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Championship 2023/24 season play-off tips: Hull, Ipswich and Southampton will all be in the mix

Liam Rosenior manager of Hull City

Planet Sport's George Dempsey thinks Liam Rosenior can lead Hull City to a play-off place with newly-promoted Ipswich Town and relegated Southampton also in the running.

Leeds United, Leicester City, Middlesbrough and West Brom will all be circling too but we've left them in our four to watch for automatic promotion artlcle.

This time we've picked out seven more sides that harbour realistic hopes of reaching the Championship play-offs this season.

Championship outright betting tips

Bet: Hull City - Top 6 finish
Bet: Southampton - Top 6 finish
Bet: Ipswich - Top 6 finish

Southampton

It's clear that of the three relegated teams, Southampton were by far and away the worst side in the Premier League, so we opted not to include them in our automatic promotion contenders list. Yes, we are that brutal.

Not just because they finished bottom, but the lack of quality was startling for a top-flight team and there's a question mark over the chances of these players taking to the style.

On one hand, being so bad means they'll have little trouble retaining players that have the ability to do well in the Championship. On the other hand, do they want them and do they fit?

Like the other relegated clubs, there's a lot of business to be done and it'll likely take until the deadline on September 1 to have a clear picture.

The standards were unacceptably low and a fresh start feels necessary. The arrival of Jason Wilcox as director of football signals that's what is likely to happen.

Signing Ryan Manning early on was a good statement of intent and Russell Martin seems a good fit given that we're used to flowing, attacking football from the Saints at this level.

It also made it clear that Southampton intend to dominate possession of the ball this season and that makes a total rebuild essential.

They have some assets they can shift to fund the rebuild and although that may take time, the likes of Samuel Edozie and Carlos Alcaraz are exciting players that could prove a cut above.

Hull City

The Tigers are not an obvious inclusion but they looked the real deal under Liam Rosenior in the second half of the season.
He has a calm and reassuring presence about him and the results show you that the players have bought into what he's selling.
City were beaten six times in their final 28 matches and if he can continue to elicit the best from what is a very strong squad on paper, they'll be in the frame.
It's worth noting Hull found the net just 51 times last season and they'll need to add a good 20 goals to their tally which means signing a striker.
Jean Michael Seri was a standout performer last season and it's fair to say the dazzling Ivorian should be plying his trade at a higher level than the Championship.

They'll also need a solid need goalkeeper but they've made some extremely smart acquisitions so far in the window, most notably Xavier Simons and Ruben Vinagre.

Ipswich Town

Kieran McKenna has built something special at Ipswich. Not only are the team playing fantastic football, but there's also stability and culture at the club.
He's a bright manager with ambitions of working in the Premier League and whether it sounds outlandish or not, preferably with Ipswich.

Fans of a certain age may not know that Ipswich spent two of the first three seasons of this century competing in what we now call the Europa League and was a Premier League club.

Planet Sport Bet Special: Hull & Ipswich to Finish in the Top 6 - Boosted to 15/1
The majority of games are going to sell out with around 29,000 spectators at Portman Road and there will be a feel-good factor early on.
It's important to capitalise on that because we see teams utilise confidence and continuity to perform at their new level all the time.
Town won't have the financial might to compete with any of the more established sides or teams that have played Premier League football in the past three seasons.
However, they already have a squad that is full of goals and is a nice mix of blossoming youth and Championship experience.

Sam Morsy can pull the strings at this level and Connor Chaplin, Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst, who combined for 40 goals last season, are still years away from peaking.

Other Championship play-off contenders to consider

Sunderland are a young group who found a good formula under Mowbray and if they're shrewd in the market, they might push on again.

They won't have the momentum of promotion behind them this time and they need to replace last season's loanees Edouard Michut, Amad Diallo, Ellis Simms and Joe Gelhardt.

Ross Stewart may be like a new signing and Jack Clarke is one of the best wingers in the league but they'll need complementing in the loan market.
Watford have lost a number of key players in the past few windows including a lot of their proven firepower, but they will have funds for additions.

Appointing Valerian Ismael as head coach could be central to success this season given the job he did at Barnsley and the club must give him time given their new direction.

The Hornets have undergone a rebuild of their hierarchy so things could take time, but they have a raft of exciting players at this level including Yaser Asprilla, Imran Louza and Joao Ferreira to name a few.

Millwall are a team that you can never write off because of their home form. They're always a physical, organised team so they do pick up results on their travels.
The Den isn't a nice place to visit and their home form has the potential to be as good as any if they build some momentum.
Coventry, Blackburn and Stoke are all better priced, but the former sides have lost some quality and there's no guarantee they can attract more.
Stoke are a contender on paper but the same collection of quality players were 17 points off the pace last season and they've a lot of work to do in building a new defence.
Norwich City had a disappointing end to the season season under David Wagner. but they were also a slow burner under Daniel Farke.
The parallels don't stop their as his one major success came in the Championship with Huddersfield before numerous failures elsewhere.
However, he's a charismatic leader who's escaped this division before and the Canaries have a very talented group of players on their books.

READ MORE: Championship 2023/24 season promotion tips: Back Leicester City to win the league

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