Leeds will begin life back in the country’s second tier with a home clash against Cardiff City on Sunday, August 6 but the new season will start two days earlier when newly-promoted Sheffield Wednesday take on recently-relegated Southampton at Hillsborough on the Friday night.
The bookies have the Saints as third-favourites for next season’s title, narrowly behind second favourites Leeds and clear market leaders Leicester City. But as the countdown continues to the new campaign, EFL pundit Gabriel Sutton has revealed how he thinks the table’s final finishing positions will look in a 2023-24 season preview shared by betvictor.com
Here is the run down of the prediction from positions 24 up to number one and the view on Leeds. A full verdict on each team’s prospects can be read HERE. EFL pundit Gabriel Sutton can be followed on Twitter via the handle @GabSutton
1. 24th: Rotherham United (relegated)
Verdict: Most Rotherham fans are hopeful that last season’s 19th-placed finish can be the prelude to steady growth within the Championship, rather than another dogfight, but they may be disappointed. Photo: George Wood
2. 23rd: Huddersfield Town (relegated)
Verdict: The remit Neil Warnock has taken on this summer is arguably harder than the one he assumed in February, when Huddersfield were four points adrift of safety. Photo: George Wood
3. 22nd: Sheffield Wednesday (relegated)
Verdict: Most clubs who have just won promotion have a distinct buzz, but Sheffield Wednesday aren’t in that place. Photo: Catherine Ivill
4. 21st: Preston North End
Verdict: Most teams who achieve a top half finish will look forward to next season with the hope that a play-off push could be on the cards, but optimism at Deepdale remains scarce. Photo: Naomi Baker
5. 20th: Cardiff City
Verdict: Belief is waning at Cardiff. Since the turn of the century, the Bluebirds have had a modest handful of managers who built a real connection with supporters, but since Neil Warnock left in 2019, nobody has had both the time and the skills to foster that affinity. Photo: OZAN KOSE
6. 19th: Stoke City
Verdict: New squad, new backroom staff, new directors, new COO, new Head of Recruitment, new marketing executive… perhaps the only thing that’s old at Stoke City nowadays is their 85-year-old co-owner, Peter Coates. Peter, and son John, want progress for the Potters, having seen few signs of it in five seasons back at this level, but an accumulation of previous mistakes make this a transitional time for the club, and patience is the order of the day, with people settling in across the board. Photo: Nathan Stirk