There won’t be any easy games for West Ham, Wolves, or Burnley in their quest for promotion this season, Neil Warnock has warned.

The Old Gold will host their first league match at this level since 2018 on Friday night as the Championship returns.

The Midlands team will host Blackburn Rovers at Molineux in an attempt to get their promotion bid off to a strong start.

For the first time in his career, Cesar Peixoto has taken over the first team squad this summer.

In the meantime, Nuno Espírito Santo is guiding West Ham into the second division in an attempt to replicate their 2012 elevation after being demoted from the top flight in 2011.

And Burnley, now led by Nicky Hayen at Turf Moor, have returned to the Championship right away after finishing second in the standings in 2025.

Neil Warnock warns Wolves, West Ham, and Burnley

Warnock has given a sneak peek at the forthcoming season, cautioning the recently demoted teams that they won’t get their own way.

He thinks it will be difficult for this trio to secure their spot back in the Premier League on their first try since teams that aren’t currently favoured for promotion may surprise people.

According to The Athletic, Warnock stated, “Yes, of course, money counts in the Championship.”

Additionally, the three teams that are coming down will always be the clear favourites to return to the top.

However, there is much more to the Championship than that.

It is a tough league that is completely unrelenting and rarely breaks.

Additionally, the bottom clubs may defeat the top teams every week, proving that there is no such thing as an easy game.

Teams like mine, who most people didn’t think highly of at the beginning of the season, were able to secure those four promotions because of this.

In his managerial career, the 77-year-old has received eight promotions, more than any other coach in the history of English football.

Therefore, it’s safe to conclude that the seasoned coach is well-versed in what it takes to gain a spot in the Premier League.

Those to keep an eye on during the promotion war
After losing in the play-off final the previous season, Middlesbrough bolstered Kim Hellberg’s team throughout the summer.

Middlesbrough: Signings for 2026–2027 (Per Transfermarkt.com)

Name of the player

Signed by

Permanent/Loan

Will Lankshear

Hotspur Tottenham

Long-term

Vitek Radek

Manchester United

Long-term

Arfsten Max

Columbus

Long-term

Kyle Joseph of Hull City

Long-term

Brighton’s Jeremy Sarmiento

Long-term

Berhalter, Sebastian

Vancouver

Long-term

Peart-Harris, Myles

Oxford United

Free agent

Despite beginning the season with minus four points as a result of breaking EFL regulations, Southampton will also hope to be in the running for a top two spot.

Along with teams like Bristol City, Norwich City, Derby County, Wrexham, and Birmingham City will also want to compete for a spot in the top eight.

In what might be an intensely competitive Championship campaign, there are also probably going to be surprise packages along the way.

Wolves, Burnley, and West Ham have all had difficult summers and lost important players after being demoted.

In 2026–2027, teams like Coventry City and Hull City, who had been out of the division for a long time, could return to the top flight.

In 2026–2027, the promotion battle won’t be easy. Given their history of playing in the top division, West Ham and Wolves are the clear favourites to be in the running for automatic promotion.

However, Southampton and Middlesbrough ought to be in the running and will provide some intrigue to the top division this year.

Derby and Norwich, who had a great finish to the previous season, might also be in the running.

Before Coventry withdrew, the competition at the top was fierce for the majority of 2025–2026. Over the next few months, we might witness something very similar.