What are the odds?

THE bookies think Aston Villa are the team to stop in the Sky Bet Championship this season.

Steve Bruce’s side are 2-1 to go up, with Garry Monk’s big-spending Middlesbrough the second favourites at 9-4.

Both Reading and Sheffield Wednesday lost out in the play-off semi-finals last season and they are available at 3-1 to make a return to the Premier League this time around.

Much is expected of Simon Grayson in the North East and Sunderland fans can get odds of 5-1 on their side to go up.

At the other end of the table, tough times could lie ahead for Burton, Bolton and Barnsley.

Bookies make the trio the favourites to fill the three relegation places with Nigel Clough’s side at 13-8, Bolton at 7-4 and the Tykes at 2-1.

Ipswich (11-4) and QPR (7-2) are also predicted to struggle in the ferociously competitive Championship. Under the management of Russian Leonid Slutsky, it appears that anything could happen at Hull this season.

They are 5-1 to be promoted to the top flight but just

12-1 to finish the campaign in the bottom three.

In terms of who will outscore the rest, Boro new boy Britt Assombalonga is the shortest odds to top the scoring charts at 8-1 after his

£15million switch from Nottingham Forest this month.

Villa’s Jonathan Kodjia fired in 19 goals following his move from Bristol City last summer and he is 9-1 while Chris Wood is the same odds to build on last season’s impressive haul for Leeds.

Jordan Rhodes is 14-1 and Scott Hogan – who is likely to form a strike partnership with Kodjia at Villa Park – is

16-1 to finish as the Championship’s top scorer.