Punters Lounge football tipster Darran Pearce is joined by EFL expert Gab Sutton for this special edition of the Punters Lounge podcast where the odds of the promotion contenders, dark horses, and relegation candidates for the 2023/24 Championship season are considered. Check out their free football tips talked about in the video right here!

Promotion Contenders

“I think [Leicester] are the strongest of the lot. I think what you’ve got in Jamie Vardy is an absolutely ruthless goalscorer. He’s proven that at Premier League level. I certainly think he’ll be that at Championship level. He might not have the same searing pace as 6 or 7 years ago but I still think he’s going to be able to get ahead of defenders in tight distances.” – Gab

Leicester to Win Championship @ 4/1 with Bet365 bonus code

“I think [Sunderland] have strengthened. I think they’ve got a young squad that’s only going to get better and I don’t think they’re going to have as much go against them this time around. So with all this in mind, I think they’re a great bet for automatic promotion this season.” – Gab

Sunderland to be Promoted @ 13/2 with 888Sport

Dark Horses

“I think Middlesbrough will just miss out on the automatic promotion spots and finish in the play-offs… I still think there are question marks whether Seny Dieng can recover from a tough season at QPR and whether they can add the firepower they need up top but I think they’ve got a very exciting squad that should go nicely again.” – Gab

Middlesbrough to Finish Top 6 @ Evens with William Hill promo code

“I really like [Hull] under Liam Rosenior. They’re very much the hipster’s tip if you like. They only lost 6 games in 28 after Rosenior took charge which speaks to great foundations in both defence and in midfield… I think if they can strengthen a little bit and add a couple of pieces of quality in attack like they have done with Liam Delap already… I think there are lots of reasons to be excited about Hull.” – Gab

Hull to Finish Top 6 @ 9/2 with Betfred promo code

“Michael Duff is someone who I’ve studied his work in the lower leagues over the last 5 years and he’s made history or massively exceeded expectations consistently. I think when you see a manager that does that you feel that, first of all, he’s massively overdue a shot at the Championship but also I feel he can make an enormous impact in it.” – Gab

Swansea to Finish Top 6 @ 7/2 with William Hill

Relegation Candidates

“The teams [that get promoted] that tend to struggle are the teams that stick with their old squad. I know there is that saying that we’ll give them a chance. They won promotion let’s give them a chance but they’re the ones that tend to struggle. They’re the ones that need to improve… They’re keeping faith with the players from League One more than signing players who are ready for the Championship.” – Darran

Sheffield Wednesday to be Relegated @ 7/2 with Unibet

“[Rotherham] managed to stay up last season but relied very heavily on goalkeeper Viktor Johansson to do that. Cameron Humphreys played a huge part as well but Johansson was really their go-to man. I think the big question is whether they can rely on him to the same extent this time around. I would suspect not as good a goalkeeper though he is.” – Gab

Rotherham to be Relegated @ 7/4 with BetVictor promo code

“Over the last 10 years, the bulk of Neil Warnock’s best work has been taking over teams mid-season and having a massive impact. Granted, there’s the exception of Cardiff where he did actually take them into the Premier League and did incredibly well but mainly at this stage of his career it’s been mid-season turnarounds. I’m not sure he can do an awful lot more than that at 74 [years old] because I think coming in for 15 games, using your experience, using your man management qualities to lift a group of players to keep them up he can do that with his eyes closed. But giving a massive club the rebuild that it needs… I’m not sure he’s got the stamina enough for the job at this stage of his career.” – Gab

Huddersfield to Finish Bottom @ 10/1 with Bet365

All odds are correct at the time of publication.