The second tier of English football, The Championship, is a league that has always produced good players, excellent entertainment and tremendous moments. Several excellent teams have gotten promoted to the Premier League and there is always a lot of excitement around games involving promoted clubs. As they are often unknown entities and might carry a special threat that top flight clubs may well struggle to deal with.
Every year, 24 clubs fight it out for the title, promotion and to stay in the league until the very end. This year too, The Championship has been no different as it has been enthralling and too close to call. As many as 10 clubs are in contention to win promotion to the Premier League. But only 3 will eventually get there. The top 2 will go straight into the Premier League. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth placed teams will face each other off in a series of play-off games and only one out of them will join the top 2 in the Premier League.
The Championship season is a long one as each team plays a total of 46 games, so there is actually plenty of time before we can fully assimilate as to who’s going up to the Premier League. 14 games into the season, a few teams have been impressive at the top and here is a lowdown on a few teams that could very well make the step up to the Premier League next season –
The Magpies are managed by former Liverpool and Real Madrid manager Rafael Benitez. They look like they mean business. The appointment of Benitez came too late last season but this term his Newcastle team look to be responding exceedingly well to his methods and ways. They lead The Championship table having accumulated a points tally of 31 from 14 games. Newcastle fans will be eager for their team to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking and so far, they have looked like a team that can make that possible for their fans. They started the season off slowly but have grown into their shoes and have won 10 of their 14 games this season.
Newcastle received huge transfer sums for Wijnaldum, Sissoko and Andros Townsend and did well to re-invest some of the money on Premier League level players such as Matt Ritchie, Mohamed Diame, Dwight Gayle and a few others. These signings have ramped up Newcastle’s confidence on the pitch and they seem to be playing with a swagger. It is obvious that this is down to Rafa Benitez and his magic.
Key players for the Magpies – Dwight Gayle, Jonjo Shelvey, Ayoze Perez, Matt Ritchie
Chris Hughton’s Seagulls are currently second in the table. They have done exceedingly well to be where they are. In recent times, Brighton have always threatened to do well and get promoted to the Premier League but that has never come to being. The Seagulls have come agonizingly close on many occasions as they have managed to get to the play-offs and then make a hash of it every time.
They will be looking to avoid their previous mistakes and make good for the lost time. Their fans will be eager to taste some Premier League action and having started the season so brightly, they will be expected to carry on in the same fashion. Glen Murray was brought in on loan from Bournemouth and the move seems to have paid dividends as he is the top scorer for Brighton this season with 6 goals.
Key players for Brighton – Glen Murray, Jiri Skalak, Anthony Knockaert
Norwich are another team that are looking to bounce back from relegation. The Canaries played some good football last season in the Premier League but it wasn’t enough to keep them up. Alex Neil looked like a young manager with a bright future as he tried his utmost best to keep them in the league but saw his efforts go in vain.
The players they had simply weren’t good enough and didn’t do enough to keep them up in the league. So after coming back up to the Premier League, they got relegated again. They will be looking to regain promotion and give Carrow Road top-flight football again. Most of the players Norwich have now are the same ones that represented them in the Premier League. They have done it before and will have to perform out of their skins again to gain promotion. Alex Neil is playing an attacking brand of football and this will please their fans and well-wishers alike.
Key players for Norwich – Nelson Oliviera, Cameron Jerome, Steven Naismith
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