As the November international break begins, the battle to avoid relegation from the Championship heats up, and EFL expert Don Goodman has shared his thoughts on the three clubs he believes will eventually tumble into League One.

It will be a fascinating dogfight at the bottom of the table, as while the current trio in the drop zone, Burnley, Derby County, and Preston North End, are all in danger of being cut off from survival proceedings, a number of sides above those three will be looking nervously over their respective shoulders and could certainly trade places as the season progresses.

The 2025/26 season, of course, featured a frantic fight against relegation, which, with the exception of crisis-hit Sheffield Wednesday on 0 points, was contested by a variety of clubs, with Charlton Athletic, Blackburn Rovers, and West Bromwich Albion narrowly securing survival at the expense of Oxford United and Leicester City.

This term’s battle is expected to be similarly dramatic, and as the campaign gains traction, Goodman has named the three sides he believes will be powerless to avert the plummet.

Don Goodman’s Championship relegation predictions include Burnley, Derby County, and Preston North End.

Goodman, who has spent years at the forefront of the EFL scene in his commentary responsibilities and understands everything about the inner workings, functions, and dramatisations of a Championship relegation, spoke with Football League World – via Betway – to share his thoughts on the subject.

Ultimately, Goodman feels that the current trio will all be relegated.

There is plenty of time for their fortunes to turn around, of course, but the commentator is concerned that Preston’s poor form in the early months, which has left the Lilywhites seven points behind safety despite defeating promotion hopefuls Southampton over the weekend, represents an insurmountable deficit.

As for Derby, who are tied on 10 points with Burnley and sit five behind 21st-placed Lincoln City, he has warned that John Eustace’s men will be “really in trouble” if they fail to defy the odds and collect results from fixtures against Southampton, Wolves, and Middlesbrough in their next four outings.

Burnley, however, has struggled to find rhythm under new manager Fabio Celestini, with Goodman focusing on a fragile backline that squandered a 4-1 lead to lose 5-4 at Cardiff City in a second-tier duel to remember before the international break.

Citing growing apathy among supporters towards chairman Alan Pace, Turf Moor isn’t a happy place right now, and Goodman believes the current season could be the third consecutive season in which a team suffers double relegation after Luton Town and Leicester’s drops from the Premier League to the third tier.

Goodman responded: “Again, if I was asked last weekend, then I would have said an answer with more certainty, but two of the bottom teams won at the weekend.”But I am concerned about Preston North End, despite the fact that they have recently demonstrated what is possible by defeating Southampton, and it was not a fluke.

“They clearly deserved to win. They still have a 7-point deficit to safety, making them the obvious candidates.I’m not sure what Derby County is all about. The Bolton game was significant for them, since one would expect them to improve over time.They were on a bad run,

but winning against Bolton would have given them a boost before the international break.However, and this is the caveat, three of Derby’s next four games are against three of the clubs I’ve identified for promotion: Southampton, Wolves, and Middlesbrough, so things don’t get any easier for them. They have a five-point lead over the clubs ahead of them, so you get the impression that they need to hold on.

“Hypothetically, if they don’t get anything out of the next three or four games, they will be in serious difficulty. I hope they’ll be able to gain enough points by the middle of May, when the season ends.”

Derby and Preston may appear to be more likely relegation prospects to some, but Goodman refuses to be fooled by Burnley’s quality and pedigree on paper, arguing that they share many of the characteristics that distinguished Leicester in a historically poor relegation season last time around.

The veteran striker added of Celestini’s side: “Burnley is a wild basket case of a football club right now, and just when you think things can’t get any worse, they do.

“For a new manager to be winning easily like they did against Cardiff and then lose must be insane. Burnley surrendered 31 goals in 15 games.If the new manager fails to improve the defensive, the team will surely lose.Luton Town’s relegation from the Premier League surprised me. I didn’t expect Leicester City to get relegated so quickly last season.I didn’t think Burnley would go down, but I believe the toxicity within the football club, as well as fan hostility towards the owners, may have played a role.

“Everything is just pointing to three seasons in a row where a Premier League team that got relegated gets relegated again to League One, so I’m going to stick them in there for now.”Do I believe they have the talented players to score enough points? I absolutely do, but there is no trace of it at the moment, and the same was true for Leicester City last season.”

Don Goodman evaluates Charlton Athletic, Watford, and Lincoln City’s Championship survival chances.

Goodman admits he is unsure about Derby and Burnley’s fates, while urging that both teams must change their fortunes immediately.

He’s more confident in Preston, who appear to be the most likely to end the season behind the relegation-battling group due to a lack of quality and funds, and believes that a few teams could replace Derby and the Clarets.

Goodman has urged Charlton to use Saturday’s much-needed 2-1 victory over Sheffield United as a catalyst to redeem their season after an 11-match winless streak, and with a game against relegation rivals Lincoln City also on the horizon, he has suggested Nathan Jones’ side could drag the Imps into the drop zone.

Watford have also managed to keep their heads above water by overcoming Charlton and Lincoln in recent weeks, as well as gaining a crucial point against championship contenders Middlesbrough, as the Hornets continue to defy the odds despite toxicity and instability behind the scenes.

As a multi-club relegation battle unfolds, many teams are vulnerable to being caught by Burnley and Derby.Charlton Athletic were in freefall, but their 2-1 win over Sheffield United was crucial after going 11 games without a win.They must use that result as a catalyst. The team has upcoming games against Wolves, Lincoln City, and possibly more clubs.So, basically, the jury is out.

“I’m almost certain that Preston are going to struggle to bridge the gap, but all the others I’m not certain.”Watford are another basket case of a club!

“Lincoln has dropped down the standings following a strong start to the season. They’ve suffered three consecutive defeats and are struggling to score goals, which is cause for concern. I believe they are a competitive team, but likely facing relegation.To be honest, I’m not too concerned about the teams above Charlton, so any three from the current bottom six.”

Bolton Wanderers and Cardiff City look to avoid Championship relegation after promotion from League One.

Lincoln may have pulled off one of the EFL’s greatest upsets by romping to the League. The Imps finished 12 points ahead of second-placed Cardiff City, but they were always expected to struggle after promotion from League One due to a smaller budget, playing roster, and the transfer of head coach Michael Skubala to Bristol City.

They haven’t disgraced themselves, and have been respectably competitive, as Goodman points out, but they may face an uphill battle if Burnley or Derby find form, and as a result, the two teams who gained promotion with fewer points, Bolton and Cardiff, have much stronger survival ambitions.

Bolton, who won the play-offs, have been solid if unspectacular in the second tier, and while Steven Schumacher’s side is level on points with Charlton and only two ahead of Watford and Lincoln, they’ve shown enough ability to pick up results and should have enough to avoid ever being seriously threatened with relegation.

Cardiff, on the other hand, have remained in the spotlight throughout the season. Initial results were poor, but the signs were always there, and the Bluebirds have consistently ranked among the Championship’s top teams in terms of possession and chance creation before finding their scoring boots and picking up some seriously impressive results against Watford, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City, West Ham, and, of course, Burnley in the last month.

Brian Barry-Murphy’s exciting attack-minded side are now 14th in the table, closer to the play-offs than the relegation zone after finding themselves in early-season trouble, and will most likely remain well clear of any potential dogfight, with Lincoln possibly representing the only real possibility in that region of the table among the three outfits that gained promotion from the third tier last season.