Who will win promotion to the Premier League?

Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka is just one of eight Championship bosses hoping to see his team promoted to the Premier League this season

The race for promotion from the Championship to the Premier League has become even more intriguing in the past few weeks.

There is just nine points separating table-topping Middlesbrough from eighth-place Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Competitive

The second tier of English football has become one of the most competitive leagues in Europe.

Teams that were relegated from the Premier League used to assume that they could just bounce straight back up into the top-flight.

However, it is no longer that simple, because the league is that competitive. The only club from the three that were relegated last season that has a chance of promotion is fifth-place Norwich. The other two relegated clubs Fulham and Cardiff are 18^th and 14^th respectively in the second tier.

The relegation zone also tells a story of how tough the league is with both Wigan and Blackpool heading towards League One, just a few seasons after gracing the Premier League.

While the Championship relegation places look to be close to settled, it is a different story at the top of the table.

Tight

The top of the Championship table is so congested and any one of eight teams could be promoted to the Premier League this season. Middlesbrough are the current leaders, but both Derby and Bournemouth have been top of the table in recent weeks.

Watford have moved up the table, due to five wins in their last six Championship games, while Norwich have also put together a similar run and currently occupy fifth place in the table.

Brentford have been consistently in the top six of the table, despite speculation over the long-term future of Bees boss Mark Warburton. However, they have enjoyed mixed fortunes in recent weeks, as have seventh place Ipswich, who have claimed three wins from their last six games.

Eighth-place Wolves have won four out of their last six matches to stay in touch with the promotion chasing pack, but have to be considered outsiders for promotion at this point.

Vital

The next few weeks could be crucial in the battle for promotion to the top-flight. Ipswich could put themselves right in the promotion mix, as their next two games are against promotion rivals Brentford and Middlesbrough.

In fact the Tractor Boys also face Bournemouth and Watford in their next five games, so Mick McCarthy’s team could be team that makes the most progress in the next few weeks. Their promotion hopes are in their own hands.

Bosses

The Championship has been a breeding ground for British bosses to make their way in the coaching world. Six of the top eight teams in the second tier have British bosses, only Middlesbrough’s Aitor Karanka and Watford’s Slavisa Jokanovic are foreign.

All three of the teams promoted to the Premier League last season were managed by British bosses. Unfortunately all three occupy the relegation spots in the top-flight this season and QPR boss Harry Redknapp vacated his role and was replaced by coach Chris Ramsey in the dugout.

Leicester have stuck with Nigel Pearson and Burnley have also stuck with their boss Sean Dyche, despite their struggles in the top-flight this season.

English bosses seem very good at winning promotion from the Championship to the Premier League, but once there do not seem to get the financial backing they need to stay there and ended up getting sacked.

Quality

There are quality players within the ranks of the top Championship sides and if promoted those players will rise to rise to the top, just like cream.

That is evident in the way that the likes of Burnley’s Danny Ings and QPR’s Charlie Austin have performed in their debut season in the Premier League. Their teams may have struggled at times, but the pair have excelled in the top flight.

Middlesbrough showed in the FA Cup that they have quality in their ranks by defeating reigning Premier League champions Manchester City 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, before being beaten 2-0 by Arsenal at the Emirates.

Odds

The race for promotion to the Premier League is a tight one. Any of the top eight teams could realistically win promotion this season.

However, the three favourites to make the step-up are Middlesbrough at odds of 4/7, Derby at odds of 8/15 and Norwich at odds of 8/11, while Bournemouth are considered slight outsiders at evens, Watford are odds of 5/4, Brentford 11/2, Ipswich 6/1 and Wolves 12/1 to win promotion.

Exciting

The fact that so many teams are so close at the top of the Championship means that the last few months of the season should be very exciting. The Championship is a very unpredictable league and it would not be a surprise to see any of the current top eight in the top-flight next season.

Who will win promotion to the Premier League?