England’s second division is world-renowned. Although the standard might not be comparable with the likes of the Premier League, La Liga and other top divisions, the Championship brings a level of passion and commitment from fans, players and staff not seen in other second divisions around the world. Beyond its competitive fervour, the Championship boasts its status as the wealthiest non-top-flight football division globally, ranking as the ninth-richest division in Europe.
Furthermore, its impressive attendance figures make it the tenth best-attended division in world football, with an average match attendance of 20,181 during the 2018–19 season.
Ray Parlour spent time with both Middlesbrough and Hull. During that time, Ray, an ex-Arsenal legend, racked up 61 appearances for both sides. He knows the clubs inside out. We sat down with Ray and got his thoughts on how the Championship might play out and what his old clubs’ chances are looking like.
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Table Toppers
As Leicester look like shoe-ins for automatic promotion, Ipswich are also flying high, just one point behind. But for the chasing pack, the play-offs could well be the best bet. Ray knows how things normally go for teams chasing the title.
“I believe Leicester will get promoted back to the Premier League; they have a nice gap to third place and it’s theirs to lose now. They have a deep squad which is key in the Championship. For the other promotion place, I think it’s between Leeds United and Ipswich. Ipswich have been brilliant so far this season so let’s see if they can keep it up. Leeds, like Boro, had a slow start, but they will look to chase down Ipswich. There are still a lot of games, but I just can’t see Boro getting automatic promotion,” Ray told us.
Leicester are runaway leaders in the odds at 8/13. With a team stacked full of Premier League quality, they will be hoping to secure at least an automatic promotion spot. But really, they will want to go up as champions and challenge the sort of figures that Burnley touched last season.
Ipswich are also running really hot. The Tractor Boys have had a pretty incredible start to the season and will be set on challenging Leicester all the way to the finishing post. They are 10/3 to win the title. However, Leeds, after a poor start, have found their form. They were the first side to inflict defeat on Leicester and came out winners at the King Power, showing they will continue to challenge them all the way. Leeds are 4/1 to claw this back and win the league.
Top 6 Push
With just two automatic promotion spots at the top of the table, the push for the play-offs and a spot at Wembley is the aim for plenty of clubs knowing they might not obtain automatic promotion. Ray chatted us through his thoughts on the chasing pack.
“There are a lot of clubs up there pushing for a top 6 finish. Huge credit to Michael Carrick for what he is doing at Middlesbrough. The win over Leicester was massive and wasn’t a surprise to me at all. The results over the past few months have been brilliant and now Boro are in the perfect position to make a charge for a top 6 place. Sam Greenwood is a key player for Boro and I’ll be keeping a close eye on him as consistency is important and I’m sure he will continue to play at a high level.
Liam Rosenior is also doing a superb job at Hull. I think he is underrated as a coach and is getting the best out of the players. You could see last season the players believed in him and this season they have shown more consistency and are now right in the mix to get a play-off spot at the end of the season.”
While Hull and Middlesbrough sit in 6th and 10th respectively, there’s a lot of clubs floating around looking to secure a play-off spot. Hull are 10/6 to grab promotion and 9/4 to finish in the top 6. Middlesbrough on the other hand have slightly longer odds but will still be hopeful about their chances. They are 5/1 for promotion and 1/1 to secure their place in the top 6. While Ray’s old clubs make their push, who else are you backing to finish in the top 6 or make a late promotion push?
*Odds subject to change.
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