We have taken a look at the Championship league leaders at Christmas from the last few years and listed their final positions.
Many teams have had the honour of being top of the table for the festive period, though we’ve seen several other teams failing to keep their number one position before slipping down the league.
Time to check out just who managed to be Championship league leaders at Christmas from the past 16 years and their final positions…
2008 – WOLVES
In the 2008/09 season, Wolverhampton Wanderers were top of the Championship at Christmas under manager Mick McCarthy.
They ended up finishing in 1st with 90 points and crowned champions for their third divisional title. Rivals Birmingham ended up finishing in second with 83 points.
Fast forward to the today and they sit rock bottom in the Premier League, taking just 2 points from 17 games played.
2009 – NEWCASTLE UNITED
In the 2009/10 season, Chris Hughton guided his Newcastle United to the top spot in the Championship table at Christmas.
They also ended up finishing in 1st place with a total of 102 points and were crowned champions. West Brom were second with 91 points.
Fast forward to today and they sit 11th in the Premier League, taking 23 points from 17 games played.
Newcastle United @NUFC
Manager
Chris Hughton pic.twitter.com/xGwpMnM7NN— SUPERB FOOTY PICS (@SuperbFootyPics) November 14, 2021
2010 – QUEENS PARK RANGERS
In the 2010/11 season, Queens Park Rangers managed to climb to the top of the Championship table at Christmas with thanks to Neil Warnock.
They continued their impressive form to help them finish 1st with 88 points and crowned champions. Norwich were second with 84.
Fast forward to the today and they sit 7th in the Championship, taking 34 points from 22 games played.
10 years ago today QPR champions #QPR pic.twitter.com/c2JL8nW1Hr
— QPR News (@QprNews82) April 30, 2021
2011 – SOUTHAMPTON
For the 2011/12 season, it was Southampton’s turn to sit top of the Championship at Christmas.
However Nigel Adkins’ slipped a place to finish up in 2nd with 88 points and were subsequently promoted. Reading was champions with 89 points.
Fast forward to today and they sit 11th in the Championship, taking 31 points from 22 games played.
A very happy new year from Reading FC. 2012 was a great one #readingfc pic.twitter.com/S5uecEd2
— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) January 1, 2013
2012 - CARDIFF CITY
In the 2012/13 season, Welsh outfit Cardiff City were top of the Championship at Christmas with Malky Mackay at the helm.
They finished in 1st place with 87 points and were crowned champions. Hull were second with 79 points.
Fast forward to today and they sit top of the League One table, taking 41 points from 20 games played.
2013 - BURNLEY
In the 2013/14 season, current Burnley boss Sean Dyche took the Clarets to the top of the Championship for Christmas.
They finished in 2nd place with a total of 93 points and were promoted. Leicester were champions with 102 points.
Fast forward to today and they sit 19th in the Premier League table, taking 11 points from 17 games played.
Congrats @BurnleyOfficial on getting promoted to the Premier League pic.twitter.com/c22ffG3sW5
— Oddschecker (@Oddschecker) May 2, 2016
2014 - AFC BOURNEMOUTH
In the 2014/15 season, AFC Bournemouth were top of the Championship at Christmas, astounding considering years later the were on the brink of relegation from League Two.
They went on to finish 1st with 90 points and crowned champions under Eddie Howe. Watford were second with 89 points.
Fast forward to today and they sit 15th in the Premier League table, taking 22 points from 17 games played.
CHAMPIONS: #afcb captain @TommyElph4 lifts the @SkyBetChamp trophy: http://t.co/3RBT7abmTh pic.twitter.com/RhaWrrUiXb
— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth) May 2, 2015
2015 - MIDDLESBROUGH
In the 2015/16 season, Middlesbrough were top of the Championship at Christmas with Aitor Karanka in charge.
They couldn't hold on to the position however and ended in 2nd with 89 points and were promoted. Burnley were champions with 93 points.
Fast forward to today and they sit 2nd in the Championship table, taking 42 points from 22 games played.
On this day in 2015… 🗓️
Middlesbrough picked up a big 3-0 win away at Brighton 🤩#Boro
pic.twitter.com/a8yUDJwMGj— The Second Tier (@secondtierpod) December 19, 2022
We continue our look at those who were top of the Championship table at Christmas and their final league positions...
2016 - NEWCASTLE UNITED
In the 2016/17 season, Rafael Benítez stuck by Newcastle United and helped them to the top of the Championship at Christmas.
The Magpies then continued their fine form and finished 1st with 94 points and were crowned champions. Brighton were second with 93 points.
Players such as Dwight Gayle, Matt Ritchie, Ayoze Pérez, Jonjo Shelvey, Yoan Gouffran, Christian Atsu, Daryl Murphy and Aleksandar Mitrović helped take them up.
⚫️⚪️ @NUFC, Champions! ? #NUFC pic.twitter.com/s7KpHNh2r2
— Sky Bet (@SkyBet) May 7, 2017
2017 - WOLVES
In the 2017/18 season, Wolverhampton Wanderers were top of the Championship at Christmas under current boss Nuno Espírito Santo.
After bringing in some impressive signings as part of their project, they finished in 1st with 99 points and were crowned champions. Cardiff were second with 90 points.
Players such as Bonatini, Jota, Cavaleiro, Afobe, Neves, Douglas, Costa, Saiss and Doherty helped take the side back to the big time.
.@Wolves are the Champions of the Championship ?.
