Championship Winner Odds 22/23: Norwich frontrunners to be crowned champions

2022 is travelling at a blink-and-you'll-miss-it rate and nothing expresses that better than the fact we're just 8 days out from the start of the new Championship season!

It's been almost two whole months since the curtains closed on the previous campaign, with Nottingham Forest earning that third and final spot in this year's Premier League - alongside Fulham and Bournemouth - thanks to a play-off final victory over Huddersfield Town at Wembley on May 29th.

Ahead of the 22/23 edition of the Championship, we're delving into the outright winners market, giving you the lowdown on who the favourites are, highlighting the previous 10 clubs to finish top, identifying a possible correlation between newly-relegated teams being crowned champions, while also providing a couple of teams we believe may provide good value in the betting this term.

22/23 Favourites

Norwich - 9/2

Leading the way in the betting to win the Championship this season are Norwich, currently priced at 9/2 with Paddy Power, but available slightly higher with other firms.

The notorious 'yo-yo' club finished rock bottom in the PL last term, meaning the new campaign will be their sixth Championship outing in the nine most recent seasons.

After managing just five wins all season - four of which came under Smith's tenure - there remains serious doubts over the Canaries' Premier League pedigree.

However, when it comes to matters in the Championship, they're a force to be reckoned with. During both of their two most recent promotions to the PL during the 18/19 and 20/21 seasons, Norwich finished 1st; even bettering their points tally that second time around.

Watford - 6/1

Next up is another freshly relegated club in Watford who pose a 6/1 proposition. Since the Premier League's formation back in 1992, The Hornets have spent a combined 20 seasons in the English second tier. And while they've gained promotion to the promised land on four separate occasions, it's worth noting that they've never done so by securing the Championship title in the process.

As is usually the case, having come down immediately after gaining promotion, The 'Orns will now fancy themselves to rocket straight back up at the first time of asking.

But welcoming Rob Edwards in - the 18th manager appointed inside a 10-year period by the Pozzo family - whose style and philosophy are starkly contrasting to predecessor Roy Hodgson could swing their season either way.

If they can retain the services of Ismaila Sarr and last season's revelation signing Emmanuel Dennis, expect them to be right in the mix.

Burnley - 9/1

Rounding out the top three is the third team booted from the top flight in Burnley. The Clarets are one of a quadruplet of clubs available at 9/1 with PP; best priced at 12s with Unibet and Bet365 for those interested.

Turf Moor had enjoyed Premier League football for six consecutive years before last season's painful end through the lens of some final day drama.

New boss Vincent Kompany will have his work cut out for him with a mass summer exodus that has seen 12 senior players leave, including key defensive figures Nick Pope, James Tarkowski and Ben Mee.

They're likely to be the most unknown entity of the three relegated clubs, so much so that they were installed at 8/1 to suffer a second straight drop with certain firms when this market was initially opened.

West Brom - 9/1

As mentioned previously, Steve Bruce's West Brom are one of three other clubs entered at 9/1 to win the league, alongside Sheffield United and Middlesbrough.

Brucey has been in charge of 17 games after taking the reins from Valerien Ismael back in February, managing only six wins; a win ratio equating to just 35.3% during this time.

Promotion aspirations were the driving force behind Ismael's sacking and Bruce's appointment, but tumbling from 5th down to a 10th-placed finish suggests their faith was poorly placed.

Although many tout the promotion record etched on his CV - four successes to be exact - it's easy to forget that the 61-year-old has never won the second-division title.

Previous Winners

• 2012/13: Cardiff City
• 2013/14: Leicester City
• 2014/15: AFC Bournemouth
• 2015/16: Burnley
• 2016/17: Newcastle United
• 2017/18: Wolverhampton Wanderers
• 2018/19: Norwich City
• 2019/20: Leeds United
• 2020/21: Norwich City
• 2021/22: Fulham

Assessing the names of the last 10 champions, there is only one repeated club on that list, who just so happen to also be in the division this season: Norwich.

Of the 30 seasons we've had since the PL's inception, the feat of a team being relegated from the top flight and winning the title the following season has happened 10 times; with the aforementioned Canaries being one, and Newcastle the only side to manage it twice.

Who to Back?

The 11/2 Unibet currently offer for Norwich to win the 22/23 Championship title may not be the most attractive ante-post price out there, but their evidence of immediately bouncing back previously, coupled with their ability to hold on to Teemu Pukki, Milot Rashica, Max Aarons and Todd Cantwell, makes them well equipped.

Dean Smith has achieved promotion from the league before, having only been in the hot seat for seven months before an historic play-off final victory with Aston Villa.

Don't forget that he also spent three seasons in the division at Brentford under a strict model, progressing year-upon-year before taking over at his boyhood club.

Despite a turbulent first season at Carrow Road, Smith has started to characterise his Norwich team, having made what look to be some positive tweaks ahead of his sophomoric outing with the club.

Elsewhere, managerial debutant Michael Beale has stepped into the dugout at QPR and if you're a large-priced punter, then the 33/1 on offer with PP, Betfair and Sky may suit.

Beale has a coaching career that's taken him from Chelsea and Liverpool to Sao Paulo and Rangers. The Bromley-born 41-year-old spent a number of years as Steven Gerrard's assistant coach up in Scotland where the team won Rangers their first Scottish Premiership in 10 years, and more importantly, stopped Celtic from winning 10 in a row, before then following SG to the Midlands with Villa.

Although this is his first rodeo as head honcho, Beale's hands-on approach and respect inside the dressing room make him a ready-made fit for management.

If he can get a team that finished nine points outside of the play-off places firing from the off, this price will shorten significantly and the bet's momentum will have it sitting in a very promising place.