the championship is back and we’ve got live odds comparison for all the big outrights and every single game of the season. check out our betting tips, predictions and all the best betting odds for the 2017-18 championship.
big games from the opening weekend
sunderland host the first game of the season as they welcome derby to the stadium of light. their final preparation for this game saw them thrashed 5-0 by celtic with a squad similar to the one that will line-up on friday. several big names have left the mackems and their replacements are considerable downgrades in many instances. added to this is a lack of harmony in the dressing room, something revealed by darron gibson during a drunken rant about his teammates.
derby on the other hand have plenty of stability and they’ve replaced their sold players very smartly, picking up the likes of tom huddlestone and curtis davies from hull cheaply. you simply cannot bet on sunderland right now so back derby to win at 12/5 with bet365, the best odds available via our odds comparison.
even before the season has begun, aston villa have been dealt a blow as jack grealish has been ruled out for three months following a freak accident. star striker jonathan kodija will also miss villa’s start of the campaign as he remains out with a broken ankle. with just one goal scored during pre-season, it looks as though the villans may make a slow start to their league campaign.
hull on the other hand managed to put three past dutch giants ajax and secure victory over benfica last month. although several regulars from last season have been sold, leonid slutsky still has a very capable squad at his disposal who appear to be playing well. it won’t be an easy game for the tigers but a draw looks very attainable, a result which is available at 12/5 with bet365, as shown be our odds comparison.
one of the favourites for the drop this year, bolton, take on leeds united at the macron stadium on sunday. on paper this should be a game away the side are able to win and their best price to do just that is 8/5 courtesy of unibet. leeds may have ended last season with a whimper but with several new additions to the squad and a new boss, they can begin this year on a more positive note.
manager thomas christiansen impressed in cyprus when in charge of apoel and he should be able to bring some much needed stability along with new chairman andrea radrizzani. they’ve shown glimpses of what they can do pre-season, for instance during their 1-1 with borussia monchengladbach and more of the same will see them win this game.
when taking a look at the odds comparison, you can see that middlesbrough are available at a tempting 7/1 with unibet to be the outright winners. these odds are the best possible around and they are very attractive considering how strong boro look. they’ve strengthened their options upfront as a lack of fire power cost them premier league survival last season. ashely fletcher has joined from west ham along with danish international martin braithwaite and the clinical britt assombalonga who has 30 championship goals to his name already. manager gary monk impressed many for much of the season while at leeds and the welshman looks like being just the man to guide middlesbrough to the league title.
for an outside bet in the outright winner market, hull seem rather over-priced seeing as though they have finished fourth and second during their last championship appearances. the best betting odds for them are with bet365, who are offering 20/1 on the tigers to finish the season on top.
as hull showed last season, having the right man in charge makes all the difference. leonid slutsky looks like he could be that man as the russian boss brings a wealth of experience at a high level to the table. although the hull squad has been picked apart this summer, you can expect more signings to follow as the transfer deadline approaches. if the tigers can improve the awful record on the road they had last season, then their strength at home could see them have an enjoyable time this year. we predict they could be this year’s championship dark horses.
odds for promotion are of course a lot skinnier than they are for winning the league outright but good value bets can still be found when comparing all available odds. for the reasons mentioned above, hull look to have a strong shout of bouncing back to the english top flight and at 6/1 with bet365, you won’t find a better price anywhere else.
sheffield wednesday also offer appeal at betting odds of 7/2 with unibet given that they have reached the play-offs during the last two seasons. carlos carvalhal’s side will have learnt a lot from the experience and this big game know-how will help their cause this year.
given that reading were just a penalty shootout from promotion last season, it’s a surprise to see them so far down the bookies’ list to go up this season. as shown by our odds comparison, they are available at 7/1 with ladbrokes which seems to be a bit of a steal.
one regular from last season who has departed is ali al-habsi but he has been well replaced by sunderland’s vito mannone. lewis grabban is the only other notable absentee after his loan spell ended but it is hoped that jon dadi bodvarsson can fill his boots. with things largely as they are, the royals and their possession based football could see them return to the top flight under japp stam.
cash strapped bolton are one of the obvious choices to face the drop and when comparing the odds you can see that their best odds are with unibet at 23/10. this isn’t a big price but it’s still one worth betting on with bolton unable to fork out any money for new players. all their fresh faces this season have been picked up on loan or for free and their squad as it is just doesn’t look like championship quality. phil parkinson will make the best of what he has got to work with but it’s a long season and a few injuries would surely see them with little hope of staying up.
joining them in league one next season could be bristol city who are trading at odds of 11/2 with unibet. they only survived the drop by three points last season and for a longer-odds bet, there isn’t anyone who looks more likely to finish in the bottom three and we predict a long, hard campaign ahead.
their busy pre-season schedule has largely been full of victories but most games have been against fairly weak opposition. they are without both lee tomlin and tammy abraham this season, the latter netted 26 times for the robins last term, so a lack of goals looks like being a real problem. key defender aden flint also looks like he may be on his way out and if so, the danger of relegation will be further heightened.