Exclusive: Don Goodman drops exciting Ipswich Town and Birmingham City prediction | OneFootball

Don Goodman has told FLW his predictions for the Championship promotion battle this season

Don Goodman expects there to be closer competition for promotion in the Championship next season compared to last, naming the likes of Ipswich Town, Southampton, Middlesbrough and West Brom as potential top two candidates.

The Championship season gets underway in less than a month, with the Tractor Boys set to travel to Birmingham City for the opening fixture.

The Blues have gained promotion from League One, while Kieran McKenna’s side are back at this level after suffering relegation from the Premier League.

Leeds United and Burnley earned top two spots with a 10 point gap to third place Sheffield United last season, who themselves finished 14 clear of Sunderland in fourth.

Don Goodman expects closer promotion battle

Goodman believes the relegated sides from the Premier League will all be in the mix for a top two spot, depending on Leicester City’s potential points deduction.

He has also changed his mind on Birmingham City, claiming they could compete, while also expecting more from Middlesbrough, West Brom, Coventry City and Norwich City.

“That’s obviously a very difficult question at this stage, with so long left to go in the transfer window, but without wishing to be boring you’d have to go for the obvious ones,” Goodman exclusively told Football League World.

“When I say obvious, I would say Ipswich.

“When you look at the calibre of player they have at their disposal, you would expect them to be up there.

“Southampton same, they have some quality players, I do think that squad might look a little different though.

“Leicester, we don’t know how the points deduction is going to impact them, so we’ll have to wait and see on that one.

“And in terms of some of the others, with every passing signing and every passing week, having written Birmingham City out of it, you’d have to say they are assembling a really strong squad, which reminds me of Ipswich.

“And when Ipswich got into the Championship [in 2023], I kind of figured they would be in and around top half, maybe pushing for a play-off, which is how I felt about Birmingham.

“And then you look at what Ipswich have done.

“Coventry you would expect to be strong as well, Middlesbrough you would expect to do better, Norwich you would expect to do better and West Bromwich Albion you would expect to do better.

“So I’ve just rattled off a whole load of teams there.

“The one thing I do think is it’s going to be better quality, more depth to it and a really exciting race.”

Promotion battle could be intense this year

The battle for a top two spot last year concluded in anti-climactic fashion, with Sunderland and then Sheffield United’s form both dropping as the months went on.

It did culminate in an impressive sight of two teams earning 100 points, but it should be a lot closer in the upcoming campaign.

Middlesbrough, West Brom and Norwich could all come back stronger, while Birmingham and Coventry will certainly be aiming for a place in the Premier League.

And the relegated sides will all be in the mix given the talent at their disposal.