The promotion fight for the forthcoming 2026/27 season will take a surprising new turn after the decision to expand to a top-eight, completely transforming the play-off picture and allowing two more teams to vie for a spot in the Premier League.
Back in March, it was announced that EFL clubs had voted to increase the play-offs from four to six teams, with the significant shift scheduled to take place for the upcoming season and beyond.
The third and fourth-placed clubs will advance directly to the play-off semi-finals, while the remaining top-eight teams will face off in one-legged quarter-finals, with fifth hosting eighth and seventh travelling to sixth.
Although the departure from the tried-and-true top-six formula may take some getting used to, it eventually promises to add even more play-off excitement to the Championship ahead of another fascinating and unpredictable season of second-tier football.
The race for promotion will now be very different, and with more teams capable of earning a crack at promotion to the top flight, FLW wondered what the newly adopted top-eight will look like by May 2027.
With that in mind, FLW has contacted ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, to forecast which teams will finish in the EFL’s first-ever top-eight next season.
8Cardiff City
In what could be the biggest surprise of the 2026/27 season, AI has predicted that freshly promoted Cardiff City would finish eighth after returning to the Championship for the first time under Brian Barry-Murphy.
The Bluebirds earned promotion from League One with a swashbuckling brand of front-footed possession-based football, and the combination of a clear and progressive stylistic identity with tangible upward momentum is exactly why Barry-Murphy’s men have been tipped as dark-horse outsiders for a surprise play-off finish.
Cardiff are expected to have an ambitious end to the summer transfer window, which has been quiet thus far, with more quality needed to supplement a young and exciting squad that includes a nucleus of homegrown academy stars such as Cian Ashford, Joel and Rubin Colwill, Ronan Kpakio, and Dylan Lawlor.
Cardiff can claim a variety of players who have previously thrived at Championship level, like Perry Ng, Gabriel Osho, Yousef Salech, and Chris Willock.
If the Bluebirds get the final few weeks of the summer window that fans are hoping for, a surprise playoff drive may not be out of the question.
7Millwall
Millwall, however, are expected to remain in the play-offs next season, but with a dip in place that will force them to rely on top-eight expansion to continue in promotion contention.
The Lions narrowly missed out on immediate promotion by one point to Ipswich Town before being eliminated from the play-offs by Hull City, who finished ten points behind Alex Neil’s side but defeated Middlesbrough in the final against all odds.
However, the Championship appears to be more competitive overall next time out, which could explain why AI forecasts a small drop-off at The Den.
That’s despite Millwall’s eye-catching summer window, which has seen the arrival of Tairyk Arconte, Kyrell Lisbie, and Mathis Servais as part of a squad rebuild, as well as the departure of numerous players from last season’s play-off semi-finalists.
AI has noted Millwall’s tenacious organisation and powerful home advantage as reasons why opponents rarely have an easy time, yet their season may ultimately be determined by Femi Azeez’s destiny.
The Nigerian international was electric last season, scoring 11 goals and assisting seven times, but with FLW exclusively revealing Hull’s recent interest, Millwall’s resolve may be put to the test, with their top priority remaining his sought-after services for another year.
6Derby County
Derby County’s John Eustace is expected to avenge his team’s narrow failing to break into the top six with a sixth-place finish next season.
During Eustace’s first full season, the Rams went from relegation battlers to promotion candidates, missing out on the final play-off spot by four points on the final day of last season.
You get the impression that Derby’s ascension under Eustace will only continue, with a genuine feel-good factor now back at Pride Park and plenty of backing in the window for the ex-Blackburn Rovers manager.
Bobby Clark and Sammie Szmodics returned to Derby this summer after successful loan spells, while German attacking midfielder Filip Bilbija’s arrival remains highly anticipated following a 15-goal haul in the Bundesliga.Paderborn’s previous match was against two sides.
On the pitch, AI has praised Derby’s defensive structure and organisation, though they do have key difference-makers up front in Bilbija, Clark, and Carlton Morris – even if more quality is still required, particularly with USMNT international striker Patrick Agyemang not expected to return until the turn of the year.
Nonetheless, the Rams appear to be a safe bet for a play-off spot next season, as Eustace strives to bring his team closer to a long-awaited Premier League return.
5Middlesbrough
The real surprise here may be that Middlesbrough has only been predicted to finish fifth, not higher, given the current level of excitement and expenditure at the Riverside Stadium.
That’s exactly where Kim Hellberg’s side finished last season before making it to Wembley and losing in the play-off semi-finals, though it was widely believed that Borough might have clinched automatic promotion with a more consistent goal-scorer leading the line ahead of Tommy Conway and David Strelec.
