Sunderland, Leeds United and Sheffield United's Championship title odds compared as Le Bris sets points target
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Sunderland’s push for the Premier League will undergo a stern examination over the next ten days as the Black Cats face three sides that are firmly in the mix for promotion.
After the final international break of the calendar year, Regis Le Bris’ men return to Championship action with a tough-looking visit to a Millwall side sat just outside of the play-off places. In racking up impressive wins against the likes of Burnley and Leeds United, the Lions have moved to within two points and two places of the top six and their recent form should act as a warning sign for Sunderland ahead of their trip to The Den.
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Hide AdJust three days later, the Black Cats return to the Stadium of Light for the first time since their 2-2 draw with Coventry City prior to the international break when West Bromwich Albion travel to Wearside. The Baggies are currently sat in the play-off spots and are currently on a seven-game unbeaten run - although six of those games have ended in draws. The final fixture of a challenging trio comes next Friday night when Le Bris and his players travel to Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United, who currently sit level on points with the Black Cats at the top of the Championship table.
After losing just two of their opening 15 games of the season, Sunderland currently sit on 31 points and have established themselves as a major contender for promotion into the Premier League this season. However, Le Bris has already given an indication of how many points he feels his side will need to bring a successful end to their bid to return to the top tier.
Speaking ahead of last month’s home win against Oxford United, Le Bris said: “The promotion (tally), I think, should be around 90 points. (Maybe) 82, 88, I don’t know. They want to win together, because its not only the tactical side. It is the power of the team and the way that everyone is fighting, the togetherness,” adds Le Bris. As I say always, it’s only 11 games. Now, its a new experience. (There are) 35 to come. So, the main idea is to build on this positive experiences. We won eight out of 11 so there are many positive experiences. We know the difference between the win and a defeat is so small. At the minute, we are not so dominant. We are always in the balance. (Things are) mainly positive, but we need to improve our game.”
With the return to league action now just days away and the international break now over, we take a look at who the bookmakers view as favourites to win the Championship and secure promotion into the Premier League.
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Hide AdChampionship title odds (according to SkyBet)
1500/1 Oxford United, Queens Park Rangers, Portsmouth 1000/1 Hull City 750/1 Preston North End, Cardiff City 250/1 Derby County, Stoke City, Luton Town 200/1 Swansea City, Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry City, Norwich City 150/1 Bristol City 100/1 Blackburn Rovers, Watford 80/1 Millwall 25/1 West Bromwich Albion 11/1 Burnley 8/1 Middlesbrough 11/2 Sunderland 9/2 Sheffield United 8/11F Leeds United
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