AI makes one big 2026 prediction for all 24 Championship clubs | OneFootball

Football League World have asked AI to identify one big prediction for all 24 Championship clubs, and its responses were a very varied bunch indeed.

The new year is almost upon us, so Football League World have asked AI to get its crystal ball out and make one big prediction for each of the 24 clubs in the EFL Championship for 2026.

The end of the calendar year is a time for looking forward as well as back. This isn't necessarily easy in the EFL Championship, where a large number of clubs are clustered together in the middle with realistic chances of challenging for promotion to the Premier League, but this hasn't prevented Football League World from asking AI to make one BIG prediction for each of the 24 clubs in the division over the course of 2026.

So, here are the predictions that it gave us in alphabetical order by club, along with a brief assessment of how likely these are to actually happen. A couple of the ideas that it had were a little on the outlandish side. And don't forget; ChatGPT has been known to get things wrong in the past, so these are predictions which should probably be handled with a pinch of salt.

Birmingham City

"They build on the momentum of their recent promotion and by late 2026 emerge as a dark-horse playoff contender, catching many pundits by surprise."

The implication here is that Birmingham City will not get promoted to the Premier League by the end of the 2025-26 season but, given the well-known ambition of the club - most evidently manifested through their construction of a 62,000-capacity new stadium - it seems reasonable to counter AI's assertion that the Blues will "catch many pundits by surprise" by mentioning that the Blues being well-positioned for a return to the Premier League by the end of 2026 wouldn't be that much of a surprise.

Blackburn Rovers

"After a shaky first half of year, they stabilise around mid-table and flirt with a late push for top-half safety."

The first half of the 2025-26 season has been a shaky time for Blackburn Rovers, with the team suspended just above the Championship relegation places and issues with the pitch having caused the abandonment of two matches at Ewood Park due to waterlogging.

But Blackburn do have a history of defying the odds in recent years, having finished in the top eight in three of the last four seasons, so seeing them find a way of surviving at this level and performing better throughout the first half of the 2026-27 might not be quite as surprising as it first seems.

Bristol City

"They have at least one memorable cup upset or deep run (e.g. in FA Cup) that becomes the highlight of their 2026 season, giving fans something to cheer even if league form remains average."

Now things are starting to get a little spicy. Bristol City have been a little inconsistent in the League of late, but AI predicts a cup run or upset for them in the new year.

With a home draw against Watford in the Third Round of the FA Cup, there won't be an upset in the next round of that competition, so AI presumably believes that the Robins will get through this round and go further still.

Charlton Athletic

"Despite being newly promoted, they avoid relegation and finish 2026 solidly mid-table, outpacing early expectations."

Addicks fans unsettled by their team's recent runs of consecutive defeats in the league can take a little comfort from AI's prediction, which is that Charlton Athletic will recover from this recent dip and the year in a comfortable position in the Championship.

With four straight losses having dropped them from 6th in the table to 17th place in just three weeks, manager Nathan Jones needs to arrest their slide down the table.

Coventry City

"Under their current management, they gain real traction and by year’s end are firmly in the promotion conversation, possibly pushing for automatic or playoff spots."

It's difficult to avoid the conclusion that AI has rather understated Coventry City's prospects for the new year. Their recent 3-0 defeat at Ipswich will have stung, but the fact remains that this was only their second league defeat of the season and that they remain seven points clear at the top of the Championship table; a position they've occupied since the start of October.

If they're not at the very least "pushing for automatic or playoff spots" by May, then something will have gone terribly wrong at Coventry across the second half of their season.

Derby County

"They enjoy a late-season resurgence that gives hope — perhaps new signings or a managerial spark leads to a solid second half of 2026 and a rebuilding platform."

Derby County have been a little streaky so far this season, with a poor start counterbalanced with five wins a row leaving them in mid-table. AI doesn't predict any significant improvement upon this before the end of this season, but that they should rebuild and have a comfortable first half to next season.

Hull City

"2026 sees them become “cup specialists,” pulling off a couple of surprise results in domestic cups even if league results remain modest."

Again, there'll be no great "surprise" should Hull City get through their Third Round draw in this year's FA Cup. They've been drawn at home to Blackburn Rovers, a match that they'll be expected to win.

Their EFL Cup form this season - beaten by Wrexham on penalty kicks after a 3-3 draw in the First Round - doesn't lend itself to AI's confident prediction that they'll become "cup specialists", either.

Ipswich Town

"Rebuilding after relegation, they show flashes of quality behind closed doors — maybe a key young talent emerges — but 2026 ends with instability as they readjust and restructure."

There's been a lot of discussion about how AI can 'hallucinate', and this seems to have been the case with its prediction for Ipswich Town. Ipswich are the form team in the Championship, with a run of one defeat in their last nine games having lifted them from 14th to 4th place in the table.

The matter of a "key young talent" could be a reference to Sindre Walle Egeli, who's the only player in their squad under 22 years of age and scored his first goal for the club in their 1-1 draw at Blackburn. Ipswich might be needing to "readjust and restructure" should they be a Premier League club again by the end of the year, but there's little to suggest now that they're heading in the direction of "instability."

Leicester City

"They use 2026 to retool significantly; by the end of the year expect a new core of young players and a clear long-term blueprint laid out for future promotion ambitions."

Leicester City fans may well bite AI's hand off for its prediction for their club to come true. Form this season has been uninspiring, manager Marti Cifuentes is under pressure, and there's still the possibility of a points deduction over PSR breaches hanging over their head.

Add to that the financial difficulties that have been faced by their owners in recent years, and they might need a "new core of young player" by the autumn, while fans would surely clamour for a "long-term blueprint."

Middlesbrough

"They quietly build consistency in 2026, turning into a tough, hard-to-beat side; not pushing for promotion yet, but tightening up defensively and looking sharper."

Not for the first time on its list, AI doesn't give much impression of having seen Middlesbrough play this season. With just three defeats from their first 19 games, Boro are already "hard-to-beat." Only Coventry have lost fewer league matches so far this season. If anything, Middlesbrough need to tighten up in an attacking sense rather than a defensive one.

Their 28 goals in 19 games isn't exceptionally impressive, though the four goals they scored at Hull indicates that they could be moving in the right direction in that respect, too.