The 2025/26 Championship season is right around the corner, and the latest promotion odds are live. Three teams will make the giant leap to the heights of the Premier League, and it looks to be as tight as ever in the running.
Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United dominated for large parts of last season, but it was The Whites that pipped The Clarets by the barest of margins on the final day.
Sheffield United fell away towards the end of the season and had to settle for the playoffs. Ultimately, though, their torrid record at Wembley continued, losing out to Sunderland in the final.
But 2025/26 is a fresh start. Ipswich head the Championship promotion odds following their relegation from the Premier League. But they will face stiff opposition from the likes of Southampton, Birmingham, Sheffield United and Coventry, amongst others.
As ever, there is value to be had, and we’ve previewed three teams that look strong enough to get the job done in a promotion that’s worth upwards of £100 million.
Latest EFL Championship Promotion Odds 2025/26
We’ve got three picks that look incredible value for promotion this season, and we’ve used the best EFL Championship betting sites to find the biggest odds.
| Club | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Ipswich | 11/10 | bet365 |
| Southampton | 7/4 | bet365 |
| Birmingham | 21/10 | Spreadex |
| Sheffield United | 9/4 | William Hill |
| Coventry | 4/1 | Coral |
| Leicester | 9/2 | Boylesports |
| Middlesbrough | 11/2 | Ladbrokes |
| Norwich | 6/1 | Betway |
| Wrexham | 15/2 | Spreadex |
*Odds correct as of 12:30 06/08/2025. Subject to change.
Bet 1: Sheffield United – 9/4 Value Bet
The Blades felt Wembley heartache once again last season, cruelly losing out to Sunderland in the dying minutes of extra time. That now makes it five play-off final defeats in a row. A damning stat for such a big club.
But for this season, there is room for optimism. They’ve made tweaks to the squad rather than any drastic overhauls, adding Djibril Soumare from SC Braga and Louie Barry from Aston Villa, amongst others.
At 9/4, they have an implied probability of around 31% to gain promotion. Opta’s pre-season supercomputer suggests that they have a 41.1% chance, which is a huge difference. So, when we talk about expected gap versus market consensus, it doesn’t get much bigger than this.
Additionally, they’ll have that new manager bounce, with Ruben Selles replacing Chris Wilder in the summer. The Spaniard is well known for his defensive organisation, and even though United weren’t exactly leaky throughout the season, they conceded important goals at critical times, losing 10 games in the process.
They will be in the mix this season, and in terms of value, 9/4 with William Hill is as good as it gets.
Bet 2: Coventry City – 4/1 Back to Lay Opportunity
Coventry City were another team that fell short when it mattered. They’re revolutionised under Frank Lampard and surged from 17th to 5th, taking 52 points from 29 league games. This is an 82-point pace over the course of the season.
Lampard transformed the team from a timid, counter-attacking outfit into a fully-fledged offensive monster. They generated 49.8 xG, second only to champions Leeds since he took charge.
The Sky Blues are 4/1 to be promoted, but there’s a real window of opportunity here and that comes linked to their opening set of fixtures.
Opta rates their start as the easiest in the league. If they can get off to a fast start, which they should, then early results will start to compress outright markets and that 4/1 will disappear faster than a Tottenham title charge.
So, the play here is a simple hedge bet, where we take the initial 4/1 odds and, assuming they win their opening fixtures, use a betting exchange to lay them as their odds drop.
Bet 3: Millwall – 10/1 Best of the Rest Outsider
Millwall’s 10/1 EFL Championship odds for promotion suggest they are an outsider. And to a point, we will agree that this is a team that will rely on the playoffs.
The appointment of Alex Neil in December 2024 has proven to be a shrewd appointment. They had the fifth-best record in the league since he took charge and just missed out on the playoffs on the final day of the season.
Two key additions to the team come in the form of Josh Coburn and Massimo Luongo, which adds much-needed depth to the midfield and front line. Don’t get us wrong, this won’t blow teams away, but as a project, they’re going to be incredibly hard to beat.
They have around a 30% chance of reaching the playoffs and, given the 10/1 odds, ~9% for promotion overall. We’re still in the long-shot territory here, but out of the top 5 in the odds market, Millwall is an exciting project and will be there or thereabouts come May.