Where Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers, Hull City, Stoke City and Sunderland are tipped to finish by data experts

Nine-man Blackpool were denied a stunning victory against Sheffield United on Saturday by a heart-breaking 98th minute equaliser.

placeholder image
Read More
Will Blackpool appeal the red card shown to Shayne Lavery during incident-packed...

Michael Appleton’s side looked to be holding on for a 3-2 win thanks to another Jerry Yates double and Kenny Dougall’s return to scoring ways.

But the Blades capitalised on their two-man advantage right at the death, as Oliver Norwood snatched a last-gasp point for Paul Heckingbottom’s side, who were top of the table prior to kick-off.

The result means Blackpool remain in 19th place on 16 points, three clear of the relegation zone ahead of Wednesday night’s crucial home clash against Hull City.

The managerless Tigers are 21st on 14 points, but have struggled especially in recent weeks with seven defeats from their last eight games.

Their only win came in a narrow 2-1 victory against Wigan Athletic at the start of October.

Coventry City remain bottom of the table despite claiming a 1-0 win against Cardiff City at the weekend, owing to their games in hand due to their pitch issues earlier in the season.

Michael Appleton's side remain on course to survive relegation according to the data expertsplaceholder image
Michael Appleton's side remain on course to survive relegation according to the data experts

Both Huddersfield Town and Middlesbrough remain in the bottom three after costly defeats to Rotherham United and Blackburn Rovers respectively at the weekend.

Managerless West Brom, who sit just behind the Seasiders, alleviated some pressure on themselves with a 2-0 away win at Reading.

Just three points separate Blackpool in 19th and Birmingham City in 12th, with a whole host of clubs still looking over their shoulder at this early juncture.

According to an updated predictions table from FiveThirtyEight, Blackpool are predicted to stay up this season.

The ‘supercomputer’ has them finishing 20th, one place lower than their current position, six points above the dropzone.

Appleton’s men are predicted to finish on 57 points, just three fewer than their tally under Neil Critchley last season.

According to statisticians and data experts, Blackpool have a 17 per cent chance of being relegated back to League One, a nine per chance of making the play-offs, four per cent chance of finishing second and one per cent chance of winning the league.

The Yorkshire trio of Hull, Huddersfield and Rotherham are the three sides predicted to go down.

Following Saturday’s games, data experts at FiveThirtyEight have crunched the numbers and predicted how the final Championship table will look…

FiveThirtyEight’s predicted Championship table

Team Predicted Points

Norwich 80

Burnley 79

Watford 74

QPR 68

Luton Town 68

West Brom 66

Millwall 66

Blackburn Rovers 65

Swansea City 64

Sunderland 61

Birmingham City 61

Preston 60

Middlesbrough 59

Cardiff City 59

Reading 59

Wigan Athletic 58

Coventry City 57

Blackpool 57

Bristol City 56

Rotherham 51

Huddersfield 48

Hull City 46

News you can trust since 1873
Follow us
© 2026 Iconic Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice