Exclusive: Don Goodman names 4 EFL Championship clubs that have surprised him so far | OneFootball

Don Goodman has spoken to FLW about the Championship sides he’s been impressed by the most early into the 2025-26 campaign.

Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has revealed a Championship quartet of Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Bristol City and Preston North End have been the standout sides in the early stages of the 2025-26 second-tier season.

In the opening five league games of action, there’s already been plenty of drama and surprises, with the relegated duo of Ipswich Town and Southampton remaining in mid-table after slow starts to their campaigns.

This has led to some different names at the top end of the table, with Boro and the Potters occupying the automatic promotion places, while the Robins are carrying on their positive trend under Gerhard Sruber by sitting in third.

Meanwhile, many couldn’t have foreseen Sheffield United being rooted at the foot of the second-tier table, with Chris Wilder returning to Bramall Lane for a third time to help transform their fortunes, while bitter Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday are a place above as their struggles have been transcended onto the pitch due to owner Dejphon Chansiri.

As 41 games remain of the season, there’s sure to be plenty of twists and turns to come, but Don Goodman, who has represented the likes of West Brom and Wolves, has spoken to FLW about the sides that have caught his eye so far.

Don Goodman lists Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Bristol City and Preston North End as Championship surprise packages

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has revealed Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Bristol City and Preston North End are the sides that have caught his eye the most after the first five games of the 2025-26 Championship season.

Goodman said: “I think we’d probably all have to be surprised at the current top three after five games; Middlesbrough, Stoke City and Bristol City.

"At this time of year, you’re not sure what you’re going to get from certain teams, although you usually expect massive things from the three relegated Premier League teams, but that hasn’t really materialised, although Leicester City have made the best start of the three.

“But for Middlesbrough, Stoke and Bristol City to get off to such good starts, they’ve only lost one game between them, that was Stoke’s home defeat against West Bromwich Albion, and even then, it was a game they probably didn’t deserve to lose, and I think most people would be surprised by that top three.”

Goodman added: “I’ll give an honourable mention to Preston North End, not the fact that they’re eighth, but the fact they’ve played Queens Park Rangers away, Leicester City, Ipswich Town at home, Porsmouth away, which is always tough, and Middlesbrough at home.

"They have been really competitive by beating Leicester and Ipswich, drawing with Middlesbrough too, so a really good start from them.”

Surprising Championship start highlights its unpredictability

The Championship is one of the greatest divisions in the world for its unpredictability, and that’s well and truly been highlighted after the opening five games.

There were some eyebrows raised when Rob Edwards took over at Middlesbrough following his dismal 2024-25 term at Luton Town in the second-tier prior to his sacking, but it appears he’s put it all behind him and could be brewing something special on Teesside.

This is similar in the Potteries too. It’s been a tough few years for Stoke, who have failed to be in the promotion mix since their relegation from the top-flight in 2018, but Mark Robins is beginning to work the magic he did at Coventry and has the club in a fantastic place to build on for the remainder of the term.

There were also big question marks about whether Gerhard Struber would be able to come in at Bristol City and continue the success of Liam Manning following their top six finish last season, but they’ve made a superb start themselves, with goals continuing to flow at the top end of the pitch and a real belief forming that they can go one step further.

Don Goodman is right to pick out Preston too, who have arguably had one of the toughest opening fixture runs but still sit on the periphery of the play-offs, a welcomed relief after flirting with relegation in 2024-25 under Paul Heckingbottom.

This has managed to happen due to the poor starts made by the likes of Ipswich Town and Southampton, and it appears the second-tier is wide open for who can claim promotion to the Premier League come May 2026.

Of course, the table could look a lot different over the coming months, but there could be many unexpected sides who could be either pushing for promotion or dragged into relegation scraps, so it will be really intriguing to see how it all unfolds.