Sky Bet EFL: The big guide for the 2019/20 season with outright previews, top goalscorer selections and much more
After months of waiting, the 2019/20 Sky Bet EFL season is finally here.
Seventy-two teams will be hoping that they will be celebrating success in May, but only ten can achieve promotion.
Sporting Life will be your home for the Sky Bet EFL throughout the 2019/20 season, with match highlights, exclusive interviews, weekly previews and much more.
Everything you need for the new campaign can be found here with our outright previews, top goalscorer selections and EFL Focus features.
Stay tuned to Sporting Life this week, where we will have interviews with players from various clubs, expert pundit analysis and our season preview podcast in the days running up to opening weekend.
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Sky Bet Championship Podcast with David Prutton
Sporting Life's Sky Bet Championship Podcast is back for the new season and begins with our 2019/20 season previews as we debate who will be promoted and who will be relegated in the coming campaign
Former Forest, Wednesday and Leeds and now Sky Sports EFL presenter David Prutton joins Gareth Jones and Tom Carnduff.
You can listen, subscribe, and download now for free via iTunes, Spotify and Soundcloud right now.
Sky Bet Championship outright preview
All eyes will be on the Sky Bet Championship and which three teams will reach the Premier League.
Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds are favourites, but we look elsewhere for our winner.
The three teams who we expect to suffer relegation are picked out, at a huge price of 200/1 too, while there's one team to keep an eye out for when it comes to making the play-offs.
Sky Bet League One outright preview
There's a case for saying that this Sky Bet League One line-up is the strongest it has ever been.
Sunderland are placed as the heavy favourites following last-minute heartbreak at Wembley in May, followed by Ipswich who are looking to rebuild under Paul Lambert.
Portsmouth are also expected to be in the mix following their play-off appearance, while Rotherham, like Ipswich, are fancied by many to make an immediate return to the Championship.
Check out our selections by clicking the image above.
Sky Bet League Two outright preview
Ryan Lowe is fancied to enjoy another season of management in League Two as part of our outright preview for the 2019/20 season.
We pick out our winner, as long as a 7/1 shot to finish bottom.
Top goalscorer picks
The top goalscorer race is always exciting with strikers in the three divisions targeting the individual accolade.
We have four big-priced selections to consider in the Championship, League One and League Two.
EFL Focus: Leeds United
Marcelo Bielsa's side are the favourites to win the Sky Bet Championship title this season.
They were beaten in a play-off semi-final by Derby back in May, but they are well equipped to go one better and finally make their return to the Premier League.
EFL Focus: Charlton Athletic
Charlton have already defied expectations once by securing promotion back to the Sky Bet Championship.
Lee Bowyer's side won at Wembley in the play-off final, that's despite anger with the current club's ownership.
They have been backed for the drop, but under the guidance of Bowyer, they can continue to push.
EFL Focus: Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn are building under Tony Mowbray.
They finished 15th last season after promotion from Sky Bet League One the campaign before.
The Championship looks open this season, and give Mowbray's leadership at the club, they could challenge for the top-six.
Birmingham City: Lukas Jutkiewicz
Birmingham striker Lukas Jutkiewicz has said that this group will adapt to a number of changes that have happened at the club this summer.
The Blues have seen popular manager Garry Monk depart after a breakdown in the relationship between Monk and chief executive Xuandong Ren.
Star striker Che Adams has also left, joining Southampton, while Jota secured a Premier League move with a £4m switch to rivals Aston Villa.
Birmingham saw a disrupted summer ahead of the 2018/19 season, with the club hit with a transfer embargo that restricted incomings.
They were then given a nine-point deduction in March for breaking the EFL's Profit & Sustainability rules.
Derby County: Liam Rosenior
Derby coach Liam Rosenior has admitted that the Sky Bet Championship continues to improve with '16 or 17 teams' in with a chance of making the play-offs this season.
Rosenior joined the Rams this summer, switching his position with Brighton's under-23s to become a first-team coach under new manager Philip Cocu.
The former full-back has spent time working as an EFL pundit on Sky Sports, providing insight to all 72 teams in the Football League structure.
EFL Specials
Alongside choosing selections in the main season markets, we delve into the specials markets on offer with Sky Bet.
We predict the worst-performing Midlands team in the Championship, alongside the best in League One, as well as considering who can shine from the relegated teams.
Championship Transfer Tracker
Spending is down on last summer, but we've still seen plenty of activity in the transfer window.
Keep track of every transfer involving clubs in the Sky Bet Championship.