Championship betting preview: Can Wrexham make the final step to the Premier League?

The Championship season begins Friday, with Wolves hosting Blackburn in the opening game of what promises to be another fiercely competitive promotion race.

Wrexham will have to wait until Monday to begin their campaign, when they travel to Cardiff City for a huge Welsh derby. But, once again, they will be among the most fascinating clubs to watch.

Their rise through the English football pyramid has been extraordinary, taking them from the National League to the Championship. Their transformation under Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has been documented in the hit TV series “Welcome to Wrexham”, turning the historic Welsh club into one of the most recognisable in world football.

Now the challenge is different — and they will need to overcome unfavourable odds to make it to the Premier League.

Wrexham are only the ninth favourites to win the Championship, with odds of 20/1, while they are also ninth favourites in the promotion market at 11/2. Those prices suggest the betting market respects the progress they have made, but believes the step up in quality will make a promotion push difficult.

The favourites are West Ham United, who were relegated from the Premier League last season but kept hold of star player Jarrod Bowen. The Hammers are 7/4 favourites to win the Championship and are odds-on for promotion.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are second favourites for promotion at 6/4, with Middlesbrough next at 5/2.

There is plenty of optimism surrounding Middlesbrough heading into the new campaign, while Burnley, another of the clubs relegated from the Premier League last season, are fourth favourites for both the title and promotion.

That makes Wrexham’s opening fixture all the more fascinating. They are 9/5 to beat Cardiff on Monday, with the match providing an immediate test of whether they can outwit a newly promoted rival with good momentum.

It is also a fixture loaded with significance. A Welsh derby on the opening weekend guarantees a hostile atmosphere, while a Wrexham victory would provide an early statement from a club whose ambitions have grown rapidly.

The challenge is significant, though. West Ham, Wolves and Burnley bring recent Premier League experience, while Middlesbrough, Southampton, Birmingham, Norwich and Sheffield United are all fancied ahead of Wrexham for promotion.

Reynolds and McElhenney have built a project around ambition, investment and continued growth. The documentary may have made Wrexham globally famous, but the real success is still to be decided on the pitch.