West Ham and Leicester City Battle for Championship Supremacy

The English Championship looks to be genuinely shaken up this year as a number of once-prominent clubs are now languishing towards the bottom of the league and plenty of competition ensures that the promotion places will be hotly contested whether or not things go according to plan for the top sides.

The latest high-profile Premier League side to drop down to the second tier of the English game is well-supported London side West Ham United and virtually every European bookmaker lists them as the favourite or co-favourite for outright winner.

West Ham's odds to win the Championship are hovering around 9/2 as we draw closer to the season opener and the only genuine challenge at this stage looks to be coming from Leicester City, who trade as low as 9/2.

Sven Goran Eriksson's men are backed to perform this season and push hard for an automatic promotion spot. They have been active during the transfer window with their acquisitions oriented primarily around new, more solid defenders. The gulf between Leicester and West Ham compared with the rest of the Championship is considerable with a handful of outsiders sitting well back at 12/1.

Middlesbrough, Reading and Nottingham Forest all trade at 12/1 to win the Championship but they all look more likely to be pushing for a play-off spot. Birmingham, Southampton, Leeds, Ipswich and Brighton are all available at 16/1 while recently relegated Blackpool sit alongside Cardiff at 18/1.

Doncaster and Barnsley are considered virtual certainties for the drop and they look to be set for a tough dogfight with sides like Watford, Peterborough, Crystal Palace and Coventry.

The English Championship sees its first fixtures unfold on August 6.