The 2021/22 EFL Championship, or Sky Bet Championship due to sponsorship, will be the 30th season of the league under its current league division format.
The 24 participating teams are playing for three openings into the Premier League. The teams that end up on place one and two will automatically be moved up to the High Court of English football, replacing the two bottom teams from the Premier League.
Winner odds for the Championship 2021/22
| Winner | Odds |
|---|---|
| Fulham | 7/2 |
| West Bromwich | 4/1 |
| Bournemouth | 7/1 |
| Sheffield United | 8/1 |
| Middlesbrough | 14/1 |
| Stoke City | 16/1 |
| Cardiff City | 18/1 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 20/1 |
| Barnsley | 22/1 |
| Birmingham | 28/1 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 30/1 |
| Millwall | 30/1 |
| Swansea City | 33/1 |
| Luton Town | 45/1 |
| Nottingham Forest | 45/1 |
| Hull City | 50/1 |
| Reading | 50/1 |
| Coventry City | 70/1 |
| Bristol City | 75/1 |
| Huddersfield Town | 100/1 |
| Preston North End | 100/1 |
| Blackpool | 125/1 |
| Peterborough United | 125/1 |
| Derby Conty | 150/1 |
Odds from Unibet 16/8 2021
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Schedule and results
Like for most leagues, the schedule of the Championship extends from autumn to spring. The play-off, where the teams can qualify for the Premier League, will begin at the end of May.
There will be a total of 24 participating teams and they will all meet twice in the league – once at home and once away. The Championship will therefore consist of 46 rounds, with 12 matches in every round. In total, that means that 552 matches will be played during this season of the Championship.
Table
When the series has finished and the results for all 552 matches are set – the bottom three teams will be degraded to League One. The top two teams will on the other hand be upgraded into the High Court of football in England, the Premier League. Teams that ends up on place 3-6 in the table will enter a play-off for the final spot into Premier League.
You'll find the current table for the Championship at the top of this page. That way, you can easily follow your favorite team in the league!
Premier League play-offs
The playoffs for teams 3-6 is played with a direct knockout. It starts with two semifinals and then a final – and the winning team will be upgraded into the Premier League. The 3rd placed team will meet the 6th place team, and the 4th and 5th team will face each other in the other semifinal. The semifinals are settled through two games each, so that all teams will play both at home and away, and the winner is decided through the combined result of both games.
The two winning teams from the semifinals will advance to the final, that is played on neutral ground th the Wembley Stadium in London. The final is settled in one single match.
Facts about the EFL Championship
The Championship, also known as the EFL Championship, is the second highest league in England. Previously, all English professional leagues belonged to the same organization. But since the Premier League broke free just before the season of 92/93, the other professional football leagues in England came together in something called The Football League. Since Premier League is outside of the English league system, the Championship is technically the highest English League.
Even though Premier League and the Championship technically doesn't belong to the same league system, they're still exchanging teams between each other.
Difficult for teams to advance
There's no doubt that the Championship is a league that's hard to advance from. There are a lot of teams that has fallen down from the Premier League that can certify that coming back is a tough task. The schedule is intense, and the matches are usually a lot more physically demanding than the more technically-embellished matches in the Premier League.
Great interest in the Championship
Despite the fact that the Championship is “only” the the second highest league in England, there's plenty of interest for it. This is reflected by the online gaming companies, that offer plenty of interesting odds on the matches. It's also reflected by the audience, since the number of visitors per season exceeds many of the top leagues in Europe. During the 2016/17 season, there were only two other leagues with more spectators. The Championship is also considered to be the richest of all second leagues in Europe, and it places in the top 10 over the richest leagues in Europe.
Unpredictable outcome
The charm of the Championship is how unpredictable the league is, no season is like another. It is far from certain how the table will evolve or how individual matches will end. In big contrast to, for example, the Premiership or La Liga where there are a few teams that always seems to top the league. Betting on the Championship is therefore a bit different, and placing a good bet requires a lot of insight to the league.