Championship 2026/27 relegation predictions with 9/2 & 5/4 tips
Sports Journalist at FST, Gareth qualified as a journalist after graduating from university and spent over a decade as a freelance broadcast journalist, commentator and tipster before joining FST. Now living in Manchester, he is a long suffering Bolton Wanderers fan who also enjoys boxing, the NBA, tennis and rugby league.
The new Championship season gets underway this weekend with a Friday night fixture as relegated Wolves entertain Blackburn Rovers. We’ve got predictions for the top end of the table, and now our look ahead to the 2026-27 campaign continues with a couple of relegation tips.
Lincoln City won the League One title with relative ease last season as they finished on an outrageous 103 points to secure a return to the second tier of English football for the first time in 65 years.
Cardiff City came in second as they bounced back at the first time of asking and Bolton Wanderers won the play-offs, ending a seven-year absence from the top two divisions, but the promoted trio go into the new campaign as the three favourites to be relegated.
They should take some comfort in the fact that none of the promoted teams have gone straight back down in each of the last three Championship seasons, but that run could well end this year.
I’ve picked out a relegation best bet and a bit of an outside contender for the drop ahead of the new campaign. All prices come from bet365 and new customers can take advantage of their sign-up offer below.
Championship Relegation Odds
- Lincoln 8/11
- Bolton 11/10
- Cardiff 5/4
- Charlton 11/8
- Preston 5/2
- Blackburn 9/2
- Portsmouth 9/2
Odds correct at 1pm on August 8th 2026 with bet365
Championship Relegation Predictions
Cardiff to be relegated @ 5/4 with bet365
All three promoted teams appear likely to be among the drop contenders but Cardiff offer a bit of value at an odds-against price and look the best pick.
Lincoln have lost manager Michael Skubala to Bristol City and that is a massive blow, but he has laid down some solid foundations for successors Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw and at 8/11 there is no value in backing the Imps.
Bolton are 11/10 but they’ve made some solid moves in the summer and look ready to compete. They are an attacking side under Steven Schumacher and they will probably lose a lot of games, but they may win enough to consolidate their position.
Cardiff came in second fairly comfortably last season but haven’t particularly strengthened, and this squad contains a number of players who were part of their team that finished rock-bottom of the Championship in 2024-25. The Bluebirds’ form also tailed off towards the end of last season with just six wins in their final 14 games as they allowed Lincoln to move ahead of them and take the title and that doesn’t bode particularly well if they do find themselves locked in a survival battle next season.
Portsmouth to be relegated @ 9/2
At a bigger price, Portsmouth stand out at 9/2 to go down as potential outsiders.
Pompey spent most of last season flirting with danger but pulled clear thanks to a strong finish. They should be among the drop candidates again and this time they may not be able to put a run together to retain their place in the Championship.
The Fratton Park club have made a few moves over the summer but the majority of their captures are untested in England. Only one of their six signings has come from an EFL team, with midfielder Odin Bailey joining on a free transfer from Stockport, and on paper their squad doesn’t appear particularly stronger than last season’s.
Serbian striker Marko Milovanovic could prove to be a good signing as he looks like he has the attributes to adapt to the Championship but he may also take time to settle, while Andre Dozzell’s decision to turn down a new deal and head to MLS looks like a blow to their survival chances.
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