Exclusive: Lee Hendrie names which 3 EFL Championship clubs 'belong' in the Premier League | OneFootball

EFL pundit has exclusively told Football League World the three clubs that, in particular, belong in the Premier League.

In recent seasons, the Championship has seen a bit more predictability in terms of the results and the teams that would always expect to challenge at the top end of the division, but that has been different this time around.

Coventry City have begun brilliantly and are setting such a pace whereby even if they do begin to regress then the Sky Blues will remain in a brilliant position to win the second-tier title.

The promotion race remains wide open and generally unpredictable, though, with clubs relegated from the Premier League last season, Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton, all struggling to put consistent runs of form together.

They have joined a division that is highly competitive with plenty of big name clubs fighting for what they believe is their right to be back in the top-flight.

There are only five clubs without Premier League experience in the second-tier this season and three of those, Preston North End, Millwall and Bristol City are among the leading candidates for promotion, whilst big spending Wrexham also come with an immense profile.

Lee Hendrie believes Leicester, Southampton and Birmingham belong in the Premier League

Previous Premier League stalwarts Middlesbrough and Stoke City are the closest challengers to Coventry at the top-of-the-table, whilst former Premier League winners Blackburn Rovers are in a relegation battle alongside several other former mainstays of the top-flight such as Portsmouth and Norwich City.

In what is an extremely competitive division, in which last season’s play-off finalists Sheffield United currently find themselves in the bottom three and the relegation places, there are a lot of teams perhaps performing below their pre-season and general club size expectations.

EFL pundit Lee Hendrie acknowledges that there an abundance of sides that perhaps belong in a league above but he has picked out three clubs in particular that should be there.

Hendrie says: “There are a lot of clubs in the Championship that certainly should be in the Premier League.

“Leicester are definitely one of them, for sure. I think they have always been part of that as well.

“Then you are looking at the likes of Southampton, who are always sort of in that Premier League club, but you can add Birmingham to that equation because of where they’ve been.

“They dropped down but I think that is sort of a local thing with Villa, it’s always nice having them derbies.

“To what I previously said, there are plenty of teams that are definitely massive and that is why you see teams dropping in and out of the Premier League.”

The Championship is as tight as ever

Coventry, with their almost ridiculous goal difference of +27, have opened up a five-point lead between themselves and second place 'Boro, who are two points clear of Stoke in third.

However, from Preston in fourth on 26 points down to Watford in 15th, there are only two victories separating the vast majority of the division.

Both Leicester and Southampton have found it tough to adapt back to life in the second-tier, with the Foxes facing a points deduction as they sit firmly in the middle-of-the-table and the Saints having parted company with Will Still after a below par beginning to the campaign.

Birmingham’s big spending summer in 2024 was backed up by another busy window this summer, and the Blues are well in contention for the top six but have perhaps been frustrated by stunted progress this time around.

There are still 31 match days to go and a lot can and will change but the unpredictability of the Championship remains one of the most fascinating aspects of any football season – and perhaps even more so this time around.