EFL Championship 2024-25: 100/30 Leeds take 40% of bets to win the league

Can Farke lead Leeds back to the Premier League at the second time of asking?

We are now less than three weeks away from the start of the Championship on Friday 9th August and play-off final losers Leeds United are 100/30 Betfair sportsbook favorites to win the second tier this season…

Preston host Sheffield United and Blackburn welcome Derby at 8pm on Friday 9 August in a double header that kicks off the 2024-25 EFL Championship campaign.

The second tier is often said to be the most exciting league in the world due to its unpredictable nature, and next season looks set to be no different.

The three teams relegated from the Premier League have all won promotion from the Championship in 2022–23, with Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United the first three newly promoted teams to be relegated in the same season since 1997–98 (Barnsley, Bolton & Palat).

We then have some bigger teams making their way back into League One’s second tier, with Derby County back in the mix after two years away, and 2008 FA Cup winners Portsmouth also back in the second tier for the first time from 2011-12. , and Oxford – who beat Bolton in the play-off final, returned to this level for the first time in 25 years.

Nothing but promotion will do for Leeds United, while we expect improved seasons from West Brom, Middlesbrough, Hull and Coventry as we look forward to another superb Championship season.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, play-off finalists Leeds Untied are Betfair Sportsbook’s 100/30 favorites to win the league this season.

Daniel Farke’s men set a record last season for most second-tier points (90) and GD (+38) without gaining promotion as they were automatically pipped to glory by Ipswich and Leicester. They wiped the floor with Norwich in the play-off semi-final, before a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Southampton in the final at Wembley. Leeds would be the only relegated club not to win promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.

Leeds have now failed to gain promotion from all six Football League play-off campaigns; only Sheffield United (9) and Lincoln City (7) have competed in more play-off campaigns without ever being successful in one.

Despite this heartache, their overall campaign suggests they will be there again this season and the punters at Betfair Sportsbook agree.

Over 40% of all bets placed on Championship title winning market they were for Leeds United, almost three times as many as any other side (Burnley – 16%).

You have to go back to 2015-16 to find the last team to win automatic promotion the following season after defeat in the play-off final – second-placed Boro.

The last team to win the Championship in the following campaign was Readinig in 2011-12, who lost 4-2 to Swansea in the 2011 play-off final, before an 89-point haul to lift the title a year on later. Interestingly, Leeds (90) finished third last season despite earning one more point than Reading’s total that year.

With two of the three relegated sides from 2022-23 having returned directly last season, hopes may be high for Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton.

Of the three parts turning down, it is Scott Parker’s Burnley team at 7/1 who are most likely to win the league according to Betfair Sportsbook. As stated though, they will have to do so under a new regime after Vincent Kompany left to take over at Bayern Munich and Scott Parker will come in to take charge of the Clarets. Parker also won promotion to the Premier League.

His Burnley side also took the second highest percentage of total bets at 16% and could very well be Leeds’ opponents.

Luton 10/1 I am the third favorite for the glory of the title, ahead Sheffield United 12/1 (with Middlesbrough 11/1 embedded in each other). The ‘Rob Edwards stays at Luton’ factor alone could be the best deal Luton will do this summer with their double price tag worth noting.

Sheffield United, who seem to have all sorts of off-field issues with their owners, have taken just over 6% of the total bets to win the league, although this is the lowest of the relegated trio and despite their eye. .. Opening the signings of Kieffer Moore and Callum O’Hare, their financial instability means they may not be able to flex their muscles in the market. They also start the league bottom with -2 points, and while that’s a small figure, their difficult slate of games to start the season could see them scrambling right from opening night. You can back Blades at 11.0 on Betfair Exchange to be relegated.

Speaking of managers staying put, the importance of Michael Carrick staying on Teeside should not be underestimated.

After finishing four points from the play-offs last season, their form at the start of the season has contributed hugely to their disappointing comeback, and with Carrick constantly linked with a move after his initial impact on the team when he first got the job, this may played a role in their rocky start.

Are 11/1 to win the league this seasonand fourth favorite at 7/2 to gain promotion in 2024-25. Apart from Leeds, this makes them the favorite side of those who were in the Championship last season.

Norwich and West Brom are both locked out 12/1followed by Coventry at 14/1 and then six sides to 16/1.

Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle are the title contenders at 50/1 alongside newly promoted Oxford United.

33/1 Preston are the only side at the time of writing Betfair have yet to bet on this market.

Complete 2024-25 Championship Winner Odds List (prices correct as of Monday July 22):

Leeds United 100/30Burnley 7/1Luton 10/1Middlesbrough 11/1Sheffield United 12/1Norwich City 12/1West Brom 12/1Coventry 14/1Watford 18/1Derby 18/1Sunderland 18/1Hull 18/1Portsmouth 18/1Stoke 18/1QPR 22/1Sheffield Wednesday 22/1Millwall 25/1Blackburn Rovers 25/1Bristol City 25/1Swansea 25/1Preson North End 33/1Cardiff City 33/1Oxford United 50/1Plymouth Argyle 50/1