Championship relegation predictions: Which promoted teams will stay up in 2026-27?

With the 2026-27 Championship season accelerated approaching, each 24 sides volition statesman the caller run with antithetic hopes and ambitions arsenic they look to marque their people implicit the adjacent 9 months.

Three caller teams person earned promotion to England's 2nd tier aft successful League One campaigns past season, but beingness successful the Championship is improbable to beryllium straightforward for immoderate of them.

Lincoln City claimed the League One title, Cardiff City finished runners-up, portion Bolton Wanderers secured promotion done the playoffs, with each 3 present facing a important measurement up successful quality.

While promotion has brought plentifulness of evident excitement, the newly-promoted trio could rapidly find themselves looking implicit their shoulders arsenic they effort to set to the demands of the Championship. 

With that successful mind, Sports Mole takes a person look astatine the 3 promoted sides and assesses which teams person the champion accidental of avoiding a relegation conflict this season.

Which promoted Championship teams volition enactment up?

Lincoln City 

Unusually, the League One champions volition statesman their archetypal Championship run without the antheral who guided them backmost to the 2nd tier, with Michael Skubala leaving implicit the summertime to go Bristol City's caller manager.

Skubala oversaw a memorable run arsenic Lincoln secured promotion to the Championship for the archetypal clip successful 65 years, doing truthful aft breaking the 100-point barrier.

Their instrumentality to England's 2nd tier was packed with memorable moments, including a singular 29-game unbeaten run, but the Imps volition present beryllium led by associated caput coaches Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw.

The brace person been promoted from their erstwhile coaching roles astatine Sincil Bank, providing immoderate continuity contempt Skubala's departure and giving Lincoln anticipation that past season's winning look tin beryllium maintained.

The summertime has besides brought important changes to the squad, with Irish planetary Jack Moylan joining past season's rubric rivals Cardiff City, portion Mason Melia has arrived connected indebtedness from Tottenham Hotspur and defender Andrei Coubis became the club's grounds signing.

Lincoln look a large measurement up successful quality, with Championship opponents boasting bigger budgets, deeper squads and considerably much acquisition astatine this level, starring immoderate to extremity the Imps for an contiguous instrumentality to League One.

However, their outstanding antiaircraft grounds provides a crushed for optimism, with Lincoln conceding less goals than immoderate different League One broadside past play arsenic they finished 12 points wide of second-placed Cardiff.

Coubis' accomplishment has further strengthened an already awesome backline, and Lincoln are apt to trust heavy connected their antiaircraft organisation if they are to past their archetypal Championship run successful 65 years.

The summertime accomplishment of Coubis shows that they person strengthened their backline adjacent much and if they are to enactment up and support their Championship status, volition cognize they volition beryllium heavy relying connected their backline.

Cohen and Shaw's assignment has raised immoderate eyebrows, but the duo volition person an aboriginal accidental to soundlessness the doubters erstwhile Lincoln statesman their Championship run against promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough connected Saturday afternoon.

The Imps person already shown they tin vie against second-tier absorption this season, beating Derby County 2-1 successful the EFL Cup past weekend, providing an aboriginal boost up of their Championship return.

Verdict: 

Lincoln City person plentifulness to beryllium encouraged by aft their outstanding 100-point League One campaign, but the nonaccomplishment of Michael Skubala and the measurement up successful prime volition marque endurance a important challenge. 

If their antiaircraft organisation translates into a caller league though, the Imps person capable astir them to springiness themselves a genuine accidental of staying up.

Cardiff City 

Unlike Lincoln City, Cardiff City person overmuch much caller Championship experience, having been relegated astatine the extremity of the 2024-25 play earlier securing an contiguous instrumentality nether Irish manager Brian Barry-Murphy.

Barry-Murphy arrived successful South Wales pursuing coaching spells with Manchester City's younker sides and Leicester City.

Although determination was a sizeable spread betwixt the 2 sides, the Bluebirds could participate the 2026-27 play amended prepared than their caller rubric challengers. 

They person already secured the signing of Jack Moylan, who has since scored a hat-trick connected his planetary debut, with the attacking midfielder wide regarded arsenic a subordinate susceptible of starting for a fig of Championship sides pursuing his highly palmy run past season.

Moylan has already made his people successful beforehand of his caller location fans aft scoring the victor connected his debut against Swindon Town successful an EFL Cup clash that ended 3-2 to the Bluebirds.

As good arsenic the Irish international, Cardiff person retained the services of Calum Chambers, who stayed successful the Welsh superior pursuing their relegation.

The Cardiff skipper has sizeable acquisition with Premier League sides Arsenal, Fulham and Aston Villa, which could beryllium captious arsenic Barry-Murphy's men look to support their Championship status.

Securing Nathan Trott connected a imperishable ground pursuing his palmy indebtedness spell past play could besides beryllium key, providing immoderate familiarity astatine the back, portion brothers Rubin and Joel Colwill instrumentality to the 2nd tier arsenic much experienced players than erstwhile they near it successful 2025.

However, Cardiff did trust heavy connected their location signifier to unafraid promotion past play and volition cognize they request to amended their performances connected the roadworthy aft winning conscionable 1 of their last 4 distant matches.

Tough distant trips to the likes of West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton volition contiguous challenges that they person not experienced arsenic a group, and if they expect to beryllium warring adjacent the bottommost of the table, points connected the roadworthy could beryllium crucial.

With that said, the information that the Bluebirds person invested good during the summertime portion retaining Barry-Murphy successful the dugout leads america to judge that they are the best-placed broadside of the 3 newly-promoted teams to survive.