Both have their advantages, but Middlesbrough have made their intentions clear by paying an initial ยฃ10 million to Tottenham Hotspur for Will Lankshear, which may increase to ยฃ20 million if add-on criteria are completed.
The 21-year-old striker scored 11 goals on loan for demoted Oxford United and will be expected to improve his return surrounded by more attacking talent under a head coach who prefers a high-octane aggressive style of football.
Away from Lankshear, Middlesbrough has made headlines with the signing of Sebastian Berhalter, and they are set to bring a third USMNT international to Teesside in Colombus Crew utility man Max Arfsten, while menacing forward Kyle Joseph will add a new and useful dimension to Hellberg’s frontline after joining Hull.
Borough haven’t shied away from splashing the cash after reluctantly sanctioning Hayden Hackney’s initial ยฃ16 million move to Everton, and while the 2025/26 Championship Player of the Season leaves big shoes to fill in the midfield engine room, the Teessiders should be a force to be reckoned with next season and have a real chance of going all the way.
4Burnley
Many predicted that Burnley would be relegated to the Championship for 2026-27, especially after Sunderland and Leeds United appeared to leave them behind in last summer’s transfer business; it was no surprise, then, that the Clarets’ relegation was confirmed as early as late April.
This summer, Turf Moor will undergo some changes. Chairman Alan Pace took his time replacing Scott Parker in the dugout, eventually settling on Belgian coach Nicky Hayen, who was brought in from Genk to lead the East Lancashire club’s potential return to the English top flight.
Burnley has seen little major transfer activity thus far, with first-team players such as Maxime Esteve, Loum Tchaouna, Jaidon Anthony, and Luca Koleosho all leaving for eight-figure sums, which should provide Hayen with the funds to strengthen his side in the final month of the window.
The supercomputer, in selecting Burnley to finish fourth, believes that ‘the talent is unquestionably there’ in Hayen’s squad, and that they could finish as high as second, but as low as seventh depending on more departures and how suitable the Belgian is for the managerial role.
Keeping the likes of Zian Flemming at the club will be crucial, but even if Burnley did not recruit anyone particularly new to their roster, it seems poised to contend for promotion once more.
3Wolves
When Rob Edwards was named Wolves’ head coach in November, it felt like he was on the verge of failure, having left Middlesbrough prematurely to return to a club important to his heart.
Given the Midlands club’s disastrous start to 2025-26, it was widely assumed that Edwards was being brought in with a view to Championship football following season, and when their relegation to the second tier was confirmed, Wolves appeared to have plans in place.
So it came as a surprise when, in early June, after Raul Jimenez and Kieran Trippier had already arrived, rumours circulated that Edwards was about to be replaced by Portuguese coach Cesar Peixoto, a move that was verified shortly after.
It was a rocky few days at Molineux, but things have settled down now, and the only notable departure from Molineux has been Joao Gomes, who has joined Aston Villa, while Andre, Ladislav Krejci, Mateus Mane, and others remain – for the time being.
If Wolves keep their stars, the AI Supercomputer believes they will be one of the strongest teams in the Championship, possibly finishing in the top two, but they will have to settle for third place.
2Southampton
Controversy remains around St Mary’s Stadium over Southampton’s conduct at the close of last season, with ‘Spygate’ dominating the back pages of newspapers and costing the team their place in the Championship play-off final.
Tonda Eckert has remained the Saints’ head coach since then, but a potential punishment following an FA charge of misconduct hangs over the German’s head, making it difficult to plan for the upcoming season.
Anyone who expected a mass exodus from the club following Spygate has been disappointed – key players such as Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Finn Azaz, Leo Scienza, and Shea Charles have stayed for the time being, while loanees Cyle Larin and Daniel Peretz have joined permanently, as has Lewis Dobbin from Aston Villa.
According to the Supercomputer, their ‘great technical excellence’, ‘good recruitment’, and ‘continuity’ place them high among title candidates for the next 2026-27 season, but they may have to play second fiddle to another team.
1West Ham United
West Ham United have returned to the Championship after 14 years in the Premier League, and they will not be content to stay there for long.
Despite the relegation, the Hammers’ board has retained Nuno Espirito Santo as head coach, and while both Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville have been sold, Jarrod Bowen’s retention is a major factor in the Supercomputer’s prediction of an East London title win.
Other reasons include being ‘by far the biggest financial force in the division’ and having a squad’still featuring multiple Premier League-calibre players’.
Although some first-teamers, such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka, may leave the London Stadium, Nuno should have enough funds to replace them with the ยฃ140 million haul already brought in for Fernandes and Summerville. West Ham are expected to score between 96 and 100 points without making any significant signings in the transfer window.
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