EFL Championship promotion odds and prediction: Burnley still providing great value

As each week passes, the EFL Championship promotion odds chop and change. This provides opportunities to back some dark horses or shoot for the favourites throughout the season.

Speaking of which, we’ve provided our thoughts on who will achieve that goal. All will be revealed here, but to start with, here are the main contenders to reach the Promised Land next spring, and the longest odds currently against them.

Best EFL Championship promotion odds – top 10 favourites

For clarity, the odds for EFL Championship promotion are totally different from the EFL Championship winner odds. Of course, these describe two different markets, as three teams gain promotion while only one will win the league.

Main contenders

Leeds

At 1/16, Leeds are seen as the primary contenders for promotion, and with good reason.

Daniel Farke's Whites are currently topping the table with 53 points. An unbeaten festive period helped the side to navigate a busy fixture schedule and overtake Sheffield United to go top by a single point.

1-1 and 3-3 draws with Blackburn and Hull respectively were not exactly what Farke would have been expecting, but were enough to make sure the Whites came out of the Christmas period ahead of their promotion rivals.

Even if they shock everyone with another automatic promotion failure, it would seem highly unlikely that they would fall once again at the final hurdle and lose the play-off final.

Value, however, is not what Leeds provide in this instance. 1/16 is too much of a risk for bettors to take their chances seriously, as their would be little return on punters' investment, and they are certainly not guaranteed to go up. We would avoid them at their current price.

Sheffield United

A problematic Christmas period meant that Sheffield United lost their place at the top of the table, being surpassed by Farke's Leeds. Losses to title rivals Burnley and Sunderland were enough to see them fall into third place, with Scott Parker's Clarets also getting the jump on them by one point.

Goals from Josh Brownhill and Zian Flemming were enough for the win in a game that showed Burnley can score goals when push comes to shove.

Gustavo Hamer and Andre Brooks were able to get the job done and put United back on track against Watford, but the win was not enough to see them back into the automatic promotion spots, and they remain in third this week.

In general, though, Wilder must be praised for having improved the Blades' defence, conceding only 17 goals in 26 matches, notching an impressive total of 15 clean sheets in that time.

After what can only be described as a disastrous 2023/24 campaign in which the club broke the record for the most goals conceded in a Premier League season with 104, the experienced gaffer has certainly done his best to shore up all of the Blades' frailties.

At 10/11, Sheffield United seem a solid choice to gain promotion back to the big time, despite their recent slip.

Burnley

At 8/13, Burnley have become much more favoured by bookies in recent weeks, as they had been as low as 10/1 for promotion towards the earlier stages of the season.

The sole reason for their rise towards the Championship table's summit has been their impenetrable defence.

Nine goals conceded across 26 fixtures is a truly astounding showing, and has stood them in good stead to realise Scott Parker's pre-season promotion ambitions.

The Clarets have not lost a game since the 3rd November, in a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Millwall.

Since then, eight wins and five draws have followed, and although they have not always played the most entertaining brand of football, it has certainly attained results.

0-0 draws against Stoke City and Middlesbrough were the latest in a long string of goalless draws, but this has not stopped Parker's men from going level on points with Leeds at the top of the table.

At 8/13, punters can definitely find value in the Clarets, and they should not be slept on with the half-way point of the season representing a very tightly contested affair thus far.

Our verdict on EFL Championship promotion

Leeds and Sunderland are the obvious picks to fill the top two automatic promotion spots. However, there may be opportunities to specifically wager on both of those teams going up automatically, which offers a greater potential reward.

And going even more niche, you may even have the chance to select the specific order in which they will finish (Sunderland 1st, Leeds 2nd or vice-versa).

As for the third promoted side, it's an exciting melting pot, and will be for many weeks yet. Even those not in the top 10 of expected promotion contenders still have a chance, and we've seen many teams start miserably in previous years, only to end up getting a top-six finish.

If you want an early pick to join Leeds and Sunderland in the 2025/26 Premier League though, our money is still on Middlesbrough.

🔗 Share on Social Media