Kevin Phillips names two EFL Championship clubs he thinks are dark horses | OneFootball

Kevin Phillips believes Norwich City and Swansea City could be two of the surprise packages in the Championship this season.

Former Sunderland striker and pundit Kevin Phillips has tipped Norwich City and Swansea City to be two of the dark horses in the Championship this season.

West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Middlesbrough were among the promotion favourites heading into the season, but after an unpredictable start to the new campaign, it looks set to be the most open Championship for some time.

Norwich City and Swansea City experience contrasting Championship starts

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Norwich were languishing in the relegation zone when Clement arrived in November and had not won a game in almost three months, but the Belgian made a stunning impact at Carrow Road.

Clement did not only guide the Canaries away from danger, but they were one of the form teams in the division in the second half of last season, and they eventually finished the campaign in ninth place, just seven points from the play-offs.

However, despite many expecting them to be among the promotion contenders, it has been a poor start to the campaign for Norwich, who have now lost three of their opening four league games after losing 1-0 to Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday night.

Like Clement, Vitor Matos is another manager who inspired a significant turnaround last season, with the 38-year-old leading Swansea to safety after replacing Alan Sheehan in November.

As they look to build on last season's 11th-placed finish, it was an exciting summer transfer window for the Swans, with the likes of Stephen Eustáquio, Elijah Just, Moussa Yeo, Joseph Opoku and Ross Stewart arriving in South Wales, and their recruitment drive appears to have had the desired effect.

Swansea have picked up 10 points from their opening four games, and Matos' men went top of the Championship table with a 2-0 victory over Watford at the Swansea.com Stadium on Tuesday night, with a Welsh derby against Wrexham to come on Saturday.

Kevin Phillips issues Championship prediction involving Norwich City and Swansea City

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Despite their underwhelming start to the season, Phillips revealed that he is still confident that Norwich will be in the promotion mix come the end of the campaign, particularly with a striker like Mo Toure, who has scored 13 goals in just 17 appearances for the Canaries since his arrival in the winter window.

"I tipped them to be one of the dark horses at the beginning of the season, but it’s still very, very early. I think the promising thing from their point of view and Clement’s point of view is that they’re dominating a lot of games; they’re creating opportunities," Phillips said, as quoted by The League Paper.

"At some point, it will click. Of course, they need to stop conceding goals.

"If they can do that, they know they’ve got players in that side who will score goals.

"I spoke about him quite a lot last season and this season, really, Toure.

"He’s got himself three goals in all competitions already, so we know that he’s got goals in him. They had a really good win against Burnley, so I don’t think you need to panic.

"I do think they will be in and around the new playoff system now, obviously going down to eight, so they’ve got a great opportunity at that. They just need to get that next win quickly rather than later."

Phillips also admitted that he has been impressed by Swansea's start to the season, and he insisted that, with the attacking quality Matos has at his disposal, there is no reason why the Welsh outfit cannot maintain their early momentum.

"The way they’ve started, wow. And having watched them, watched highlights, they look exciting going forward," Phillips said.

"They’ve got some really offensive areas. They’ve got some players that can hurt you and score goals.

"And that’s exactly what they’ve done.

"When you’re talking dark horses, I did say Norwich, but perhaps Swansea will be.

"We always get one team every season that comes out of the blocks. But why can’t Swansea keep that going?

"They kept last season’s top goal scorer, Vipotnik, but they’ve also got other players, Opoku and Idah, who’ve chipped in with some goals. They’ve got exciting players.

"So if they can keep that consistency going, there’s no reason why they couldn’t be there coming into the season."

Philippe Clement facing early Norwich City pressure as slow start continues

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Given their remarkable form in the second half of the previous campaign, Norwich were widely tipped for big things this season, with some even backing them to win automatic promotion, but it has been an incredibly disappointing start.

The Canaries showed what they are capable of in their 4-1 demolition of Burnley on Saturday, but they followed that up by losing to a Stoke side who had failed to pick up a single point from their opening three games in midweek.

There is still plenty of time for Norwich to turn their fortunes around, and it would be no surprise to see Clement's men finish in the expanded play-off places, but they cannot afford to fall too far behind Swansea and the other early pace-setters.