Bookies' predicted Championship table after Sunderland and Leeds United win but Sheffield United, Middlesbrough and Burnley draw

The race for promotion into the Premier League will enter a crucial period over the next fortnight as the festive fixture list swings into action.

For Sunderland, that means home games against Bristol City and Norwich City and away days at Swansea City, Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City before the turn of the year. That busy schedule precedes an equally-hectic opening fortnight to 2025 as the Stadium of Light hosts a Championship double header with Sheffield United and Portsmouth and an FA Cup tie with Stoke that represents the third meeting of the two sides inside a month.

Every club across the second tier are facing up to what could be a decisive period in the season and there will be plenty of twists and turns across the promotion race and the battle to avoid the drop into League One. But with the festive fixtures set to get underway, what are Sunderland’s current odds to build on an impressive start to life under Regis Le Bris and claim promotion into the Premier League?