The Championship promotion race has been emphatically won by two teams, with Leicester clinching the title and Burnley following them into the second automatic promotion spot soon after. However, the fight for the final Championship promotion spot, garnered by the roller coaster lottery of the play-offs, is set to be a far more exciting and unpredictable ride.
Derby County and QPR have sealed their play-off place prior to the final game of the Championship campaign but the final two spots will go to two from: Reading, Wigan, Brighton and Blackburn. It is Reading and Wigan currently in the driving seats and we fully expect those two to complete the play-off line-up.
Picking which teams will make it through to the Wembley final and subsequently earn promotion from the Championship is an altogether trickier task and that is reflected in the odds. The bookmakers offer all four of the favourites in a narrow odds range from 9/4 (Derby County at bet365) to 9/2 (Reading, also with bet365) – talk about sitting on the fence! However, it really is that tough and each of the four most likely to ultimately be in the promotion mix have something going for them.
Derby will finish third by some distance, clearly suggesting they are the class act and, having been superb over the last 30 games they also have form on their side. However, QPR will feel that the experience of their players – they have a number of internationals – and manager (Harry Redknapp) will put them in pole position.
For us, Reading are the one team to avoid, given their form against the better sides in the Championship, whilst Wigan, who proved their big-game mentality in the FA Cup, could well be the one to go for.
We can’t decide so the choice is yours! But by using our live betting odds comparison you can, at least, be certain of the best possible odds. Good luck!