Verdict: 

Cardiff look the champion equipped of the 3 newly-promoted sides to grip the pugnacious measurement up successful division's, with caller Championship experience, a squad containing top-level pedigree and Barry-Murphy remaining successful charge. 

Their quality to amended their distant signifier could beryllium decisive, but the Bluebirds person capable prime and familiarity to marque them our strongest prime for survival. 

Bolton Wanderers

After a seven-year hold that included a spell successful League Two, Bolton Wanderers are backmost successful the Championship.

It has been a agelong roadworthy for the Trotters to regain their second-tier status, yet achieving promotion with an emphatic 4-1 playoff triumph implicit Stockport County astatine Wembley.

The playoff triumph was expected to beryllium followed by a summertime of breathtaking caller additions that would fortify their squad, rise optimism astir the nine and springiness them a genuine accidental of avoiding a relegation conflict connected their instrumentality to the 2nd tier.

However, determination is present a beardown statement to suggest that they are starting the caller play weaker than they finished the last.

Maston Burstow, Ibrahim Cissoko, Marcus Forss, Jonny Kenny and Corey Blackett-Taylor person each near the Toughsheet Community Stadium and are yet to beryllium replaced, portion Amario Cozier-Duberry has returned to Brighton & Hove Albion pursuing his indebtedness spell.

Their request for attacking reinforcements has been highlighted during pre-season and successful their opening EFL Cup clash, with Steven Schumacher's side scoring much than erstwhile successful conscionable 1 of their friendlies earlier suffering a daze decision to Sheffield Wednesday, who conceded astir 100 league goals past season.

While determination were plentifulness of affirmative signs during their promotion campaign, the request for greater attacking firepower was already clear.

The Trotters acceptable a caller nine grounds for the astir draws successful a season, highlighting the fig of chances they failed to convert, portion their disappointing cupful exit past play saw them negociate conscionable 1 changeable connected people passim the full game.

Since the decision to Sheffield Wednesday, Bolton person signed Wrexham striker Ryan Hardie connected a season-long loan.

The guardant has recorded aggregate seasons of double-figure goals, but played conscionable 12 games crossed the Championship and League One past season, and his accomplishment inactive leaves the Greater Manchester nine successful a precarious presumption up of their archetypal run backmost successful England's 2nd tier.

Verdict: 

Overall, Bolton look the slightest prepared of the 3 promoted sides for the measurement up to the Championship. 

Unless they tin adhd further attacking prime earlier the transportation model closes, the Trotters could find themselves successful a hard relegation conflict and backmost successful League One earlier they cognize it. 

Who volition beryllium relegated if each 3 survive? 

While each 3 newly-promoted sides whitethorn find themselves warring for endurance among themselves, they are improbable to beryllium alone.

The 2025-26 play was an antithetic one, fixed that Sheffield Wednesday's relegation to League One appeared to beryllium confirmed earlier a shot had adjacent been kicked.

Points deductions and a deficiency of players near them with small accidental of staying up, meaning the different relegation-threatened sides were efficaciously warring to debar 2 spots alternatively than three.

Ultimately, Leicester City endured a 2nd relegation successful arsenic galore seasons, finishing 23rd, portion Oxford United ended the run successful 22nd, 1 constituent supra the Foxes, with some sides present looking to bash what Lincoln City, Cardiff City and Bolton Wanderers managed past play by instantly returning to the Championship.

In the end, determination was a four-point spread betwixt 22nd and 21st, with West Bromwich Albion uncovering immoderate late-season signifier nether James Morrison to sphere their Championship presumption aft losing conscionable 1 of their last 11 league matches.

However, had they not enactment unneurotic immoderate much-needed wins precocious successful the campaign, they could person fallen into the relegation zone, and they volition cognize that unless they amended their grounds connected the road, they could beryllium progressive successful different conflict for survival.

West Brom's struggles were mostly down to their mediocre distant form, with conscionable 19 points from 23 matches connected the roadworthy ranking arsenic the third-worst grounds successful the part contempt having the 12th-best location record.

Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic are the different sides who could find themselves successful occupation aft finishing 20th and 19th respectively.

Tony Mowbray has returned to Ewood Park aft 4 years away, but with conscionable 2 caller arrivals done the doorway this summer, Rovers volition request further reinforcements if they are to enactment wide of danger.

Unlike West Brom, it was Blackburn's location signifier that proved costly past season, with Rovers winning conscionable 4 of their 23 matches astatine Ewood Park, the second-lowest full successful the division.

Charlton volition besides beryllium wary of becoming different promoted broadside to endure an contiguous instrumentality to League One, with 14 of the 33 teams promoted from League One implicit the past 10 seasons being relegated wrong their archetypal 2 Championship campaigns.

While earning promotion is 1 challenge, establishing themselves successful the 2nd tier is another, and Nathan Jones's broadside person immoderate evident weaknesses to address.

The Addicks collected 53 points past play and ended the run with conscionable 1 triumph from their last 5 matches, with their deficiency of goals a large concern.

Charlton scored conscionable 44 goals, making them 1 of 4 teams to mean less than a extremity per crippled and leaving them with the third-lowest full successful the division.

They volition anticipation the arrivals of Karlan Grant and Millenic Alli tin supply the other attacking menace needed to amended that record.

Verdict: 

Overall, West Brom, Blackburn and Charlton look the astir susceptible of the established Championship sides, with each 3 carrying wide weaknesses from past season. 

If the promoted sides tin debar the drop, we consciousness arsenic if these are the teams astir apt to beryllium dragged into a relegation battle.