Predicting the final 2025/26 EFL Championship table from what we've seen so far | OneFootball

Football League World predicts the final Championship standings as we head into the October international break

Football is heading into its second international break of the season, and by now, the vast majority of sides in the Championship have played nine games.

Whilst this is still just around 20% of the new campaign, it's usually enough to show fans who will be challenging atop the table and who will be battling near the bottom. Last season, the top four were all inside the top five at this stage, whilst two of the three relegated sides were in the bottom four.

Obviously, there are occasions where teams drastically move up or down the league in the following 37 games, but it's up to predictors to decide who will stay where they are in seven months, and who may come into their own over the course of the campaign.

Football League World ​​​​​​has decided to do just that. Now that a couple of months of the campaign have passed, here's an updated Championship table prediction.

Unfortunately, there was only one basement option pre-season, and that hasn't changed now that 20% of the campaign has passed, as Sheffield Wednesday kicks off this list in last place.

It's slightly more disappointing given how defiant they've been on the pitch, especially away from home. Not many thought they'd be on six points at this stage, and some could even argue that they may pick up enough points to avoid the drop.

Unfortunately, a hefty points deduction seems almost inevitable now due to Dejphon Chansiri's mismanagement of the club, so no matter how many points the Owls can pick up on the field, it's not even an uphill battle; it's a straight 90-degree wall to finish any higher than 24th.

23 Oxford United

Picking any two teams to go down alongside Wednesday is incredibly difficult. The likes of Charlton Athletic, Hull City and Preston North End, some of the pre-season favourites to be in a battle near the bottom, have all had positive starts. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case for Oxford United.

The Yellows have played some positive football under Gary Rowett this season, but they're already giving up six points on the likes of Hull and Charlton, for example, and you don't want that gap to be opening up this quickly.

Granted, however, any of these sides down near the bottom can beat anyone. The league's incredibly competitive, and nothing is stopping either Oxford or the side in 22nd from climbing out of there, but it's difficult to see who they'd replace.

22 Blackburn Rovers

Again, choosing these relegated sides after seeing each team in action for close to 10 games this season is very hard. If the weather hadn't stopped Blackburn Rovers from picking up all three points against Ipswich, they'd have won three of four, but two losses and a draw since then have them nearing the bottom after eight games.

That shows a level of inconsistency that, on one hand, could deliver enough points to just keep their necks above water, but on the other hand, as alluded to before, every other side around them looks capable of picking up more points.

The mood around Ewood Park isn't the best, which isn't a great sign, and I feel that could be worsened in seven months.

21 Wrexham

For the majority of newly promoted sides, the aim is to stay up, and in 21st place, Wrexham will do just that, but will this be a positive first season back in the second tier following a summer where they spent around £30 million?

I think Phil Parkinson rides out this season with the club. He's shown in the last few games that he can coach a competitive side at this level, but it still may ultimately be the reason that the Red Dragons' squad underperforms their expectations.

But for a manager whose Championshp win percentage is under 20%, that would be a big achievement for him before he bows out as a Wrexham legend. Then, next year, the Hollywood club can properly start to kick on.

20 Watford

The most unpredictable team in the entire Championship, and one who will be going into life after the current international break with an old face in the dugout, after Javi Gracia replaced Paulo Pezzolano on Wednesday.

This team could still finish near the bottom, or they could end up gatecrashing the top six; they're so erratic, so I've played things slightly safely and put them 20th.

They won't be in any real danger of going down, but some poor streaks of form may leave them closer to the bottom than the play-off places.

19 Derby County

A lot of people, myself included, had high hopes for Derby County this season after seeing what John Eustace did with Blackburn last year, but for some reason, it hasn't quite worked out just yet in his first full term with the club.

There's only been one real instance of the Eustace style coming into play this season, and that was away at West Brom. That's been their only clean sheet so far this campaign, and there'll be a real focus on upping that sooner rather than later.

Going forward, they're looking stronger than last year, and have scored in every match, but they'll need to start netting in twos and threes and stop conceding every game if they're going to start climbing up this tough league.

18 Swansea City

Swansea have a fine team and a good, young manager in the dugout in Alan Sheehan, but there isn't much that excites me to warrant them pushing for a top-half finish.

On paper, the Swans have had an easy go at things so far this season, and yet they're still 12th. Their wins have come against both Sheffield clubs and Blackburn, three of the sides in the bottom four, and only two of their nine games have been against sides in the top half.

They keep possession well and don't concede many chances, but they've also created the fewest chances themselves so far this season. So, nothing above 18th for me.

17 Hull City

Hull City have been the inverse of their 2024/25 selves so far this season. Whereas last season the Tigers couldn't buy a goal, their defence was very solid. Now they've scored the fourth-most in the division, but only Sheffield Wednesday have conceded more.

Ollie McBurnie has already equalled Hull's top scorer's tally from last season, and it's looking like he's found his former Swansea self in East Yorkshire. A goalscorer like that will more often than not put you in the position to win games, but their defence has been too shaky so far.

Entertainment has been the name of the game for Hull under Sergej Jakirovic. Only two of the nine so far have seen less than three goals scored across the game, and whilst they'll score enough to win plenty of games, they'll also concede way too many to warrant a top-half finish.

Compared to where they were this time last season, this has been a dream start for Portsmouth, so to predict an identical finish to where they ended up last season might be a little disappointing for Pompey fans.

They'll have their performances at home, where they beat some of the best teams in the league, but the odd slip-up against the poorer teams in the division, combined with the fact that the level of quality in this division is as high as it's ever been, equals a comfortable 16th.

This mid-table heading into the October internationals is incredibly tight, with 11th to 16th separated by just goal difference, and I believe that it will be something similar when all 46 games have been played.

To put it frankly, it's not been the best of starts for Liam Manning at Norwich City, and a first loss in the East Anglian derby in 16 years will only serve to add salt to the wounds, but the former Bristol City boss should be able to steer the ship slightly.

Josh Sargent alone will ensure that the Canaries aren't in any real danger, and after a start to the season where they've lost four from four at Carrow Road, it shouldn't be long until points at home start to come, and then Norwich will climb up the table.

Unfortunately, barring Sargent, the rest of the squad doesn't inspire too heavily, and it's a struggle to see Norwich finishing higher than they did last season.