How many points Blackburn Rovers, West Brom and Leicester may need to stay up - predicted by Opta | OneFootball

The relegation battle in the Championship is hotting up

It has often been debated that the EFL Championship is one of the hardest leagues to predict across world football, which is one of several reasons as to why the second tier of English football is full of drama and entertainment.

The 2025/26 season has proven to be no exception on that particular front, with there already being plenty of storylines and curveballs thrown into the mix at the top and bottom of the Championship table.

For the first time in a handful of years, it is anyone's game as to which three sides will be promoted to the Premier League for the 2026/27 season, who will face off against each other in the post-season lottery that is the play-offs, and who will take up at least one of the three spots in the relegation zone, therefore being consigned to at least one season of League One football in the process.

It has been well-documented for some time that Sheffield Wednesday will end the campaign as the division's bottom club on the second tier's lowest-ever points total, which is currently Rotherham United's accumulation of 23 points from nine years ago.

The division's crisis club are currently on minus seven points due to the docking of 18 points across the season due to entering administration and further financial breaches, whilst Oxford United are the lowest side on a positive total, as Matt Bloomfield's side have taken just 28 points from 32 matches.

At present, it has been widely discussed as to which side out of Blackburn Rovers, West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City could take up the final unwanted relegation place, even though Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic are not entirely 'out of the woods' at present in the battle against the drop.

With that being said, Football League World have looked at the Opta Analyst's 'supercomputer' end-of-season prediction, and seen how many points the algorithm believes the Rovers, Baggies and Foxes may need to accumulate to be certain of a Championship slot next season.

How many points Blackburn Rovers, West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City may need to ensure Championship survival

It has been a dire campaign for all three clubs, with Blackburn and Leicester also currently managerless after the dismissals of Valerien Ismael and Marti Cifuentes, whilst also being heavily linked with a move for Gary Rowett in the process.

Meanwhile, it certainly hasn't been the smoothest of introductions to life in the Championship for Eric Ramsay at The Hawthorns, with Albion's second tier status remaining under severe threat just less than a month after the former Minnesota United head coach replaced Ryan Mason.

Blackburn are currently the lowest side out of the trio on 32 points from 31 games played, and are in danger of being relegated to League One for the second time in nine years, with the former Premier League champions last relegated to the third tier in 2016/17 under Tony Mowbray.

Leicester's dramatic fall from grace has also been well-publicised, with the top-flight champions of 10 years ago recently hit with a six-point deduction that has well and truly plunged them into the relegation dogfight, whilst West Brom haven't played a third-tier match since their play-off final success over Port Vale at the Old Wembley back in May 1993.

It is not exactly the news which Rovers supporters wanted to hear, but the Opta supercomputer believes they will be relegated on 49 points.

AI believes that West Brom will finish in their lowest league position since 2000, but will stave off the drop by a total of just one point, accumulating a total of 50, meaning they will pick up 16 more points this season.

Despite the fact they have been hit with a six-point deficit, it has also been predicted that Leicester will end the season eight points clear of the drop, meaning that the East Midlands side will have to produce a remarkable run of real-life form to match such claims,

Blackburn Rovers would be relegated on the same total as Luton Town last season

According to the data, Rovers would be relegated on the same points total which saw Luton Town suffer back-to-back relegations last season, as they fell below Hull City on the final day of the campaign, with the Tigers surviving on goal difference.

Birmingham City were relegated on 50 points the previous season, whilst the two highest points totals to be relegated with are, ironically, Leicester - who accrued 52 in 2008 - whilst Peterborough United were relegated on the final day of the 2012/13 season with an all-time high of 54.