Supercomputer Predicts 2026-27 Championship Table

He joined in April 2024, having previously worked at VAVEL as Deputy Editor-in-Chief, where he produced a variety of content, including pieces from press conferences and games. He also won an award for his role as lead editor for the Women's Football section of the online newspaper.

Covering football all across Europe, he has worked at stadiums such as Anfield, Old Trafford, and Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park, as well as having reported at both the 2023 men's and women's Champions League finals in Eindhoven and Istanbul.

He is infatuated with every aspect of football, but likes other sports as well, being an avid coffee-desperate Buffalo Bills supporter from across the pond and a darts' newbie. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account After being simulated 10,000 times following Thursday's fixture release day, the final 2026/27 Championship table has been predicted in full by a supercomputer. West Ham, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers dropped into English football's second tier after suffering relegation from the Premier League last season.

That trio - which, for the first time in four years, was not made up of the same three clubs that had won promotion the season before - will all be desperate to bounce straight back at the first attempt. Meanwhile, Lincoln City, Cardiff City and Bolton Wanderers would surely be more than content with consolidation after securing their Championship status on the back of impressive League One campaigns. For those clubs, simply keeping their heads above water and establishing themselves at a higher level may be viewed as success.

However, if the supercomputer's projections, courtesy of Parimatch UK Sportsbook, are to be believed, there could be plenty of twists and turns ahead. The Championship rarely follows a script and has a habit of throwing up surprises when least expected, and this predicted final table suggests several clubs may be in for a rollercoaster ride. In fact, the standings look markedly different from how many supporters and pundits would have expected the season to unfold.

Unfortunately for Lincoln City, they are the only club who are riding the crest of promotion that are tipped to be taken straight back down 12 months on. They are set for a tough campaign, having lost manager Michael Skubala to Bristol City in the off-season, with them predicted to earn just eight wins. That's just one and two fewer than Charlton Athletic and Blackburn Rovers in 23rd and 22nd respectively.

The latter of that relegated trio have been hanging by a thread in a constant dogfight in recent years. Financial issues continue to take their toll on Rovers, and it appears 2027 finally sees them drop another level, 32 years on from winning the Premier League. Just four points will separate them from Portsmouth, another struggling former topflight side.

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Bolton Wanderers, Queen's Park Rangers, and Cardiff City are also tipped to feel the fear of the dotted line creeping up on them at various stages of the seasons, though they are expected to keep themselves safe. With nine poitns separating 18th from 21st, nobody in the bottom half will be able to rest on their laurels.

It seems a little unfair that Arsenal won the Premier League title last season using many of the same dark arts that Stoke City employed under Tony Pulis in the 2010s - the very style of football that helped inspire the famous hypothetical question: "Could Lionel Messi do it on a cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke?" Yet while Arsenal have climbed to the summit, the Potters now find themselves stuck in Championship midtable, far removed from their days of rubbing shoulders with the elite.

Still, a 15th-place finish would represent an improvement of two positions on last season, proving there may at least be light at the end of the tunnel. Mark Robins' side are predicted to finish three points above Watford, with the Hornets - who boast one of football's most famous supporters in Elton John - ending the campaign in 17th. Preston North End are forecast to come in 16th on 55 points.

Just above the Potters in 14th are Tom Brady-owned Birmingham City, while Bristol City, Derby County and Swansea City round out a cluster of sides seemingly destined for a season of treading water. Barring a surprise run, all four look set to drift through the campaign with little danger of either a promotion charge or a relegation battle.

Not only does the supercomputer predict that Wrexham will make the play-offs, punching well above their weight to finish sixth, it also believes they will find the tournament know-how to go all the way at Wembley and complete an incredible fourth promotion in five seasons, with Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds' fairytale showing no signs of slowing down.

They are tipped to beat Southampton over two legs in the semi-finals before facing either Burnley or Middlesbrough in the final. All three of those clubs have recent Premier League experience and significantly greater resources, but Hollywood has a habit of rewriting the script when it comes to the Welsh side.

Finishing on 76 points, the Welsh side are projected to win one more match than Millwall and pip them to sixth place, while Sheffield United are tipped to fall just short on 71 points. Norwich City and West Brom round out the group chasing what would be an increasingly unlikely play-off spot.

The Canaries redefined what it meant to be a yo-yo club during the days of Todd Cantwell and Teemu Pukki, bouncing between the Championship and Premier League with remarkable regularity. However, they have not returned to the top flight since their relegation during the pandemic-affected campaign in 2020, and the financial landscape in Norfolk is no longer what it once was after years away from the lucrative parachute payments.

West Ham, Europa Conference League winners just two seasons ago, are tipped to go straight back, finishing on 92 points. With Jarrod Bowen expected to find it difficult leaving given his relationship with the Dyer family, he could be able to drag the Hammers back up single-handedly in some cases, with the east Londoners tipped to score 40 more goals than they concede.

There's no surprise that Wolves follow them closely on 88 points. They boast an enviable mix of youthful excitement and older wiser players, so with the resources at their disposal, it would be a shock if they didn't get that automatic promotion place.