Championship promotion race: Favourites to go up to the Premier League this term

As always, England's second tier is so hard to predict but the bookies have decided who their favourites are for promotion.

The three teams relegated from the Premier League last season, Norwich City, Burnley and Watford, will be looking to bounce back instantly, but will it be so easy?

The likes of West Brom and Middlesbrough appear to have assembled strong squads, so they could be in the race for automatic promotion.

talkSPORT.com has looked at the favourites to make it to the top-flight come May…

Norwich City - 5/4

Norwich finished bottom of the Premier League last season, but they have a habit of being promoted.

The Canaries won the Championship in both 2018/19 and 2020/21, so they will be looking to do the same again this year.

In the transfer market, Norwich have splashed out on Brazilian ace Gabriel Sara, who can play anywhere in midfield and could light up the Championship.

Isaac Hayden has joined on loan from Newcastle, while players such as Onel Hernandez have returned and are ready to help Dean Smith's side back to the top-flight.

They have also managed to shift a lot of their deadwood, and in Teemu Pukki, they have a guaranteed goal scorer.

Watford - 13/8

Watford might not have finished bottom of the Premier League, but they were easily one of the worst promoted sides in recent years.

On paper, the squad had quality but appeared to lack the right characters.

But Rob Edwards could be the fresh start the Hornets have been crying out for. He is a young coach, and if given time, could be at Vicarage Road for the foreseeable future.

However, time isn't usually something that Watford managers get, so Edwards needs a quick start.

The likes of Hassane Kamara and Samir appear to be staying but Ismaila Sarr and Emmanuel Dennis will most likely leave, meaning they will need replacements, or the Hornets could lack quality.

Middlesbrough - 2/1

Middlesbrough missed out on the play-offs last season as Chris Wilder's side finished seventh.

But they have been busy this summer with the likes of Zack Steffen, Ryan Giles and Darragh Lenihan arriving to bolster their squad.

In Wilder, they arguably have the best manager in the league who earned promotion with an unfancied Sheffield United side.

This current Middlesbrough team looks better than that Blades side apart from upfront, where the Teessiders are severely lacking.

If one or two forwards arrive to bolster Wilder's team before the end of the transfer window, you would expect Boro to be right up there.

Sheffield United - 2/1

Like Middlesbrough, Sheffield United were close to promotion last year, but were beaten by Nottingham Forest in the play-off semi-finals.

But Paul Heckingbottom's side are ready to go again.

They have managed to keep the core of their squad, but will need to find a way to replace the creativity of Morgan Gibbs-White after he returned to Wolves.

However, they have added exciting Manchester City prospect Tommy Doyle on loan and experienced centre-back Ciaran Clark from Newcastle.

They have also managed to shift a few from the wage bill to free up some space in Heckingbottom's squad.

Certainly, the Blades look to be in a good position and play-offs should be the minimum they achieve this year.

West Brom - 5/2

West Brom had a dreadful campaign last season and finished nowhere near the play-offs after replacing Valerien Ismael with Steve Bruce.

The Baggies had a good squad, but they lacked goals.

This year, they will have a fully fit Daryl Dike plus the additions of John Swift, Jed Wallace and Okay Yokuslu.

Swift and Wallace have been two of the best players in England's second tier for a long time, and Yokuslu became a cult hero during his previous stint at the Hawthorns.

On paper, the Baggies should be right up at the top, but is Bruce the right man to lead them back to the top-flight? Only time will tell.

Burnley - 11/4

Burnley have seen a huge number of players leave and arrive at Turf Moor this summer as the Clarets prepare for Championship life.

Nick Pope, James Tarkowski, Ben Mee and Nathan Collins have all left the club.

Maxwel Cornet and Dwight McNeil, who have interest from across the Premier League, will probably go as well.

Therefore, the Clarets have been busy in the transfer market and Josh Cullen, Scott Twine and CJ Egan-Riley look like interesting signings.

But will they have enough? And how will Vincent Kompany find the transition from the Belgium Pro League to the Championship?