFL English Football League covers the 72 teams that sit in the three divisions below the big-time. The Championship heads that pyramid and is the key entry point to the big time.

The first running of the second tier of the English football league occurred in 1982-93, when Small Heath ended the season as champions. Small Heath would, of course, go on to be renamed Birmingham City, who narrowly avoided relegation in recent seasons.

It’s a league that has been won by both Leicester City and Manchester City the most times, seven each, and is a title that has been won by 48 different sides over the course of its long history.

In more recent times, Norwich City have won the EFL Championship twice in the past four years and may look to secure an unenviable hat-trick in 2022/23 (mainly as doing so would also signify the fact that the East Anglian side has also secured successive relegations). 

EFL CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS TABLE

COMING SOON

EFL Championship 2022/23 Team Guides

The reason why the Championship is notoriously competitive is the sheer weight of teams that have a genuine, or outside, shot at making it to the promised land that is the Premier League via the top end of the EFL Championship table.

Let’s take a look at the contenders for the big prize.

Contenders


Watford 9/2

Sides that have just taken the plunge from the Premier League are always going to be among the front-runners and so it is the case for 2022/23 and the EFL Championship promotion betting odds. Watford are currently narrowly ahead of the rest when it comes to the odds on EFL Championship title winners, and deservedly so.

Roy Hodgson departed after his brief and poor spell in charge, and in came young manager Rob Edwards who did a great job during his tenure at Forest Green Rovers, who he led to the League Two title last season. The Vicarage Road side have financial backing, and that helps them a great deal. The Hornets have kept hold of their prized assets, players like Ismaila Sarr and Emmanuel Dennis and they are sure to be there or thereabouts come May.

Norwich City 13/2

The Canaries are something of a yo-yo club and are well versed in the travails of getting out of the EFL Championship and are certain to be pushing for an immediate return to the Premier League. Dean Smith took over at Carrow Road last November and retains the nucleus of the side he had last season.

Teemu Pukki is a shoo-in to net 20-plus goals at this level, and defensively they should be sound and have a good level of depth for the second tier and a loyal following, and all of this should stand them in good stead in Championship football.

Burnley 7/1

Last April, the Clarets took the, perhaps mistaken, step of sacking Sean Dyche after a decade of great service. Mike Jackson initially felt the customary boost of taking the reins, securing a draw and three wins from his first four games in charge, but one point from their final four games saw the Turf Moor side relegated after six years in the Premier League.

Jackson was replaced at the helm by former Man City skipper Vincent Kompany who has seen a raft of top talents leave over the summer, with the likes of Nick Pope, James Tarkowski, and Dwight McNeil leaving for Newcastle United and Everton, respectively, but Burnley will still be among the favourites for the title and have invested in new additions that could help birth a new era of success. 

West Bromwich Albion 9/1

The Baggies endured a tough first season back in the Championship in 2021/22, and it cost Valerian Ismael his job, and Steve Bruce isn’t exactly sitting comfortably in the hot seat either, which is unsurprising as the Hawthorns side should expect to do better than the mediocre 10th place finish they managed.

The Midlands outfit remains one of the big contenders for promotion back to the Premier League, but they’ll have to make the necessary additions to their current squad if they are to really challenge.

Middlesbrough 9/1

When Chris Wilder took over at the Riverside last November, Middlesbrough sat in 14th place in the table, but the former Sheffield United boss performed wonderfully well, and his side were unlucky to just miss out on a play-off berth. 

You can expect Boro to make a real fist of it in 2022/23, and the north-east are a good outside bet to end their six-season spell in the second-tier.

Sheffield United 11/1

Last season Paul Heckingbottom took a side that was sitting in 16th place in November and guided them to the play-offs. Veteran forward Billy Sharp provided the firepower, and midfield maestro Sander Berge helped propel the Bramall Lane side close to a Premier League return.

The agony of being knocked out of the play-off semi-final on penalties to Nottingham Forest, who subsequently made a long-awaited Premier League return, should act as a catalyst for Heckingbottom’s side to make a big push this season.

Millwall 25/1

Gary Rowett’s side have been knocking on the play-off door in recent seasons and are certainly more of a prospect than in many years, and the dream of a first season in the Premier League is perhaps less of a fantasy than ever before. 

The summer additions of Benik Afobe (who impressed during his loan spell last time around) and George Honeyman are the types of transfers that effectively improve areas that Millwall needed to address, and that makes the South London outfit a very capable option when it comes to any potential EFL Championship betting tips you might have.

Blackburn Rovers 28/1

It seems an age since the Ewood Park team lifted the Premier League crown, and even a return to the top tier seems a big ask. Last season Tony Mowbray’s side were motoring along until injury befell their top scorer Ben Brereton Diaz, hit them hard.

Rovers were third in the table when the Stoke-on-Trent-born Chilean international suffered an ankle injury, and Blackburn managed just three wins from their final 13 games, which saw the club finish the campaign in eighth place. That led to Mowbray being replaced by former Danish international Jon Dahl Tomasson, and the former Newcastle United and AC Milan forward has his work cut out in 2022/23.

Swansea City 31/1

This is Swansea City’s fifth season back in the Championship, and the Welsh side has gone through a succession of managers in that time; and last term Russell Martin didn’t exactly cover himself in glory as the Liberty Stadium outfit finished in lowly 15th place.

However, the club has more about them than that placing and should be able to push onwards towards the play-off picture. Former star player Joe Allen has made an emotional return to the club, and that may add further cause for optimism. 

Coventry City 33/1

For much of last season, Mark Robins’ Coventry City were something of a surprise package, and in late November, they were firmly ensconced in the top four, but they inevitably fell off the pace before completing a laudable mid-table finish.

The Sky Blues had a strong pre-season and could be an interesting longshot if you are considering betting on the EFL Championship; they may just push on and make a real impact in 2022/23.

EFL Championship Play-Off Final

This game, the one that decides who will be the third team to make the jump from the EFL Championship to the Premier League, is often dubbed the most expensive match in football, and with good reason.

The value of a win in this crucial game is said to be worth as much as £200m, which is a sign of just how much money there is to be made once you get a seat at the Premier League table. 

If you are wondering how the EFL Championship play-offs work, basically, the sides that finish the regular season in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th positions play each other in two semi-finals over two legs.

The winners of those games then meet at Wembley in a match that is one of the most watched events on the footballing calendar. Last season saw Nottingham Forest edge out Huddersfield Town in front of more than 80,000 spectators

EFL Championship FAQs

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The EFL Championship starts this season on Friday the 29th of July, with recently relegated Burnley making the short trip to face Huddersfield Town.

The 24 teams within the EFL Championship play each other twice, and therefore each team has an arduous total of 46 fixtures to play, eight more than in the Premier League. The top two in the table secure automatic promotion to the Premier League, and the next four teams fight it out in the play-offs. Meanwhile, those who finish in the final three spots, they take a nosedive into EFL League One.

Frankly, in club football, there is arguably no bigger single game than the EFL Championship play-off final. Basically, the game sees two teams compete, and over the course of 90, or 120 minutes, they will fight for a place in the prestigious Premier League. 

 

Gaining promotion to the English top division is worth hundreds of millions to the winner, and therefore the answer to the question of how important is the EFL Championship play-off final is quite simply; it’s of the utmost importance. Nothing could be bigger.