How many points are needed to win promotion from the Championship?

Achieving promotion from the Championship to the Premier League is the holy grail for 72 English Football League clubs, not least because it comes with a huge financial windfall.

Since switching from Division Two at the beginning of the 2004/05 season, only three teams have breached the 100-point mark, with the current record being held by Reading, who amassed 106 points in 2005/06.

How many points to achieve automatic promotion?

The standard of teams escaping the Championship in the past is always increasing. From 2005 through 2014, the champions averaged 93.7 points, but those numbers were boosted by Newcastle and Leicester reaching 102 points, plus Reading’s record-breaking season.

From 2015 through 2024, the top dogs averaged 94.8 points, with no side failing to reach 90 points. In the previous decade, five sides went up with 89 or fewer points.

Records were shattered in 2024 as Leeds United became the first team to fail to achieve promotion with a points tally of 90.

In addition, the three promoted sides, Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton, amassed a combined 280 points as the latter went up through the play-offs.

If the Whites were in the wrong place at the right time, then Hull City and Crystal Palace were the beneficiaries of the most underachieving league in 2013.

The Tigers secured automatic promotion with the Championship’s joint lowest tally, 79. Palace won the play-offs after picking up 72 points during the regular season, a number which would have seen them miss out on the top six in eight of 10 seasons from 2015 through 2024.

On average, 88 points are required to achieve automatic promotion to the Premier League. However, in the previous decade, that number has risen to 89.9, with just two sides securing promotion with 88 or fewer points.

Which teams will win automatic promotion from the Championship in 2025?

Leeds United are overwhelming favourites to achieve promotion this season, with bookmakers pricing them around the even money mark to escape the division.

If you want to back the Whites to win the league, you can shop around and find prices between 3/1 and 4/1.

Relegated Burnley are also well-backed to make a return to the top flight, although, at an average price of 8/1, they’re expected to finish behind Daniel Farke’s side.

Luton Town (11/1) and Sheffield United (12/1) are the other fancies to win the league outright, but it remains to be seen how they’ll rebuild after relegation.

The race for the play-offs is always a mad dash. A dark horse will emerge as the season progresses, but Coventry City (5/1), West Brom (5/1), Norwich (5/1), Stoke City (7/1) and Sunderland (7/1) are among the sides well-priced to win automatic promotion.

Given Ipswich’s exploits last season, bettors may be pleased to know that Portsmouth (10/1), Derby (10/1) and particularly Oxford United (25/1) are a juicy price to secure back-to-back promotions.