The Sky Bet Championship kicks off this weekend, real football week in week out I just love it – Cardiff City are back. The Championship season begins on Friday night when Derby County travel to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland.
I have been happy with Cardiff City, their pre-season and the buzz it as created around the club. Fans like me are happy with the new players and personally, I like that they were in place before pre-season giving most of the squad time to blend.
Neil Warnock looks happy with his new signings and has a few more players he would like to clear off the wage bill. There is the possibility of a few more faces at the club and on that, we will have to wait and see. Many fans like me feel more confident going into this season than last with Warnock in charge.
Bookies, pundits, do not like Warnock’s chances of a Cardiff City promotion or even a top six end of the season league finish. However, Warnock has vast experience his promotion record is impressive and this season he is bidding for a record eighth promotion as a manager. Warnock has his sights set on a successful campaign even if you compared Cardiff to the division's big spenders this summer they look underdogs to many.
Money don’t breed success.
With kick off just around 24hours away who could be facing the dread drop or battling it out for promotion and the promised land of the Premier League.
Middlesbrough are one of the big favourites for an immediate return to the top flight under new boss Garry Monk. Monk just missed out with Leeds last season on a play-off finish. Middlesbrough are reported to have spent around £28m with Britt Assombalonga a £15m purchase from Nottingham Forest.
Another former Premier League team and a favourite for automatic promotion Aston Villa are joint favourites alongside Middlesbrough to make a speedy comeback. Unlike Middlesbrough, the Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce, has only spent £2m in the transfer market bringing in only four new faces but are still highly fancied that could be down to the arrival of new club captain John Terry.
Last season's play off semi-finalists Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday are also among the favourites for promotion, with both teams enjoying a successful summer in terms of recruitment. Wednesday has secured the permanent signings of Jordan Rhodes and George Boyd, while Fulham has welcomed Lucas Piazon and Tomas Kalas from Chelsea, as well as tieing Tom Cairney and Ryan Sessegnon down to new contracts.
Derby County, Leeds United, and Hull City are all being tipped to be amongst the high-flyers, all three sides will be hoping to bounce back from their respective disappointments of the previous season. Here I would like to but in on the bookies, pundit’s predictions because I believe Cardiff should be among the high-flyers with every chance they will be there at the end of the season.
Wolves appear to be this season's dark horse, after splashing the cash on a number of signings including a club record £15.8m on Ruben Neves from Porto. Fuelled by the assistance of super agent Jorge Mendes, Wolves' new signings will be hoping to hit the ground running and fire Wolves to the top of the Championship.
Norwich will be hoping for a resurgence after a disappointing 2016/17 season. Boasting a number of players with promotion pedigree in their ranks, Canaries fans will be hoping new boss Daniel Farke can follow in the footsteps of fellow countryman David Wagner and lead them back to the Premier League.
Down the other end of the table, the newly promoted sides, including Millwall and Bolton Wanderers are unsurprisingly among the bookies favourites to be relegated.
Nottingham Forest narrowly avoided the drop last season, and after losing key striker Britt Assombalonga to Middlesbrough, they may see themselves facing a precarious situation if they don't start well.
Burton Albion narrowly avoided relegation last season, finishing 20th and just one point above the drop zone. Nigel Clough has recruited a number of players with Championship experience, however, the Brewers remain favourites for relegation.
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