8 EFL Championship sides who may shock you in 2026/27 | OneFootball

FLW have looked at some of the second tier sides who could spring a surprise or two next year

As usual, the 2025/26 Championship season gave supporters many remarkable moments, with the 46-game term certainly packed with unpredictability.

Despite falling to two defeats in the play-offs in the three years beforehand, not many had fancied Coventry City finishing 11 points clear at the top of the Championship under Frank Lampard, as the Sky Blues now prepare for their first Premier League season in 25 years.

Ipswich Town, meanwhile, were fancied to regain their top-flight status at the first time of asking under Kieran McKenna, although the Tractor Boys' promotion bid was also full of drama, as their promotion was only sealed on the final day of the campaign.

Hull City, meanwhile, proved thousands of relegation-heavy predictions wrong by achieving glory in the play-offs, whilst Leicester City's plight, as drastic as it has been, wasn't expected to continue with just a second-ever relegation to League One alongside Oxford United and rock-bottom Sheffield Wednesday.

With that said, supporters will be hoping for more of the same in 2026/27, especially with the expansion of the play-offs from third down to eighth, and Football League World have looked at eight sides who could spring a surprise in the coming season.

Blackburn Rovers

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First up is Blackburn Rovers, who recently ended a period of managerial-themed uncertainty with the re-appointment of Tony Mowbray on a long-term contract at Ewood Park.

The East Lancashire side were previously staring relegation in the face until the interim arrival of Michael O'Neill, and now Mowbray, 62, will hope to progress the club forward as well as he attempted to do so beforehand.

Even more so, Blackburn have had a recent tendency to end in fluctuating positions in the Championship standings, with two lower-table finishes coming either side of as many seventh-placed endings in 2022/23 and 2024/25.

Mowbray, meanwhile, will certainly have unfinished business after his previous reunion with West Bromwich Albion in the second half of 2024/25 ended in disappointment.

Bristol City

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Bristol City will also hope their decision to hand Michael Skubala a three-year contract as the latest man in the Ashton Gate hotseat pays off, after his prior success with Lincoln City.

Robins owner, Steve Lansdown, came under intense criticism following the dismissal of Gerhard Struber in March, especially after the Austrian oversaw the departures of key figures, Anis Mehmeti and Zak Vyner, in the winter transfer window.

However, Skubala ended his spell in charge at the LNER Stadium with a 29-game unbeaten streak in League One, and will hope his impressive style of play can cause similar issues for opponents in the Championship, as City aim for a top-eight finish after an inconsistent campaign.

Cardiff City

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Their Severnside rivals, Cardiff City, are up next, with Brian Barry-Murphy's academy background, in particular, serving a great purpose in South Wales thus far.

As a result, the former Manchester City Elite Development Squad chief's success with the Bluebirds has already generated managerial links to Burnley this summer, but if he stays put, there is a chance his current employers continue to defy the odds.

Despite being relegated from the Championship last year, you would be extremely hard-pressed to have found anyone predicting Cardiff to achieve promotion at a 14-point canter with the second-youngest squad by average age in League One.

Naturally, with such a young squad, perfection isn't to be expected, but survival can certainly be achieved if the likes of Ronan Kpakio, Dylan Lawlor, Rubin Colwill and Yousef Salech, among others, are retained and play to their maximum in the Championship.

Norwich City

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Norwich City generated a huge swath of momentum under Philippe Clement following his appointment last November, and despite arguably being the least-obvious pick of the eight clubs on this list, some could even expect the Canaries to mount an automatic promotion challenge.

56 of their 65 points were accrued during the Belgian's opening months in charge, which saw them end the season in ninth place, just eight short of Hull, who earned promotion at Wembley.

What was even more impressive about City's remarkable form was the sale of prized asset, Josh Sargent, to MLS side, Toronto FC, as well as a multitude of injuries to key performers across the pitch - including 13-goal ace, Jovon Makama.

Therefore, if those can remain injury-free, and Clement can make some savvy additions in the summer, such claims may well just be backed up.

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It has been an interesting two-season stint back in the Championship for Portsmouth under John Mousinho, who will now hope to kick on under the 40-year-old after recent exit talk.

The Blues have operated under one of the division's lowest budgets, and despite making what, on the surface, looked like some rather smart signings last summer, certainly struggled to put the ball in the back of the net above all else.

If Mousinho is able to restore confidence in the likes of Colby Bishop, as well as see his plea for further investment to owner, Michael Eisner, granted, a comfortable mid-table finish could be in store at Fratton Park, which would certainly please the masses.

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Queens Park Rangers went yet another season without fully challenging for the play-offs - a recurring theme since their relegation 11 years ago.

However, Julien Stephan will be hoping the Hoops' fortunes can change in his second season at Loftus Road, as they finished 15th last term and ended the campaign with four losses on the bounce.

The Frenchman has previously worked with some of his nation's most high-profile stars in spells at Stade Rennais and RC Strasbourg, and will be looking for more consistency from his current squad in order to challenge for the top-eight.

More importantly, the 45-year-old will also hope Rumarn Burrell can avoid any injuries in the upcoming campaign, after the £1m signing was able to net 10 goals in just 30 appearances, alongside the contributions of highly-rated Richard Kone as his strike partner.

Swansea City

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Swansea City were very much seen as a 'dark horse' for last season's play-offs following Alan Sheehan's permanent appointment, and the same fate has occurred under Vitor Matos.

That is despite the fact the Jacks are, unsurprisingly, braced for interest in the 2025/26 Championship Golden Boot winner, Zan Vipotnik, who netted 23 times in 44 outings, as well as seeing the likes of West Ham United express interest in Northern Ireland international, Ethan Galbraith alongside that of Wrexham, as exclusively revealed by FLW.

However, in recent times, the Swans have gained a reputation for recruiting smartly despite having one of the Championship's lowest ESTIMATED wage bills, and that will have to be the case again, even if they command an eight-figure fee for their Slovenian hotshot.

Matos' possession-based style also aligns with the well-documented 'Swansea way', which has yielded previous success at varying levels of the game.

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Last, but by no means least on this list are West Bromwich Albion.

The Baggies' campaign was one of inconsistency on the pitch, as well as chaos in the boardroom, as they were hit with a two-point deduction in April after failing to comply with the EFL's PSR regulations.

However, following Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsey's disastrous tenures, James Morrison oversaw a run of just two defeats in 12 games, and has since been handed the permanent role of head coach on a two-year contract.

It, of course, remains to be seen if the former Hawthorns favourite can keep up such momentum over the course of a full 46-game season, as well as what business the club will conduct given their prior financial constraints.

That said, the early signs are certainly encouraging for those in B71 when it comes to assessing his early managerial exploits, even though the same was said of Mason this time 12 months ago.