The EFL Championship returns this Friday, with the newly promoted Birmingham hosting recently relegated Ipswich in the first game of the 2025/26 season. Nine months and a grand total of 557 games* later, three sides will have earned the privilege of being promoted to the Premier League, while three other sides will face the bitter disappointment of relegation.

The Championship is a notoriously chaotic division with enthralling competition throughout the season, and this year’s campaign should be no different. Spreadex has a plethora of markets for both spread betting and fixed odds betting, which are now live on the Spreadex website and app. Punters can bet on outright, season-long markets like the league winner and top goal scorer, as well as markets for all individual matches every game week. 

Season Points is a popular spread betting market which allows punters to bet on how many points they think a team will get over the course of the entire season. Let’s say a team has a spread prediction of 60-62; if you think that team will finish the season with more than 62 points, you would “buy”, and if you think the team will finish with fewer than 60 points, you would sell. The more your team outperforms or underperforms relative to expectations, the more money you stand to win or lose.

Spreadex’s current Season Points favourites are Ipswich, with a points spread of 84.5-86.5. The Tractor Boys will be hoping to bounce straight back up to the Premier League, with automatic promotion looking likely. The other two relegated teams, Southampton and Leicester, also have high points predictions at 77.5-79.5 and 74-76 respectively, and will both be looking for instant returns to the top tier.

Last year’s playoff runners-up, Sheffield United, as well as Frank Lampard’s Coventry, will also be hoping to push for promotion. Their points spreads sit at 73.5-75.5 and 72.5-74.5 respectively. Newly promoted Birmingham will also be a fascinating watch this season. They dominated in League One, but will they be able to make the jump up to the Championship? Spreadex’s points spread of 73.5-75.5 suggests they will be Playoff contenders and could look for back-to-back promotions.

At the other end of the table, Oxford United have the lowest points spread in the league at 49-51. Last season’s 21st and 22nd-place teams, Hull and Preston, are also expected to be in a relegation battle, with spreads currently of 50-52 and 51-53 respectively. Newly promoted Charlton are also expected to struggle adjusting to life in a higher division, which is reflected in their spread of 52-54.

One of Spreadex’s new markets, the League Performance Index, also provides insight into how teams may fare this season. With this market, teams again have a points prediction which you can buy or sell on depending on how you expect the team to perform. However, rather than being based on actual points accumulated during the season, the points spread is based on points being awarded in the following format: the league winner receives 100 points, playoff winner 75 points, other playoff teams 50 points, top-half finishers 25 points, and bottom-half finishers 0 points.

Ipswich again tops this market, with a spread of 63-67. This means if they win the league, their market makes up at 100, and buyers will win £33, whilst sellers will lose £37 (at £1 per point). The League Performance Index mainly mirrors the Season Points market, but there are a few notable exceptions, such as Leicester, who have the 3rd highest season points spread, but 6th highest performance index.

Spreadex also offers a season goals market, allowing you to bet on who you think will be the league’s golden boot. Ipswich’s George Hirst currently tops this market, with a spread of 14-15.5 goals. Norwich’s Josh Sargent will be looking to continue his good goalscoring form from last season, whilst Birmingham’s Jay Stansfield will be hoping to quickly adapt to Championship football, having netted 19 times in League One last year. Their spreads sit at 13.5-15 and 11-12.5 respectively.

The Championship starts this Friday, 8th August, with Birmingham vs. Ipswich and runs through to May, with the Playoff final set for 23rd May 2026. You can watch 155 of the games for the 25/26 season on Sky Sports or tune in to TalkSPORT radio for live commentaries throughout the season. You can also keep up to date with all the action by following official social media channels.

*552 league games + 5 playoff games