Exclusive: David James makes exciting prediction involving Burnley, Leeds United, Luton Town, West Brom, and Portsmouth | OneFootball

Speaking to FLW, David James named the clubs that he believes are most likely to be in the Championship's automatic promotion hunt.

Highlights

Former England goalkeeper David James revealed his favourites for automatic promotion, including the likes of Burnley, Leeds United, Luton Town, West Brom, and Portsmouth, speaking in an exclusive interview with Football League World.

The Championship season kicks off in a little over two weeks and is set to be an exciting battle at both ends of the table once again.

After Ipswich Town, Southampton, and Leicester City secured promotion last season, the top end of the division looks more wide-open than ever, and plenty of teams will be eyeing a place in the Premier League via the two automatic promotion spots available.

Pundits and fans alike will begin to have their say on how the season may unfold, but it remains one of the most competitive divisions in Europe, if not the world, and unpredictability is perhaps the salient word to use when describing the second tier.

David James' predictions for the 24/25 Championship campaign

James made 108 Championship appearances in his career, but his time spent with current EFL clubs includes the likes of Portsmouth, Bristol City, and Watford. We asked the former shot-stopper his thoughts on the race for automatic promotion heading into next season, and who the current favourites should be.

FLW spoke exclusively to James, via Fair Betting Sites, who said:"Burnley will be interesting next season. To the point where they romped the league a couple of years ago, then got smashed [in the Premier League].

"There's part of it again, where the league will be used to what they're doing. I can't be every manager in the Championship but there's a part of it where you have to respect the opposition.

"If Burnley are anywhere near like what they were a couple of years ago, then you would have to take special measures to make sure you're not the team getting beat well by them. If the league do that, en masse, then that could destabilise their efforts to go back up. "It sounds a little bit like a gang mentality with the league, but they have to try and protect those promotion places. "I think Leeds, as always, will be strong. We're talking about a team with experience in what's kind of like a revolving door from the Premier League to the Championship. They will be ones who will be fancied. "Luton are the team I used to support, and without any favouritism, they will be interesting. The way that they got promoted a couple of seasons ago was not necessarily playing - and I say this respectfully - the most fancy football. "But they played football which was effective, even in the play-off, and they were effective in the penalty shoot-out. I just think that there is a side to Luton which we saw towards the end of the Premier League season, which you think will be very effective in the Championship if they play it.

"Yes, granted, they have lost a few players. But they will bring in players who are suitable for the Championship and a promotion bid."

With a cheeky grin on his face and a slight chuckle in his voice, James added: "I think Luton have got a chance of being in the mix, but Portsmouth, of course.

"As I've previously said, for the romance of it all, but then you have teams like Middlesbrough as well. I mean, West Brom are always up there. So many teams get up there and are in the mix, then at the last minute they fall away.

"At some point, I imagine that some of these are going to have to get it right all the way through the season. West Brom and Leeds will argue that they're the biggest teams of all of them, but West Brom have had a lot of Premier League experience. "We're talking about big clubs, big names, which people fancy. It's a little like England going into the Euros; it's the big names and big stars and everyone expects loads from them. "Ultimately, it's about how the managers get these teams playing. I just think the likes of Portsmouth and Luton, who are less fancied than a lot of the big names, have an opportunity to take advantage of this.

"That's because people can get distracted. My favourites, then? Burnley, Leeds, Luton, Pompey, and West Brom as well."

The title favourites in the Championship

For most neutrals, it's difficult to look past the likes of Burnley and Leeds United at the present moment. The quality of their squads in terms of depth and individual players, as well as the presence of two double-winners of the Championship in charge in Daniel Farke and Scott Parker, makes them hard to look past.

Luton should be a strong side under Rob Edwards, whilst Michael Carrick and Carlos Corberan are two of the great tactical minds in the Championship. It highlights the strength of the division, especially as teams like Sheffield United, Hull City, Norwich City, and Coventry City weren't even mentioned by James.

What Ipswich achieved last season by securing back-to-back promotions is usually something that happens roughly once per decade, but the majority of neutral football fans will hope that James is correct with his view of Portsmouth kicking on and mixing it with the Championship's big boys again. Lightning couldn't strike twice in as many seasons, could it?