Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest were the three Championship sides that returned to the dreamland of the Premier League following promotion from the second tier in 2020-21.
The former strolled to the title after scoring a remarkable 106 goals on the way to 90 points from their 46 outings, of which 43 of the goals arrived from Aleksandar Mitrovic in a remarkable record-breaking campaign for the striker.
The Cherries shook off some shaky moments following their blistering start under Scott Parker to eventually finish runners-up behind champions Fulham.
Finally, Forest ended their 23-year wait for a return to the top flight after beating Huddersfield Town in the Championship playoff final at Wembley Stadium in May, after the pair had seen off Sheffield United and Luton Town in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Norwich City, Watford and Burnley all suffered heartbreak with relegation from the Premier League last season, and the trio will all be targeting immediate returns to the big time this season.
With less than a week to go until the EFL season gets underway at the John Smith's Stadium on July 29, Sports Mole assesses the contenders dreaming of promotion from the Championship in the 2022-23 campaign.
Norwich City
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2021-22 final league position: 20th (Premier League)
2022-23 Sports Mole prediction: 1st
The Canaries endured a torrid Premier League campaign once again last season, finishing bottom with a lowly points tally of just 22.
The step up in quality proved to be too much yet again, and as a result, Norwich will be hoping for a third successive promotion out of this division when their season gets underway at Cardiff City on July 30.
After Dean Smith was appointed to replace the sacked Daniel Farke midway through last season, the Norwich board had one eye on the 51-year-old's credentials in the second tier in case he was unable to steer them clear of relegation from the top flight.
Although the former Aston Villa boss was unable to keep Norwich afloat, Smith certainly looks to be one of the best managers in the Championship on paper, following success at this level with both Brentford and Villa.
As things stand, the Canaries have retained the likes of Teemu Pukki, Max Aarons and Milot Rashica at Carrow Road, whilst Todd Cantwell returns to Norfolk following a mixed six-month spell on loan at Bournemouth earlier this year.
The attacking midfielder's career has stalled over the past year, but should Smith be able to get the best out of 24-year-old, as well as the returning Onel Hernandez, Norwich should certainly be there and thereabouts in the fight for promotion this season.
With the likes of Josh Sargent, Adam Idah and Jordan Hugill also looking to chip in with goals to support Pukki, Smith boasts arguably the best strike force of the division and we can see them making a charge for the title once again.
Watford
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2021-22 final league position: 19th (Premier League)
2022-23 Sports Mole prediction: 4th
Like Norwich, Watford also endured a torrid 12 months upon their return to the top flight in the 2021-22 season, and suffered an immediate return to the Championship following a tally of 23 points.
Another drastic overhaul has been taking place at Vicarage Road again this summer, both in the dugout and within the playing staff.
After working their way through three different managers last season - something that seems to have become the norm at the club - Rob Edwards has been appointed as the new boss to oversee a change of direction.
The Hornets hierarchy are keen to see a long-term project in place - a significant change from the usual short-term approach to Championship promotion and Premier League survival.
The 39-year-old is an intriguing and exciting young option to take on board, but his lack of experience at this level will certainly be of concern to even the most optimistic of Watford supporter.
As expected, several new faces have arrived through the door in the squad too, whilst numerous have departed as well, although Ismaila Sarr and Emmanuel Dennis remain despite significant interest from elsewhere.
Edwards has not ruled out the duo remaining at Vicarage Road for the season ahead, and should just one of the two stick around, it could see Watford boast a formidable array of talent in the final third of the pitch, with the likes of Ken Sema and Joao Pedro being joined by summer-recruits Vakoun Bayo and Rey Manaj too.
The Hornets could well struggle due to the significant amount of changes within the club in such a short space of time, but as previously alluded to, this is usually the case, and Watford still manage to get themselves into promotion contention one way or another, and so we can see them earning a playoff spot at minimum.
Burnley
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2021-22 final league position: 18th (Premier League)
2022-23 Sports Mole prediction: 5th
The last of the three relegated sides from the top flight is Burnley, and like the former two, we believe they stand a good chance of returning to the big time at the first attempt.
For the first time since 2012 however, Sean Dyche will not be in the dugout to plan for Championship promotion or Premier League survival, following his shock sacking last season.
Caretaker boss Mike Jackson was unable to steer the Clarets to safety, and Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany has taken the reins this summer in a change of approach.
The spine of the team has disappeared following the summer exits of the likes of Nick Pope, James Tarkowski, Ben Mee and Nathan Collins, whilst Maxwel Cornet and Dwight McNeil remain at Turf Moor for the time being.
Cornet is certainly expected to move on given his relegation release clause, but it remains uncertain whether any top-flight club will be willing to part with a significant amount of money to tempt Burnley in allowing McNeil to return to the Premier League.
Despite the exit of Wout Weghorst to Besiktas, Burnley boast the experience of Jay Rodriguez, Matej Vydra and Ashley Barnes in attack, with the trio being experts at finding the back of the net at this level, whilst the arrival of Scott Twine from League One outfit MK Dons is also an intriguing option up front.
