Championship experts snub Middlesbrough as candidate for most impressive side this season

Add as preferred source on Google

Middlesbrough are the Championship’s league leaders, but not the most impressive according to some experts.

Rob Edwards’ side have won all four of their games and are the only side with a 100 per cent record so far.

Teams like Sheffield United have disappointed on the other hand and been way below par but one team seems to have caught their eye.

• READ MORE: Director says Middlesbrough signed £11m star’s perfect replacement, he cost only £3m

West Brom named the most impressive side for the 2025/26 season so far

Like Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion headed into this season as an unknown entity, but under Ryan Mason, it’s been very positive.

Three wins and one draw has been a strong start, with Andrew Nestor hailing West Brom’s transfer strategy as the secret behind the good start.

The Second Tier Podcast have also liked what they have seen, and named the Baggies as the side who has started best.

They said: “One is West Brom. I know they sit second, 10 points from 12, and I know Middlesbrough fans will be saying, ‘but we’ve got 12 from 12’, but I think with West Brom’s circumstances in that they’ve got a rookie manager in charge and they’ve essentially they have had to reassemble their squad and rejig quite significantly.

“Middlesbrough haven’t although there have been some significant changes later on in the transfer window. I think with that and West Brom getting the results that they’ve had, they’ve been very solid. They’ve been very structured whilst also being very clinical.”

West Brom’s next five fixtures compared to Middlesbrough’s

Both teams are the top two going into the next block of fixtures, which is normally where the league begins to take shape.

Both sides face each other in their next run of games, with Boro playing host at the Riverside Stadium on Friday 19 September.

On paper, it looks as if Middlesbrough have the tougher fixture list of the two, with a triple run of games against the Baggies, Southampton away and Stoke City at home.

Although there are still plenty of twists and turns to come, this could be our first indicator of who will be in the promotion race.