Championship Season Predictions: Back Latte Lath at 14/1 to fire Middlesbrough to Top Six | OneFootball

EFL Championship

Michael Carrick will be hoping that the club's summer additions can propel them into the top six...

Jack Critchley has looked at Betfair's outright markets ahead of the 2024-25 Championship season and thinks there could be value in backing the Teessiders for a top-six tussle...

Prolific Ivorian can fire Boro to the Premier League

Middlesbrough are the joint-third longest-serving club in the Championship, having been relegated from the Premier League in 2016. Only QPR, Preston and Bristol City have spent longer in the second tier and having enjoyed some brief dalliances with the play-offs over the last eight seasons, it feels like it might be the perfect time for Michael Carrick's men to make a realistic push for promotion this time around.

Boro made a slow start to the 2023-24 campaign and netted just five times in their opening seven matches

But once they found their stride, they looked impressive at both ends of the pitch with summer signing Emmanuel Latte Lath netting 16 of their 71 goals. Averaging 0.69 goals per 90 minutes across the campaign, the former Atalanta striker hit a hot streak in the spring, netting in each of the club's last six outings.

Despite being linked with Bristol City's Tommy Conway this summer, Latte Lath looks set to be the main man in Teesside this year. Unlike some of his rivals in the top goalscorer betting market, chiefly Sammie Szmodics 16/1 and Jack Clarke 33/1, there has been very little speculation linking him with a move away.

Carrick has previous form with strikers at this level. The former Manchester United midfielder found a way to unlock Chuba Akpom's potential during the 2022-23 campaign with the previously-nomadic frontman firing 28 goals en-route to clinching the Championship Golden Boot.

If Boro and Emmanuel Latte Lath can continue where they left off last season, then we will surely get a good run for our money at 14/1.

Carlton Morris is a worthy favourite 10/1 given his exploits at this level previously and Ellis Simms 16/1 will surely be among the goals for Coventry (more on them later...). Nevertheless, the Ivory Coast should be presented with plenty of opportunities with Finn Azazz pulling the strings and Isaiah Jones supplying ammunition from wide areas.

If Boro are able to get the Ryan Giles transfer across the line, the quality of deliveries is likely to improve and this would further justify backing Latte Lath to finish as the division's top goalscorer AND Middlesbrough for a top six finish, a bet put up by my fellow Championship columnist Mark O'Haire.

Coventry to continue their progression

It's fair to say that Coventry's 2023-24 campaign finished on a fairly low note. The Sky Blues found themselves in top six contention throughout the majority of the campaign. However, following their unfortunate FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United, their hopes of promotion began to fizzle out.

Nevertheless, Mark Robins' side should now be suitably refreshed and ready to go again. Their squad doesn't look any weaker and the addition of Jack Rudoni should offer them something different going forward. Assuming that influential midfielder Ben Sheaf isn't tempted away by a Premier League club, Coventry appear to have all of the tools to challenge for the top six once again.

The biggest questions surrounding the club seem to be whether the departure of assistant manager Adi Viveash will have a negative effect. He has been Robins' right-hand man for seven years and has been instrumental in guiding them through the divisions. George Boateng and Rhys Carr have been tasked with the replacing the outgoing coach, although the move has left some fans scratching their heads.

Despite this, Robins remains the figurehead and having steered the club from League Two to the Championship, the 54-year old is one of Coventry's biggest assets and I have every faith that he is the right man to help them take the next step. Without FA Cup distractions, the Sky Blues could easily have bagged sixth spot last season and with West Brom and Hull looking far weaker this season, they look best placed to forge their way into the playoff picture at 13/8

Blackburn could be dragged into a battle at the bottom

Newcomers Oxford United 11/8 are favourites for the drop, but Des Buckingham's side are well-organised and that price could be a little short.

Blackburn finished just three points above the relegation zone last season and with the division's top goalscorer Sammie Szmodics looking likely to depart Ewood Park this summer, the Lancastrian outfit could struggle for firepower throughout the 2024-25 campaign. Sam Gallagher, is a largely non-scoring striker, however, his style of play involves bringing other into the game and creating chances for his fellow forwards. He is another player who has exited the club over the last couple of weeks.

John Eustace is a terrific manager and I expect Rovers to be well-organised and hard to beat under his tutelage. Nevertheless, it's at the other end of the field where they look significantly weaker and their new arrivals, Yuki Ohashi and Mahktar Gueye, will need to hit the ground running. Blackburn's squad lacks star quality and at 7/2 for relegation, they look worth chancing in this market.

Derby are curiously priced at 13/2 for an instant return to League One and given Paul Warne's poor record of keeping teams (Rotherham) in the Championship, that is a fairly tempting prospect. David Ozoh is an exciting addition and Kenzo Goudmijn should add some steel to the middle of the park, yet Derby's squad contains a number of veterans including Curtis Nelson, Craig Forsyth, Sonny Bradley, Connor Washington and James Collins. Jerry Yates and Kayden Jackson are lively strikers, but whether they have enough goals in them to fire the Rams to safety is debatable.

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