The 2026-27 Championship season has started as unpredictably as ever with top spot in the division consistently changing hands in the opening couple of months of the campaign.

West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers came down from the Premier League last season alongside Burnley, with all three expected to be title challengers this season.

Instead, Burnley sit in the bottom three and the relegation places having recently sacked Nicky Hayen. Nuno Espírito Santo has been replaced by Scott Parker at West Ham and pressure remains on Wolves boss Cesar Peixoto to keep the Molineux club towards the top of the division.

Play-off finalists last season, Middlesbrough, spent heavily over the summer, and they have performed well, but have now been knocked off top spot after a 2-0 loss to Wrexham and a goalless draw with struggling Watford.

New league leaders Birmingham City, Stoke City, Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion have all also enjoyed fine starts to the campaign, and it is set to be a competitive race throughout with ten points separating the top half of the table and eighth place, now a play-off spot, just three wins off 21st and just outside of the danger zone.

With it as tight and as tricky to predict as ever, we have consulted AI chatbot, ChatGPT, to determine who it thinks will be the three teams promoted at the end of the campaign.

West Ham United

Despite sitting ninth in the second-tier, AI believes West Ham United remain the likeliest team to gain automatic promotion back to the Premier League this season.

A bizarre start to the season in which The Hammers were more often than not unconvincing but still managed two 6-0 victories, back-to-back defeats against Southampton and West Brom at the London Stadium led to the departure of Nuno.

Three-time Championship promotion-winner Scott Parker has been drafted in with the former West Ham captain said to have a squad that has ‘too much quality for the division’ according to ChatGPT - which is perhaps something that could have been said at AFC Bournemouth, Fulham and Burnley.

A stirring comeback from 3-0 down to earn a point at Cardiff City in his opener, Parker saw his team's strengths and weaknesses within the opening 90 minutes of his reign and finding some cohesion and consistency, something he has been adept at doing below the Premier League, will be crucial for their chances. They did, though, lose to Blackburn heading into the international break.

There is a feeling that West Ham have hit their floor this season and that still leaves them just outside of the expanded play-off spots, so the likelihood of an improvement catapulting them back to the top two remains high.

Middlesbrough

Recent league leaders after a heavy summer of spending that was headlined by the addition of Will Lankshear, who has been heavily speculated to be close to an England call-up by Thomas Tuchel, AI ranks Middlesbrough as the second most likely to gain promotion.

Middlesbrough played a slick style of football to reach the play-off final under Kim Hellberg last season and, following on from Vincent Kompany and Enzo Maresca, the Swede looks to be another Championship manager destined for big things.

Results were better than performances for much of the opening few weeks of the season, but The Smoggies found some fluency and form in recent weeks, especially in a statement 5-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers in October.

Without Lankshear against Wrexham in their recent defeat and then Watford in the toothless draw, though, some frailties remain and wrinkles need to be ironed out but, as many tipped and ‘Boro planned for with their summer, a return to the top-flight of English football feels more likely than not at this stage.

Southampton

The third team that AI believes will gain promoted is Southampton, with ChatGPT explaining it believes that Saints will win the play-offs.

An incredible run of form in the second half of last season under the management of Tonda Eckert saw Southampton reach the play-offs last season and beat Middlesbrough in the semi-finals before ‘Spygate’ saw the club removed from the final and handed a four-point deduction to start this season.

Eckert, though, has got off without too much punishment and just a suspended ban and so the German remains their highly-rated and impressive coach as Saints mount another promotion challenge.

Despite their four-point deduction, Saints have got themselves seventh in the second-tier after 15 matches - and they would be just a point behind league leaders Birmingham, 'Boro and Stoke without the deduction - frustrated by a 1-0 defeat to rock-bottom Preston North End heading into the international break.

Impressive in attack, smothering their opposition, and tight at the back, with only Birmingham conceding fewer, Southampton may be controversial ascenders for the rest of the division, but they are in a very good spot to return to the Premier League.