Football Manager have run a simulation of how the 2016/17 Championship season will go and they predict no west London side will be tasting promotion.
Fulham top the west London sides as they finish in the play-offs but they suffer heartache in the end of season showdown.
QPR suffer a similar season to the one that went before but Brentford only just survive as they finish one place outside the relegation zone with Burton, Bristol City and Rotherham taking the drop.
Newcastle ease to the Championship title, finishing nine points clear of the chasing pack. Aleksandar Mitrovic leads the scoring charts for the Toon with 24 league goals while Georginio Wijnaldum puts in a string of impressive performances for the title winners.
Norwich emerge from the rest of the field to snatch second place with a fine run of form in the closing stages of the season. Brighton, Derby, Ipswich and Fulham contest the playoffs with the East Midlands side emerging triumphant at the end of May.
Aston Villa fail to bounce back to the top flight at the first attempt as they claim a 9th placed finish. They do take the bragging rights out of the West Midlands sides, finishing three spots ahead of Birmingham City and five clear of Wolves.
The mid-table places feature a host of big names with Sheffield Wednesday in 8th, Nottingham Forest finishing 10th, QPR in 11th and Cardiff in 13th.
Burton’s first foray into the second tier of English football ends in relegation with Nigel Clough’s side finishing in 22nd place. Joining the Brewers in League 1 will be Bristol City and Rotherham as they couldn’t escape the drop despite some encouraging form over the last few fixtures.
Wigan secure a decent finish in 14th with man of the moment Will Grigg finishing the season as their top scorer with 17 goals. Barnsley also perform well on their return to the Championship finishing in 16th.
It’s a disappointing season for a few of the Championship’s established sides. Brenford barely avoid the drop in 21st place while Huddersfield and Leeds both struggle in 18th and 16th place respectively.
