Leeds Open as +650 Favorites to Win 2020 EFL Championship

• Leeds early favorites for 2019/20 English Championship
• Spygate blew their chances last season
• Swansea worth keeping an eye on

When Leeds United brought in legendary Argentinian coach Marcello Bielsa last summer, it appeared the final piece in the jigsaw in their quest to get back to the English Premier League for the first time since 2003/04.

But it didn’t happen and they start season 2019/20 still in the Championship, albeit listed as favorites. So, what went wrong, and can they finally do it next season? We’ll take a look.

English Championship 2019/20 – Odds To Win

*Odds taken May 31, 2019. 

That Leeds open as +650 [13/2] favorites is largely down to Bielsa committing himself to the club for another season, and there is talent in his squad as they proved for long spells of the season. Unfortunately for them, when crunch time arrived they choked, allowing Norwich City and Sheffield Utd to nip in ahead of them and clinch the automatic promotion spots.

Whites Hit Self Destruct

Worse was to come for Leeds – whose third place earned them a two-legged play-off semifinal against Derby – when they conspired to throw away a 1-0 lead from the away first-leg in an error-ridden second-leg in front of their own fans at Elland Road.

In bizarre circumstances, an early goal for Leeds appeared to have paved the way for a Championship playoff final with Aston Villa but the self-destruct button was hit and Derby, who couldn’t believe their luck, emerged 4-2 winners.

As it transpired, Villa beat Derby in the playoff final and will line up alongside Norwich and Sheffield United in next season’s EPL.

Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa says he takes full responsibility for the controversy around "spygate."

More: https://t.co/mTh4RuklcN pic.twitter.com/qqNDHMiKV4

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 11, 2019

Spygate Ends Promotion Charge

But for Leeds, a flying start and a solid middle part of the season was undone by an incident that became known as Spygate.

Until January, they looked imperious and on course for a return to the big time – most pundits acknowledged they were the best team in the division – but when news emerged in January that Leeds officials had been caught attempting to spy on Derby ahead of a game everything changed.

It's all over 🤯

DERBY COUNTY ARE GOING TO WEMBLEY 🎉

Heartbreak for Leeds 💔

⚪ 2-4 🐏 (3-4)

Reaction 👉 https://t.co/CCYEw0qpYy #LEEDER #bbcefl pic.twitter.com/akFEGkp6u1

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) May 15, 2019

The furore that surrounded it, from an ethical rather than an illegal perspective, was immense and there’s no argument to be had over its impact on Leeds’ promotion push. In a nutshell, Leeds lost 13 games all season, eight of them coming in the final third of the season following Spygate.

Minus that distraction it would have been hard to see Leeds not going up automatically. So with Bielsa staying for at least one more season, they will be hoping season 2019/20 will be free of off-field distractions

New Faces at Leeds

There will, of course, be some new additions to their squad, not least because of the number of loan players bolstering their squad last season – Bielsa will spend money over the summer – but what won’t change is the style of soccer they play, one that Bielsa has instilled wherever he has managed in the world.

When it clicks. ‘Biela-ball’ is really difficult to play against and some astute summer signings will only enhance this.

So, while 2018/19 was crushing for Leeds fans, and we’re not sure about them being installed as favorites given the strength of the sides coming down from the Premier League, they will be there or thereabouts in the promotion shake-up at the end of next season. When it clicks. ‘Biela-ball’ is really difficult to play against and some astute summer signings will only enhance this.

Fulham to Push for Title

We expect Fulham to push them all the way, especially if they are able to recreate the spirit and playing style that saw them get promoted to the Premier League via the 2017/18 playoff final. It was a side that was pleasing on the eye, was well-balanced and which had developed a slick passing style that set them apart from most of the division.

FULL-TIME Watford 4-1 Fulham

Will Hughes' wonder goal is the pick of the bunch for Watford as Fulham are relegated from the #PL#WATFUL pic.twitter.com/hCnkZzgFdj

— Premier League (@premierleague) April 2, 2019

Unfortunately for the Cottagers, most of this good work was undone last summer when they splurged over £100m in the transfer market for players who added very little. If new manager Scott Parker can recreate the spirit of 2017/18 and shift some of the under-performers, Fulham has a chance, even though +800 [8/1] to win the league doesn’t look particularly generous.

Relegated Sides to Find it Tough

The other two relegated teams – Cardiff and Huddersfield – should, in theory, be in the promotion mix but both will need to shed some big-earners from their squads over the summer, which will make next season a tricky one. Neither have the class or style that Fulham has exhibited in the Championship and while both may make top six, it’s difficult to see either having enough for automatic promotion.

West Brom are hoping to have a new manager in place
before the end of June.

Read more: https://t.co/eDMceVf4xZ #wba pic.twitter.com/INURcpyWsL

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) May 31, 2019

West Brom’s chances will depend greatly on how successfully they are able to overhaul their squad over the summer – they have some players on expensive Premier League contracts who they will need to shift – and also who gets appointed to their managerial hot seat. With so many unknowns, the +1000 [10/1] for them to win the Championship doesn’t appear too appealing.

An Eye on the Swans

As far as an outsider goes, we’d definitely recommend having a look at Swansea who, despite losing manager Graham Potter to Brighton, have a young, vibrant, exciting squad and they finished the season strongly. At +3300 [33/1] they are well worth a small wager.

Our picks: Fulham to win the Championship / Swansea in top six.