The new Championship season brings with it fresh optimism and hope for fans across the English second tier. An exciting opening weekend saw plenty of entertainment, from Watford’s five-goal thriller away to Millwall, and Leeds United leaving it late to salvage a 3-3 draw with newly promoted Portsmouth.
While Leeds remain one of the favorites for a return to the Premier League in Championship promotion odds alongside Burnley and Sheffield United, they are playing in one of the most unpredictable leagues in Europe.
Indeed, all it takes is a good run of form, and teams can go within touching distance of relegation to an outside shot at the play-offs. Based on their start to the new season, there are a number of teams that could cause disruption to pre-season expectations.
In this article, we take a look at some of the dark horses in this season’s Championship promotion race – the sides that will surprise a few between now and the playoffs come May.
Sheffield Wednesday
After narrowly avoiding relegation to League One at the end of last season, Sheffield Wednesday look revitalized this time around under Danny Röhl.
The German was entrusted to remain at Hillsborough for a second term despite the Owls’ poor showing, and repaid the faith shown in him with an opening day hammering of Plymouth Argyle.
Wayne Rooney’s side looked well off the pace as Wednesday cruised to a 4-0 victory, and with the signings of Jamal Lowe, who opened his account after signing from Bournemouth, as well as former Southampton defender Yan Valery, Wednesday could make a push for the playoffs if they remain consistent.
Luton Town
While the Championship odds would have usually backed Luton Town to return to the Premier League the first time of asking as part of their fairy-tale run under Rob Edwards, it’s been a difficult summer at Kenilworth Road.
The Hatters finished 18th in the top flight last season, although they retained a core number of first-team players, with Ross Barkley being the only significant departure.
The issue is the lack of squad depth that Luton currently possesses, and this is preventing them from being one of the favorites for promotion. That said, Edwards and co. now have the experience of winning at Wembley, and it will be interesting to see how
Bristol City
Late drama was the order of the day in the opening weekend, and while Bristol City thought they had secured all three points in the 84th minute away to Hull City, a late penalty meant the Robins had to settle for a draw at the MKM Stadium.
Although a point would appear frustrating on the surface, it shows Bristol can compete with sides that were in contention for the playoffs last term, as Liam Manning’s side controlled the game for significant periods, besting the Tigers until the game’s dying embers.
In Sinclair Armstrong, Bristol have a goal scorer with bags of potential. Having signed from Queens Park Rangers, it could be a breakout season for the Irishman, who will be supported by Mark Sykes and fellow new signing Fally Mayulu in an exciting attack. Only time will tell if they have the consistency to compete for a whole campaign, though.
