2024-25 Championship predictions: Ruthless Tigers may trouble top clubs

Leeds suffered a couple of near-misses in last season's Championship promotion battle but they are clear favourites to return to the Premier League as champions in 2024-25.

A tally of 90 points was not enough to earn Leeds automatic promotion due to the efforts of champions Leicester and runners-up Ipswich and Daniel Farke's men were beaten 1-0 by Southampton in the playoff final.

Highly-rated teenager Archie Gray has left for Tottenham but centre-back Joe Rodon has signed from Spurs on a permanent deal after impressing on loan at Elland Road.

Leeds should go close but there are enough doubts over the other market leaders to suggest Hull merit an each-way bet at a big price.

Walter can benefit from Rosenior's good work

The sacking of manager Liam Rosenior at the end of last season seemed harsh given that the Tigers had finished just one place outside the playoff places.

But Tim Walter, a former coach of Hamburg, Stuttgart and Bayern Munich's reserve team, is an interesting appointment and Hull are expected to show plenty of ambition in the transfer market.

They received a hefty fee from Ipswich for centre-back Jacob Greaves and have already signed Luton left-back Ryan Giles.

The Tigers used the loan market to good effect last term, bringing in Liverpool youngsters Tyler Morton and Fabio Carvalho, and they look like a club heading in the right direction.

Hull took four points off champions Leicester and only the top two recorded more away wins than their tally of 11.

Relegated trio require inspiration

Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United should be big players in the promotion race after being relegated from the Premier League last season.

The Clarets stormed to the Championship title under Vincent Kompany in 2022-23 but there are question marks over new boss Scott Parker while Luton have lost inspirational playmaker Ross Barkley to Aston Villa.

Sheffield United need a strong start in order to draw a line under a dismal top-flight campaign in which they banked just 16 points from 38 games and conceded a record 104 goals.

Fresh start at Carrow Road

West Brom, Norwich, Middlesbrough and Coventry are also prominent in the promotion betting after solid 2023-24 seasons and the Canaries are worth backing for another top-six finish.

Like Hull, they are under new management having replaced David Wagner with youthful Danish coach Johannes Hoff Thorup.

Wagner paid the price for Norwich's humiliating 4-0 second-leg defeat at Leeds in the playoff semi-finals but they did well to make the top six given that they had started 2024 in 13th place.

Their home record was excellent, with 15 wins in 23 games, and if they can keep attacking talents Jon Rowe, Josh Sargent and Gabriel Sara at the club then it could be an exciting season.

QPR can improve under Cifuentes

QPR, like Norwich, had a strong second half of the season and they could kick on under manager Marti Cifuentes. 

After a tough run of results in December and early January, the Hoops lost only four of their last 19 matches, signing off with three straight wins over Preston, Leeds and Coventry.

QPR may struggle to compete with the Championship big guns in the transfer market, hampering their chances of a return to the Premier League, but a top-half finish should be within their capabilities.