Kompany has used his Man City connections to bring Taylor Harwood-Bellis and CJ Egan-Riley in to his defence in an effort to replace the likes of Tarkowski and Mee, whilst Ian Maatsen's arrival on loan from Chelsea is another attempt to provide more youth and energy to a previously-ageing Burnley side.
The inexperience of Kompany's managerial career so far, which produced somewhat mixed results in his homeland with Anderlecht, as well as the loss of significant experience and knowhow from the squad, means we do not see this being an easy ride for the Clarets this season, but that they should be there and thereabouts within the top six.
West Bromwich Albion
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2021-22 final league position: 10th
2022-23 Sports Mole prediction: 3rd
Moving away from the trio of relegation sides takes us to West Brom, who certainly did not enjoy their experience of returning to the second tier last season.
Despite expectations of returning to the top flight at the first time of asking, the Baggies slumped to a hugely disappointing 10th-placed finish to record their worst position for a number of years.
Valerien Ismael, who had arrived from Barnsley with a completely fresh approach in playing style, initially oversaw a club-record unbeaten run to open the campaign to set the Black Country outfit well on course to meet their objectives.
However, things quickly deteriorated at The Hawthorns once the Frenchman's lack of tactical adaptability was found out, and with supporters quickly turning on their manager and the players, Ismael was removed from his position and replaced by Steve Bruce.
Despite Bruce's obvious man-management skills, he was unable to improve performances and results during his first four months in charge, but the 61-year-old has been provided with the opportunity of having a shot at promotion in his first full campaign in charge at the Baggies.
The club boasts perhaps the most successful transfer window of the division on paper so far, following the free-transfer captures of two of the standout performers of the Championship last season - John Swift and Jed Wallace - whilst also bringing Okay Yokuslu back to the club from Celta Vigo is somewhat of a coup.
The Baggies were crying out for creativity in their side last season after being left with a squad that was put together for a direct approach under Ismael, and Swift and Wallace will surely address that issue with success.
Add in the return to full fitness of Daryl Dike to support Karlan Grant for goals up front too, and there should be very few reasons to argue that West Brom cannot enjoy a successful Championship season this time around.
Middlesbrough
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2021-22 final league position: 7th
2022-23 Sports Mole prediction: 2nd
This prediction may come as a shock to many, but here at Sports Mole, we can see Boro enjoying an excellent 2021-22 Championship campaign.
Following a slow start under Neil Warnock last time around, Middlesbrough replaced the veteran with former Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder, who had initially failed to return to work in the summer.
The 54-year-old quickly worked wonders with his 3-5-2 setup and got his new side climbing up the table at a rapid rate.
However, with success in the FA Cup asserting pressure on his tiring small squad, Wilder saw his side run out of steam at the end of the campaign as they picked up just eight points from the remaining 24 on offer.
Such a poor finish saw Boro finish in seventh, five points behind Luton and Sheffield United in the playoff places, despite looking certain to break into the top six at one stage.
Fast forward to the present, and with Wilder enjoying the opportunity to put his players through their paces in a full pre-season schedule, a fresh promotion challenge looks likely.
Zack Steffen has arrived to provide stability to the number one spot in goal following uncertainty between Joe Lumley and Luke Daniels for much of last season, whilst the capture of Darragh Lenihan on a free transfer, and the loan signing of Ryan Giles from Wolverhampton Wanderers, are shrewd pieces of business.
The result is an excellent spine of the team that can potentially end Boro's six-year wait for a return to the top flight, despite a lack of firepower in the final third.
The end of loan spells for Andraz Sporar, Aaron Connolly and Folarin Balogun leave Wilder significantly short of options as things stand, but with Premier League clubs due to begin the agreement of loan spells for their young forwards, we cannot see this being too much of an issue once Middlesbrough acquire their targets ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
Other Notable Mentions
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In addition to our predictions for the five standout promotion contenders, it is worth mentioning that we believe that the likes of Sheffield United, Stoke City, Swansea City and Preston North End are also due a strong 2022-23 Championship campaign.
The Blades retain a strong squad following their run to the playoff semi-finals under Paul Heckingbottom last season, after he worked wonders in turning things around following the sacking of Slavisa Jokanovic.
Meanwhile, Stoke have enjoyed a successful transfer window so far after securing Dwight Gayle on a free transfer from Newcastle United, and the striker could easily fire the Potters into promotion contention if he can stay fit.
As for Swansea, they endured an inconsistent year under new boss Russell Martin in their possession-hungry playing style, but with a full pre-season under the former MK Dons manager, and after retaining the likes of Matt Grimes, Joel Piroe and Jamie Paterson, we would not be too surprised to see them improve significantly this year and stake a claim for a playoff spot.
Finally, a dark horse pick for a playoff spot is Preston, who like Swansea, underwent a significant change in approach in opting for a young new manager last season.
Ryan Lowe arrived to replace the sacked Frankie McAvoy from Plymouth Argyle, and despite an inconsistent return of results, the young boss attracted the fans back to Deepdale with his style of play, and they could certainly be ones to watch this season with the likes of Emil Riis firing in the goals.
Matthew Tranter
