EFL Championship winner odds & analysis: Craven Cottage clash key in title race

The Championship season has yet to hit the halfway stage, but even with 26 games to go bookmakers feel they are looking at a two-horse race.

Fulham and Bournemouth, who clash at Craven Cottage on Friday evening in a game that could determine the destination of the title, are separated by just one point at the summit, although they have built up a nice seven-point cushion on third-placed QPR.

The pace-setting Cottagers are 1-2 for title honours and as short as 1-12 to make an immediate return to the Premier League, while the Cherries, who lured manager Scott Parker away from Fulham in pre-season, are 11-4 for silverware and an 8-13 for a top-two finish.

But while Fulham are going through the gears - they are unbeaten in nine and boast a goal difference of +33 - the Dorset club are showing signs of weakness as a busy period in the season approaches.

Having gone 15 games unbeaten to kickstart the campaign, Bournemouth have won only one of their last five outings. Defeats to Preston and Derby and draws with Millwall and Coventry have highlighted their dip in form.

Fortunately for them, their obvious rival in the battle for the second automatic promotion spot, fourth-placed West Brom, have also fallen well off their early-season pace and now trail the Cherries by eight.

Relegated clubs Norwich and Watford bounced straight back to the Premier League last season and many felt Fulham and the Baggies would continue the trend in 2021-22.

That may still prove to be the case for Fulham, who are going great guns. But Valerien Ismael’s West Brom, who are third in the betting at 16-1 to top the charts and 5-4 for promotion, are toiling with their efforts.

The West Midlands club still sit fourth but are finding goals much harder to come by than their promotion rivals and their performances on the road - one point from five games - are a growing concern.

Fulham, Bournemouth and West Brom boast identical defensive records with 16 goals conceded from 20 games, but Albion's scoring tally of 27 is considerably worse.

The Londoners have netted 49 goals and are armed with the services of 21-goal striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, while the Cherries have scored 36 times with Dominic Solanke leading their line on 15. However, only Karlan Grant (eight goals) has notched more than three times for West Brom this term.

That highlights where the problems may lie for Ismael, who favours a direct, high-intensity approach, but perhaps adopts personnel who play a rather more creative style.

Fulham should be expected to justify title favouritism and although Bournemouth’s levels have dropped, the challengers for second are barely queuing up.

Third-placed QPR have lost to Fulham, Bournemouth and West Brom already this season, fifth-placed Blackburn boast the division’s sixth worst defence while sixth-placed Coventry have claimed just ten of their 33-point haul on their travels.

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