Jeff Stelling names 3 EFL Championship clubs he thinks will get relegated | OneFootball

Jeff Stelling names 3 EFL Championship clubs he thinks will get relegated | OneFootball

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·14 August 2026

Jeff Stelling names 3 EFL Championship clubs he thinks will get relegated

Article image:Jeff Stelling names 3 EFL Championship clubs he thinks will get relegated

Jeff Stelling has predicted that Lincoln City, Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers will be relegated from the Championship this season.

Former Soccer Saturday presenter and current talkSPORT breakfast host Jeff Stelling believes Lincoln City, Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers will be relegated from the Championship this season.


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The new Championship campaign gets underway on Friday night when Wolves host Blackburn Rovers, and clubs from across the division will be hoping not to follow in the footsteps of Oxford United, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday, who dropped into League One last season.

Championship clubs will be hoping to avoid relegation threat this season

Article image:Jeff Stelling names 3 EFL Championship clubs he thinks will get relegated

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Due to Sheffield Wednesday's off-field issues, it seemed certain that the Owls would be relegated last season before a ball was kicked, and that proved to be the case, with their 18-point deduction meaning that Henrik Pedersen's side finished the campaign on zero points, a huge 51 points from safety.

However, in a sign of just how unpredictable the Championship can be, one of the pre-season promotion favourites, Leicester City, also finished in the bottom three as they suffered back-to-back relegations, with their six-point deduction proving to be costly.

After winning promotion from League One, Lincoln City, Cardiff City and Bolton Wanderers will all be keen to remain clear of danger this season, but both the Imps and the Trotters have experienced significant upheaval over the course of the summer.

West Bromwich Albion, Blackburn Rovers, Charlton, Portsmouth and Stoke City narrowly avoided relegation from the Championship last season, while the likes of Watford, QPR and Preston North End could have found themselves dragged into trouble had the campaign gone on much longer.

Jeff Stelling issues bleak Lincoln City, Charlton Athletic and QPR relegation prediction

Article image:Jeff Stelling names 3 EFL Championship clubs he thinks will get relegated

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Ahead of the new Championship season, Stelling has delivered his predictions for the upcoming campaign, and it is bad news for supporters of Lincoln, Charlton and QPR, with the 71-year-old tipping the trio for relegation.

"Lincoln ran away with League One last season, so you can understand why their supporters would be optimistic," Stelling said on talkSPORT.

"I just don't necessarily see it.

"Charlton were sixth from bottom last season, they haven't really strengthened particularly.

"I'm going to offend every QPR fan by saying I think this could be their time.

"Having said that, they've signed Tariq Lamptey and brought him back into the Championship.

"I really hope he does well because he's a kid with a lot of talent, he's had so many injuries during the years.

"I think Dennis Cirkin from Sunderland is a good bit of recruitment from them as well.

"I've got them down as third from bottom, I hope that I'm absolutely miles out, but those are my views."

QPR supporters may be surprised by Jeff Stelling's relegation claim

Article image:Jeff Stelling names 3 EFL Championship clubs he thinks will get relegated

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Lincoln stormed to the League One title last season with a total of 103 points, but they have lost head coach Michael Skubala and star man Jack Moylan this summer, so a difficult campaign could be ahead at Sincil Bank.

The Imps have appointed Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw as their new joint head coaches, and the pair got off to an impressive start with a 2-1 victory at Derby County in the Carabao Cup on Saturday, but there are big question marks over whether they have the depth and quality needed to survive in the Championship.

Charlton sat as high as fifth in October after a strong start to last season, but they slid down the table in the second half of the campaign, and after an underwhelming summer of transfer business, the Addicks may be in danger this time around.

QPR were another side who experienced a decline in form in the latter part of last season, with Julien Stephan's men winning just six of their final 24 games, but many R's supporters are feeling optimistic after a strong summer.

The Hoops have signed the likes of Pierce Charles, Tariq Lamptey and Dennis Cirkin this summer as they look to address the defensive issues that plagued them last season, and with an exciting forward line that may be ready to explode into life, Stelling's relegation prediction will certainly raise a few eyebrows at Loftus Road.

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