Assessing the early managerial favourites to win the Championship, League One and League Two

Stamp those key dates in the diary as the 2022/23 Football League fixtures are out! 

Last season’s defeated Championship play-off finalists, Carlos Corberan’s Hudderfsfield, kick-start proceedings in the second-tier on Friday 29th July when they host relegated Burnley, who themselves have ventured into a new era under Vincent Kompany.

The bulk of the Championship action then takes place on the Saturday, when League One and Two also spark into life.

With the clock ticking and only five weeks to go, to complement the release of the fixtures we’ve taken an early look at the ante-post favourites to win the title in each EFL division: Championship, League One, and League Two.

Championship

Norwich once again meekly plopped out of the Premier League, a division they just can’t seem to get to grips with. On the plus side they are now back in the Championship, which has been a fertile league for the club; producing two titles in their last two appearances; in the process they have accumulated a combined 191 points, scored 168 goals, won 56 games, and lost just 13 times.

It's not too much of a surprise to see that its Norwich that have been installed as the bookmakers’ 6/1 favourites to make it three Championship titles in five seasons, although they must do so without the mastermind of their previous two triumphs: Daniel Farke. Instead they have another promotion winner at the helm, Dean Smith, who will be looking to re-group and galvanise his troops after a testing period in charge last term. It’s crucial that he makes the most of a reasonably favourable start to avoid any early seeds of doubt.

The pre-season odds have new Watford (7/1) boss Rob Edwards bang in the mix as he prepares to make the step up from League Two, where he led Forest Green Rovers to the title last season. 

Four-time promotion winner Steve Bruce (West Brom) and Paul Heckingbottom (Sheffield United) follow at 10/1, as do another promotion-winning boss in Chris Wilder (Middlesbrough) and new Burnley manager Vincent Kompany at 12/1 and 14/1 respectively. If you're after an outsider, Martin Russell's Swansea can be backed at 25/1. 

You can vote on who you think will triumph in our Poll.

League One

Now onto League One which has been conquered by Leam Richardson (Wigan), Grant McCann (Hull), Mark Robins (Coventry), and Mick Harford (Luton) in the last four seasons. Who will be next to taste the sweet nectar of the third-tier title?

They may have been tangled in the League One web for the last three seasons now, but as we’ve seen in the past the bookmakers have once again taken a fancy to Ipswich, the early 11/2 favourites to win the division.

The Tractor Boys haven’t even made the play-offs in that time, finishing 11th, 9th, then 11th again last season, but strides have been made under talented young coach Kieran McKenna who is expected to spark a promotion push next season.

Darren Moore’s Sheffield Wednesday came unstuck in the play-offs last season but can draw confidence from a promising campaign which saw them finish just two points off the top-two. The Owls, who have made some shrewd additions, are hot on Ipswich’s tail in the betting at 6/1, while Wayne Rooney’s Derby are a double-figure price at 10/1 to finish at the summit upon their return to the third-tier for the first time since 1985/86. It's a rather short price given all of the uncertainty that still surrounds the club, but on the plus side Rooney has stayed put, as he said he would.

12/1 priced Peterborough, now managed by Grant McCann, will always be worth keeping an eye on. McCann won the League One title with Hull in 2021, while Posh previously won three promotions to the Championship under former boss Darren Ferguson, although the title always eluded them.

Liam Manning won widespread plaudits for his work with MK Dons last season - they agonisingly missed out on 2nd on the final day - and has since been linked with a move to the Championship. However, he's still in place and is priced at 16/1 to lead his troops to top spot next term.

Bolton, also 16/1, continue to improve under Ian Evatt, while Barnsley (Michael Duff), Portsmouth (Danny Cowley), Oxford (Karl Robinson), and Wycombe (Gareth Ainsworth) simply can't be ignored.

League Two

Stockport haven’t kicked a ball in the EFL for 11 years now, but the League Two new boys enter into the 22/23 season as the bookies’ favourites for the title after lifting the National League title under serial promotion-winner Dave Challinor.

Challinor now has six promotions on his CV at various levels, including two up to League Two, where he spent the first portion of last season in charge of Hartlepool. Now back in the fourth-tier with a Stockport side - he won 29 of his 39 games after his appointment in November, losing just 7 - brimming with confidence, momentum and a hunger to make up for what has been a lengthy absence from the Football League.

Salford (8/1), as always, are right up there in the betting as the new season creeps ever closer. Whether they can fully justify their early odds is another matter entirely. They’ve failed to match the pre-season hype in the past and gone through a concatenation of managers in the process, with Man Utd coach Neil Wood the latest boss coming in to try and change the storyline.

It still comes as a surprise to write that Mark Hughes is in charge of Bradford. The high-profile boss made a shock return to the dugout with the Yorkshire club last season and can now be backed at a best-priced 10/1 to not only propel them to promotion but win the league in the process. Pressure and expectation have crumbed many a Bantams boss in recent years, but in Hughes fans will hope they have a keeper who can inspire and deliver.

Mansfield (11/1) had a strong second-half last season under Nigel Clough, new Swindon (14/1) boss Scott Lindsey will be bidding to continue building on the foundations laid by Ben Garner, Neil Harris' Gillingham are available at 22/1, while Gary McSheffrey’s Doncaster are a big price out at 25/1.

It promises to be an extremely open fight for the title, so don't be surprised if a surprise contender bursts into the frame!