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The Championship: Five talking points ahead of the 2019-20 season

The Championship: Five talking points ahead of the 2019-20 season
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Leeds have been installed as the bookmakers' favourites for promotion.

The 2019-20 Sky Bet Championship season gets under way this weekend, with the division set to be extremely competitive once again.

Here, PA Sport takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding the new campaign.

Can Warnock do it again?

Cardiff boss Neil Warnock has overseen eight promotions during his career (Andrew Matthews/PA).
Cardiff boss Neil Warnock has overseen eight promotions during his career (Andrew Matthews/PA).

After finishing 18th in the Premier League last term, Cardiff are hoping boss Neil Warnock can pull off yet another promotion – the one that took the Bluebirds up in 2017-18 was the eighth he has overseen in his career. It would be a fitting finale for the 70-year-old, who has said he intends to retire after this season.

Cottagers and Terriers look to bounce back

Fulham and Huddersfield are the other two sides aiming to make swift returns to the big time following relegation. Both have managers, in Scott Parker and Jan Siewert, that took charge during the second half of last term. Three successive wins in March looked an encouraging sign for Fulham, who have retained Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ryan Sessegnon – as things stand – and brought in Anthony Knockaert on loan from Brighton. Huddersfield registered their first points under Siewert by beating Wolves in February, only to then conclude 2018-19 with eight losses and two draws.

What next from Leeds and Bielsa?

Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds finished third in the Championship last season (Mike Egerton/PA)..
Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds finished third in the Championship last season (Mike Egerton/PA)..

The club currently favourites with bookmakers to win the league are Leeds, who came third last season and were subsequently defeated in the play-off semi-finals. Boss Marcelo Bielsa is staying on after a memorable first season in the job, which included the Argentinian admitting to sending someone to watch Derby train – the incident dubbed 'spygate' – and ordering his team to let Aston Villa walk in a goal against them.

New appointments

Derby, who beat Leeds in the play-off semis before losing to Villa in the final, have had a change of management this summer following Frank Lampard's departure to Chelsea, with former PSV Eindhoven boss Phillip Cocu coming in as his successor. There are also new men in the dugout at West Brom and Middlesbrough, who were beaten play-off semi-finalists and seventh-placed finishers last season respectively. Slaven Bilic has the job at the Hawthorns, while Jonathan Woodgate is in charge at the Riverside. While their coaching CVs are very different, all three are first-timers in terms of managing in this division.

Luton's return

Newly-promoted Luton have a new boss as well, with Graeme Jones appointed to oversee what is the club's first campaign in the second tier since 2006-07. The Hatters, who have signed the likes of Callum McManaman and Martin Cranie this summer, are looking to continue building after achieving back-to-back promotions in the last two seasons. They were joined in going up by Daniel Stendel's Barnsley and Lee Bowyer's Charlton.

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds38257670284282
2Leicester CityLeicester37264774334182
3Ipswich TownIpswich38249580493181
4Southampton36227773472673
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom381991059362366
6Norwich CityNorwich381871369541561
7Hull City371610115346758
8Coventry CityCoventry3715121059431657
9Preston North EndPreston37168134954-556
10Middlesbrough38166165352154
11Cardiff CityCardiff38165174351-853
12Sunderland38146184845348
13Watford381212145351248
14Bristol City38138174245-347
15Swansea CitySwansea381210164858-1046
16Millwall381110173650-1443
17Blackburn RoversBlackburn38119185164-1342
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth381011175462-841
19Stoke CityStoke38118193553-1841
20Queens Park RangersQPR381010183650-1440
21Birmingham CityBirmingham38109194259-1739
22Huddersfield TownHuddersfield38815154261-1939
23Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds38115223061-3138
24Rotherham UnitedRotherham38311243077-4720


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