Four Championship Teams That Could be Surprise Promotion Contenders

Every year the Championship throws up a few surprises. Teams come from nowhere to storm up the table in the second half of the season and make a stab at promotion to the promised land that is the Premier League. Don’t forget to check out our football accumulator tips where Championship offer great value and feature regularly.

Last year was no different, as Aston Villa, who had been lingering around mid-table for much of the campaign, found form at just the right time. Dean Smith’s side used the power of momentum to sustain what was once an unlikely charge at promotion, eventually winning the play-offs to secure their return to the top flight. 

With the new season now well underway, here are four sides who could spring a surprise and may yet be hunting the automatic promotion or play-off spots come May, and upset the Championship odds 2019/2020. 

Queens Park Rangers 

QPR have been somewhat mired in the lower reaches of the Championship table over the last few seasons. The club has adopted a rather different approach since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2015, focusing more on youth and affordable talent instead of the lavish spending that defined, and nearly destroyed the club in the early 2010s.  

With a new manager this season in Mark Warburton, the Rs have made a solid start, and will be hoping that this campaign can bring about an upturn in fortunes. Warburton led west London neighbours Brentford to promotion from League One to the Championship, and also to an unlikely Championship play-off run in 2015, so he knows what it takes to guide an unfancied London club to a surprise lunge for promotion. 

Signing Jordan Hugill from West Ham United has so far proved to be an inspired bit of business. The striker was one of the EFL’s top goal-getters in his Preston North End days, and any potential promotion charge will undoubtedly hinge on Hugill’s ability to recreate that sizzling scoring form.  

Nottingham Forest 

Nottingham Forest fans have been dreaming of a return to the top flight ever since their relegation in 1999, but even after twenty years, such a success is yet to materialise. The return of Martin O’Neill to the City Ground as manager last season did not prove to be the fairy tale many were hoping for, and new boss Sabri Lamouchi will be hoping to inspire greater fortune this campaign. 

For a club with as rich a history and pedigree as Forest, climbing out of the second tier can prove that little bit tougher, especially as the pressure mounts towards the tail end of the season, as Leeds United found out last year. Indeed, it has been quite a few years since the club have made a serious push for promotion, and fans will be desperate to see Forest in the upper reaches of the Championship once again. 

In Lewis Grabban, Forest have a proven Championship goal scorer, and if they can provide enough support for him then there’s no reason why they couldn’t improve on last season’s ninth-place finish. 

Charlton Athletic 

Charlton have been the surprise package of the Championship so far. Despite being cast as favourites for relegation, the Addicks have defied the odds early doors, and have been flirting with the automatic promotion places in the early weeks of the season. Whether Lee Bowyer’s men can maintain such form is another question. 

After a few turbulent years in League One under somewhat shaky ownership, Charlton fans will be basking in the glow of their promotion and early season Championship success, even though many problems at boardroom level still remain. Bowyer is immensely popular among the Addicks’ faithful, and despite it looking like he was set to depart over the summer, the club are now reaping the benefits of ensuring Bowyer stayed put.  

Another important retention was that of frontman Lyle Taylor. The 29–year-old showed scintillating form in the opening weeks of the season, and despite a move to Brentford being mooted as the transfer window was drawing to a close, Bowyer’s ability to keep the striker at The Valley is proving to be a shrewd bit of management already. 

Brentford 

One of the best footballing sides in the division, Brentford have flattered to deceive at times in the past few campaigns, occasionally blowing sides away with rip-roaring attacking potency, but far too often surrendering meekly when the going gets tough.  

Losing manager Dean Smith last season to eventual play-off winners Aston Villa will have been a bitter pill to swallow for Bees fans, but Thomas Frank is a steady pair of hands, and the west London club have made a few interesting acquisitions over the summer, not least former Leeds United defender Pontus Jansson.  

With this being Brentford’s final season at Griffin Park, promotion would be a timely boost to the club as they move to their new state–of-the-art stadium. If the Bees can find a balance between the fluent attacking play that they have made their own, and a steelier defensive resolve, then it would be no surprise if they had a say in the promotion chase when May rolls around.