6 Championship RABS to Lookout for in the Upcoming 2021/22 Season

In the upcoming season, both Bournemouth and Sheffield United will be expected to bounce back from their disappointments last time out as the Cherries finished sixth in the Championship and were beaten play-off semi-finalists at the hands of Brentford in what was their first season back following relegation from the Premier League, whilst Sheffield United were relegated from England’s top flight in 20th place in what turned out to be a turbulent season for the Blades.

What will fill fans with hope is that in Scott Parker’s only season as a manager in the Championship, he oversaw Fulham’s promotion via the play-offs, he will no doubt be looking for the same end goal with the Cherries this time around, whilst Sheffield appointed Slavisa Jokanovic as their new manager following Paul Heckingbottom’s interim phase due to the departure of Chris Wilder. The Serbian also has a good record in the Championship, winning the playoffs with Fulham in 2018 and earning Watford automatic promotion in 2014/15.

Dominic Solanke played a key part in the Cherries promotion push, scoring 15 and assisting 11 goals in 45 matches last season, the former Liverpool has already started this season strong domestically having scored in Bournemouth’s 5-0 hammering of MK Dons in the first round of the EFL Cup.

In 27 league appearances, Rhian Brewster struggled to show his true potential at the Blades in the Premier League, as he failed to get on the scoresheet in what was a season to forget. But, in the Championship the former Liverpool man has a decent record, notching 10 goals in 20 appearances at the back end of the 2019/20 season whilst on loan at Swansea City.

Birmingham City fans have much to be optimistic about following their strong finish towards the end of last season under former fan favourite Lee Bowyer, as they picked up 17 points from the last 30 available to confirm their place in the division for another season.

What was fairly evident last campaign was the Blues lack of creativity, as they only managed 37 league goals which was the second-worst record in the division, only ahead of Derby’s 36. Bowyer has added a series of attacking players to his team such as Chuks Aneke, Jordan Graham and Tahith Chong to supply the likes of established Championship strikers Scott Hogan and Lukas Jutkiewicz, as well as former Aberdeen forward Sam Cosgrove.

Meanwhile, last time out Barnsley, against all odds managed to reach the playoff semi-finals via a fifth-place finish under Valerien Ismael, but, since then, the Frenchman has departed to West Bromwich Albion and even taken star player Alex Mowatt with him on a free transfer. The Tykes are also without American hitman Daryl Dike this season as he has returned to Orlando City, seeing them sign the likes of Josh Benson and Aaron Leya Iseka as replacements from Burnley and Toulouse. The latter has scored 20 goals in 122 league appearances for Anderlecht, Marseille’s senior and B team, Zulte Waregem, Toulouse and Metz.

Last season, Adam Armstrong finished as the second top scorer in the Championship for Blackburn Rovers with a goal tally of 28 in 40 matches, meanwhile, Solanke managed 15, a tally he will need to improve upon this campaign by five which may be possible if he stays injury-free and is the focal point to Parker’s plans, as the former Fulham manager is known for being attack-minded.

Peterborough United striker Jack Marriot has previous Championship experience and only managed 10 goals and nine assists in 83 appearances for the likes of Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday, although a significant amount of these appearances were as a late substitute, racking up 3,604 minutes, meaning he averages 43 minutes per appearance and a goal contribution every 189 minutes.

The 26-year-old returned to Posh this summer under Darren Ferguson, looking to re-find his golden touch that saw him finish as the top scorer in League One in 2017/18 with 27 goals to his name.

As mentioned above, Solanke managed 15 goals last time out, whilst Cardiff City striker Kieffer Moore who was one of the stars of the European Championships for Wales found the back of the net 20 times in 42 appearances for a fairly unfashionable Cardiff side that finished eight under the stewardship of Mick McCarthy.

Meanwhile, Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has good experiences in this division, having earned himself the Golden Boot in 2018/19, scoring 26 in 40 matches. In his other previous spell with Fulham in the Championship, the Serbian forward also managed 12 in 17 appearances when he moved from Newcastle to the Cottagers for the second half of the 2017/18 campaign.

As mentioned above, Sheffield United will be expected to finish in the top six this season having kept the majority of their squad together from last season’s Premier League campaign, including key players such as Sander Berge. The Blades are also managed by Slavisa Jokanovic who has experience of getting promoted with Watford in 2015 and Fulham in 2018.

Swansea City are a side that could struggle a bit this season following the recent departure of Steve Cooper which has seen former MK Dons manager Russell Martin take the vacant managerial role. The former Norwich City man is known for playing attractive football, but only had a win percentage of 37.5 % at Stadium MK, having won 30 of his 80 matches in charge.

The Swans have had very little transfer activity happen this summer and have lost some key players from last season’s side, as Andrey Ayew left the Liberty Stadium following the expiration of his contract, as well as the likes of Marc Guehi returning to Chelsea due to his loan spell finishing, prior to signing for Premier League outfit Crystal Palace on a permanent transfer.

Blackpool are one of the favourites to be relegated from England’s second-tier this season due to the fact that they earned promotion via the League One playoffs last time out. Neil Critchley’s side have added a series of experienced and young prospects to their squad in what could be a very challenging season for the Tangerines who are on a limited budget.

The final tip on this list of Championship RequestABets to look out for is Fulham, who are the favourites to win the second-tier according to the bookies. Bournemouth to repeat their top-six finish all over again this campaign and Moore to hit the back of the net 20 times in the Championship for a second season running.

Marco Silva’s side on paper are the strongest team in the division despite losing the likes of Alphonse Areola, Joachim Andersen and Ademola Lookman from last season’s line-up, as they have bought the likes of Paulo Gazzaniga on a free transfer from Tottenham, as well as the likes of Harry Wilson from Liverpool. The Cottagers also have the likes of Terence Kongolo, Alfie Mawson and Jean Michael Seri to utilise this season.

The Cottagers have been promoted the last two times that they have been in England’s second division, albeit it by the playoffs twice, but they have a significantly stronger squad this time around. Meanwhile, Bournemouth will be expected to mount a playoff challenge following their failure to be promoted last season despite being one of the favourites to go up, whilst Moore will be playing in a more settled Cardiff side this campaign under McCarthy.