Now with added Avengers ?#wolves #wwfc pic.twitter.com/h7xcB0EZli
— Wolves Fancast (@WWFCFancast) April 28, 2018
2018 - LEEDS UNITED
In the 2018/19 season, Leeds United were top of the Championship at Christmas.
However as many fans will say, they simply bottled it, finishing in 3rd with 83 points and lost at the playoff semi final stage to Derby. Norwich were crowned champions with 94 points and Sheffield United got second with 89.
The Whites are currently 16th in the Premier League table, taking 19 points from 17 games played. Can they manage to stay up?
.@NorwichCityFC are the champions!#EFL | #NCFC pic.twitter.com/N4WFvJG37w
— EFL (@EFL) May 5, 2019
2019 - WEST BROM
In the 2019/20 season, West Brom were top of the Championship at Christmas with Slaven Bilic in charge.
They may not have ended up winning the league but they did finish 2nd Two points clear of 3rd place Brentford who lost their last two league fixtures though the Baggies couldn't win their last four games to make it an exciting finish. Leeds won the title 10 points clear.
West Brom currently sit 16th in the Championship table, taking 28 points from 22 games played.
2020 - NORWICH CITY
The Canaries were Championship leaders for the 2020/21 season, and at the time sat five points clear of then-second place AFC Bournemouth and were seven clear of third place Swansea City.
Norwich held firm, and finished the campaign in first place, picking up 97 points from 46 games played, another promotion for Daniel Farke and his side.
However his time came to an end in 2021/22, Farke was axed in November 2021, with Dean Smith appointed after losing his job at Aston Villa the same month.
Fast forward to Christmas 2025 and they sit 23rd in the Championship table, taking 18 points from 22 games played.
2021 - FULHAM
The Championship leaders for the 2021/22 season was Fulham, who sat two points clear of second place AFC Bournemouth and were three clear of third place Blackburn Rovers.
AFC Bournemouth tried to be deceitful for most of the campaign under Scott Parker, but they barely managed to finish second.
After their extraordinary upturn in form, Nottingham Forest could have been considered more deserving to be runners-up. However, they dropped in the play-offs, going on to win it.
Fulham was, however, the best team in the league, as Marco Silva's men scored goals for fun.
Aleksandar Mitrovic was the top scorer with a ridiculous 43 goals in 46 games. They scored one-hundred-and six goals as a team, and would have exceeded 100 points if it weren't for the occasional poor result.
2022 - BURNLEY
Top of the Championship for Christmas 2022 was Burnley, with 47 points from 23 games played at the time, while Sheffield United sat three points behind in second, Blackburn third with 39 points and Watford fourth with 37.
Vincent Kompany's side continued their fine run of form, and sealed the title by picking up 101 points from 46 games played.
Sheffield United finished 2nd with 91 points, and 3rd place Luton, with 80 points, went on to beat Coventry in the playoff final.
2023 - LEICESTER
A 2-0 win against Rotherham the game before Christmas Day saw the Foxes take full advantage of a 4-0 defeat for closest challengers Ipswich at Leeds in the lunchtime kick-off to stretch their lead and keep a 13-point cushion in the automatic promotion race.
The result also meant a fifth consecutive win, and was their 19th from 23 games played in the league for the 2023/24 campaign season.
They went on to win the Championship title, with 97 points, with Ipswich in 2nd with 96 points, 4th place Southampton beat Leeds in the playoff final.
2024 - SHEFFIELD UNITED
Sheffield United made sure that they would sit top of the Championship on Christmas Day 2024 with a 2-0 win away to Cardiff City. In second place was Leeds on 45 points.
The league leaders put in a strong performance, with Kieffer Moore netting both goals in spectacular fashion.
The Blades sat on 48 points with 22 games played. Two points were deducted before the start of the season for defaulted transfer payments.
The season ended with Leeds going on to win the title, taking 100 points from 46 games played, Burnley took the second automatic promotion place also with 100 points, a worse goal difference than the leaders, with Sunderland (4th) beating Sheffield United (3rd) 2-1 in the playoff final.
2025 - COVENTRY CITY
Coventry are league leaders for Christmas 2025, sitting six points clear, 11 clear of third place, and on course for a return to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years.
Andy Hinchcliffe said, per Sky Sports: "They are showing all the traits you need to get promoted. They have played some sparkling attacking football, but have also been defensively solid. Whenever they have lost a game they react well and returned to winning ways quickly.
"Home and away, Coventry are the best side in the division. They are the top scorers and have the joint-second-best defence. The balance in the team is excellent. There are no signs of things unravelling. The only way teams catch them is by going on an incredible winning run.
"Every time Coventry have been challenged, they have responded. When allowed to play, they simply outscore opponents. They have everything needed to win games.
"The challenge now is expectation. Everyone expects them to win the title. That pressure comes with being clear at the top, especially with the season not even halfway through.
"Things can always change, but there are no weaknesses in their game that suggest teams will catch them."
Don Goodman said: "They aren't looking at Middlesbrough in second, they are looking at that 11-point gap to Ipswich in third.
"Since Frank Lampard arrived, the biggest improvement has been resilience. They now have one of the best defensive records. Having Carl Rushworth in goal helps enormously. He is the best goalkeeper in the league.
"What happened at the very end of last season has driven them. That pain can either derail you or fuel you. It has clearly fuelled this group. The disappointment at the Stadium of Light has been a major motivation.
"I do not see two teams overtaking Coventry. They will get promoted and make the step to the Premier League they have wanted for years."
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