Leeds will begin life back in the country’s second tier with a home clash against Cardiff City on Sunday, August 6 but the new season will start two days earlier when newly-promoted Sheffield Wednesday take on recently-relegated Southampton at Hillsborough on the Friday night.
The bookies have the Saints as third-favourites for next season’s title, narrowly behind second favourites Leeds and clear market leaders Leicester City. But as the countdown continues to the new campaign, EFL pundit Gabriel Sutton has revealed how he thinks the table’s final finishing positions will look in a 2023-24 season preview shared by betvictor.com
Here is the run down of the prediction from positions 24 up to number one and the view on Leeds. A full verdict on each team’s prospects can be read HERE.
1. 24th: Rotherham United (relegated)
Verdict: Most Rotherham fans are hopeful that last season’s 19th-placed finish can be the prelude to steady growth within the Championship, rather than another dogfight, but they may be disappointed.
2. 23rd: Huddersfield Town (relegated)
Verdict: The remit Neil Warnock has taken on this summer is arguably harder than the one he assumed in February, when Huddersfield were four points adrift of safety.
3. 22nd: Sheffield Wednesday (relegated)
Verdict: Most clubs who have just won promotion have a distinct buzz, but Sheffield Wednesday aren’t in that place.
4. 21st: Preston North End
Verdict: Most teams who achieve a top half finish will look forward to next season with the hope that a play-off push could be on the cards, but optimism at Deepdale remains scarce.
5. 20th: Cardiff City
Verdict: Belief is waning at Cardiff. Since the turn of the century, the Bluebirds have had a modest handful of managers who built a real connection with supporters, but since Neil Warnock left in 2019, nobody has had both the time and the skills to foster that affinity. Photo: OZAN KOSE
6. 19th: Stoke City
Verdict: New squad, new backroom staff, new directors, new COO, new Head of Recruitment, new marketing executive… perhaps the only thing that’s old at Stoke City nowadays is their 85-year-old co-owner, Peter Coates. Peter, and son John, want progress for the Potters, having seen few signs of it in five seasons back at this level, but an accumulation of previous mistakes make this a transitional time for the club, and patience is the order of the day, with people settling in across the board. Photo: Nathan Stirk
7. 18th: Queens Park Rangers
Verdict: The sentiment might be more commonplace in a month’s time than currently, but Gareth Ainsworth is the right person for where QPR are right now. Photo: Clive Rose
8. 17th: Plymouth Argyle
Verdict: Following in the footsteps of Brighton, Brentford and Luton, the Championship has a new smartest club. Photo: Gareth Copley.
9. 16th: Watford
Verdict: The mainstream criticism of Watford for routinely firing managers has gone from feeling like a hackneyed jibe that almost seemed a little unfair, at one point, to something that’s now impossible to argue with. Photo: George Wood
10. 15th: West Brom
Verdict: Despite supporting a club that’s spent 21 of the last 23 years either in the Premier League or the top six of the Championship, West Brom fans aren’t optimistic right now. Photo: Pete Norton
11. 14th: Bristol City
Verdict: It’s been two years of gradual progress for Bristol City, under Nigel Pearson. Photo: Naomi Baker
12. 13th: Norwich City
Verdict: After slumping to midtable last season following relegation from the Premier League, Norwich are hoping a former Dortmund II coach can inspire them through a tough transitional period, under a new Sporting Director.
13. 12th: Birmingham City
Verdict: Hope has come to St Andrews – and we don’t just mean Powell, who arrives as Technical Director of the Women’s side. Photo: Matt McNulty
14. 11th: Coventry City
Verdict: Coventry look to be reducing their reliance on loans, which could be great for building a squad that can grow together, but might also set them back slightly in the here-and-now. Photo: Clive Brunskill
15. 10th: Millwall
Verdict: Another play-off challenge is likely, if defensive midfielder Casper de Norre and forward Kevin Nisbet make the desired impression. Photo: Alex Livesey
16. 9th: Ipswich Town
Verdict: Ipswich are back in the Championship with unyielding optimism. Photo: Ashley Allen
17. 8th: Blackburn Rovers
Verdict: A top six finish is possible with the right remaining additions, but the likelihood is a season similar to the last. Photo: Jan Kruger
18. 7th: Southampton
Verdict: History suggests new boss Russell Martin needs stability and clarity before he can stand out from the rest. Photo: Ryan Hiscott
19. 6th: Hull City (play-offs)
Verdict: For a club that just finished 15th, it seems almost counter-intuitive to talk about a positive season at Hull as being a likelihood, rather than a mere possibility, but that’s the state of play at Hull right now. Photo: Lewis Storey
20. 5th: Swansea City (play-offs)
Verdict: Few clubs can see their manager poached and then appoint one who’s even better, but Swansea might just have become an exception. Photo: Richard Heathcote
21. 4th: Leeds United (play-offs)
Verdict: Unusually, perhaps, expectations for Leeds are higher outside Elland Road than they are within. Photo: Alexander Hassenstein
22. 3rd: Middlesbrough (play-offs)
Verdict: They’ll be the most enjoyable team to watch – but will that be enough? Photo: Stu Forster
23. 2nd: Sunderland (automatic promotion)
Verdict: Optimism at Sunderland is arguably higher, now, than it was at any point during their 10-year Premier League stay. Photo: Naomi Baker
24. 1st: Leicester City (promoted as champions)
Verdict: The indications are that new boss Enzo Maresca has got his ideas across straight away, and with the international calibre of this squad, the results could be ominous for the rest. Photo: David Rogers
