5 EFL Championship contenders despite poor starts to the season  

#1 Birmingham City

Harry Redknapp could guide the Blues to PL

The addition of Birmingham City on this list might surprise a few, although the Blues could be dark horses for automatic promotion to the Premier League this season.

Having picked up just 4 points out of a possible 21, in their 7 games played so far this campaign, Harry Redknapp has called for patience and hard work from his side to help get through this difficult period, as they languish in the bottom three.

In Redknapp, Birmingham has appointed a successful, experienced manager who has worked his way through the footballing structure in England over the last 30 years. Having won the competition with Portsmouth when it was called the First Division as well as getting QPR promoted to the Premier League via the playoff's, Redknapp has the guile, experience, backing of the club board and a good set of players to compete for automatic promotion.

Avoiding the drop last season and securing the club's financial stability were two major victories for the club and with a bunch of new faces added to the squad, St Andrew's will be a force that could topple the best of sides in the Championship.

Cohen Bramall and Carl Jenkinson have joined the Blues on a season long from Arsenal, strengthing the depth of the Birmingham squad for a long season ahead.

The signing of Jota from Championship rivals Brentford signals a huge boost to the club's fans guaranteeing not only goals but acts as an early mission statement of sorts to take the Blues back into the top tier of English football.