The Promotion Battle That Proves The Championship Is The Most Entertaining League In The World

The Promotion Battle That Proves The Championship Is The Most Entertaining League In The World

We've all heard it said before, and most of us have probably said it before too, but the Championship this year is really living up to the title of being the most entertaining league in the world.

Not only has it remained unpredictable in nature, but the towards the top of the table are a lot of Premier League absentees. In the top eight, the most recent side to have played top division football are Stoke, who were relegated in 2018.

Match that with how difficult Leicester and Southampton have found it so far this season, in 14th and 21st respectively, and we look set for another exciting season and hopefully some new faces in the Premier League next season.

📊 A look at what today's results mean to the #SkyBetChampionship table 👀#EFL pic.twitter.com/Gtg9KmOT9S

— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) November 1, 2025

Here's a little rundown on the top promotion candidates so far this season, and how long they've all played their trade in the EFL.

Coventry City - 24 years

Frank Lampard's Coventry have had a magnificent start to the season, blowing the division away with high-scoring affairs and dominant performances. Even with their 3-2 loss to Wrexham over the weekend, they have the highest goal difference in the league by 15, with their current total sitting at 24 in just 13 games.

As a part of the first ever Premier League, the Sky Blues stuck around until they finished 19th in 2001, with current Wales boss Craig Bellamy as their joint top-scorer. They fell down as far as League Two in 2017/18, before an exceptional rebuild under Mark Robins took them back up to the Championship.

Having missed out through the play-offs twice in the last three years, Lampard now looks to take his side the whole way to promotion, and look most likely to take the title while they do it.

Middlesbrough - 8 years

Having brought in ex-Luton manager Rob Edwards this summer, Boro will be looking to finally get back into the Premier League having already spent a combined 15 years in the top flight.

They faltered under Carrick, finishing 10th last season after a dreadful end to the season saw them fall away from the play-offs, but their new hire has brings with him the experience of taking Luton up (and back down again, but we won't talk about that).

Middlesbrough look a strong contender for promotion this year, but they'll be hoping not to relive disappointing end of season form that could cost them more a shot at the big time.

Stoke City - 7 years

The most recent side in the top eight to have played Premier League football, Stoke have looked really sharp at the start of the season, even boasting the best defensive record in the league.

The Potters have been home to some iconic Prem players, from Rory Delap and Peter Crouch to Xherdan Shaqiri and Marco Arnautovic, so a return to the top would be a welcome sight for regular viewers of the league.

Stoke annihilated fellow promotion hopefuls Bristol City over the weekend, with an especially impressive performance from Divin Mubama, whose hat-trick was damning in their 5-1 victory.

A first career hat-trick for Stoke City’s Divin Mubama this afternoon 🔥

A huge result in the Championship play-off race. pic.twitter.com/f8b9YBlVhy

— PFA (@PFA) November 1, 2025

Millwall - 35 years

Since their relegation from the First Division in 1990, Millwall have bounced between the second and third tiers of English football and have been Championship regulars for the last seven years.

2004 saw the Lions make it all the way to the FA Cup final, losing to Man Utd - the cup run meant they qualified for the 2004/05 UEFA Cup, making them a rare instance of a club playing European football despite being outside of the top flight.

Millwall are hunting for their first taste of the Premier League, and only just missed out on play-offs last season. They'll be looking to go one better this year.

Bristol City - 45 years

Last season's play-off semi-finalists look to have gone from strength to strength, arguably looking better this season under Gerhard Struber than they did last year under Liam Manning. The Robins have one of the better goalscoring records this season, with Scott Twine and Anis Mehmeti leading the way from the front.

They haven't been in the top division since 1980 and faced a financial collapse in the coming years, almost going out of existence in 1982. Bristol is the largest City to have not had a Premier League team, so City will look to fix that by the end of the season.

Supercomputer predicts the final Championship table 🤖📊 pic.twitter.com/Ft65VJaNq5

— The Lower Tiers (@LowerTiers) October 31, 2025

Preston North End - 64 years

One of the longest droughts in the EFL, Preston have waited a long time since their last stint in the top flight. Alongside Bristol City, they're regarded as one of the most boring teams to support in the league owing to their lengthy 10 year period in the division without much drama on either end of the table.

In fact, in those 10 years, they have finished between 9th and 14th eight times, cementing themselves as a mid-table club.

A good start to this season has them as one of the contenders for a play-off finish come the end of the year, but I'm sure the fans at Deepdale will just want some excitement.

Hull City - 8 years

Having come unbelievably close to relegation last season, the Hull City resurgence looks well underway. The Tigers narrowly missed out on play-offs under Liam Rosenior a couple of years ago and completely fell apart upon his sacking, but Bosnian gaffer Sergej Jakirovic looks to have turned their fortunes back around.

With experienced Prem players like Oli McBurnie and John Egan in their ranks, Hull may just have the right mix of energy and intelligence to push towards the top of the table this season, and their early form has proven just that.

Hull City are flying! 🐯

The Tigers are the form team in the @SkyBetChamp right now, moving into the Play-Off places 📈 pic.twitter.com/dWn5WapOkJ

— Sky Bet (@SkyBet) November 1, 2025

Charlton Athletic - 18 years

Charlton have been the Championship's dark horses this year (I called it at the start of the season but I don't have any proof, you'll just have to believe me) following their promotion from League One last year.

Nathan Jones returned to the Addicks this summer having been coached their under-21's in 2012, and brought with him the experience of rebuilding Luton from a struggling League Two side to Championship promotion candidates.

After just over a year in the role, he took Charlton up to the Championship through the play-offs, and with some clever recruitment and good preparation, they have become a team not to underestimate as they work to fight their way to the top.

As the season continues and the promotion battle heats up, we can't wait to see who comes out on top, and hopefully we will see some unfamiliar sides in the Premier League next season. Let's be honest, English football could really do with it.