Bookies: Aston Villa to win Championship, Wolves to miss out on promotion

Significant squad changes at both clubs are expected with many betting firms predicting Bruce's first full season as Villa boss will end in glory.

Chairman Tony Xia has made no secret of his intention to get Villa back into the Premier League as soon as possible.

Over £70m was spent during 2016/17, but results were woefully underwhelming as they stuttered to a 13th place finish.

But a more stable environment has created renewed optimism at Villa Park with bookies predicting Villa and relegated Middlesbrough (8/1) to be the two teams gaining automatic promotion come next May.

Meanwhile Wolves are seventh favourites to be crowned champions and are widely available at 14/1.

It's already been a busy off season at Molineux with a management overhaul and a new Head Coach in the form of Nuno Espirito Santo.

Another influx of Portuguese players is looking likely with super agent Jorge Mendes expected to again be heavily involved in negotiations.

Wolves did unearth a gem in Helder Costa last season, and another one or two players of that quality could make their 14/1 price a fantastic option for value seekers.

Villa are priced at just 9/4 to get promoted (including through the playoffs) with Wolves 5/1 shots to return to the Premier League,

Bruce's men are a skinny 8/11 to finish in the top six, but it's odds against for Nuno's men who can be backed at 9/4.

Relegation is unthinkable for both clubs, but many would have said the same at the start of last season,

For the doom merchants out there, bookies have Villa as 50/1 to fall into League One with Wolves a slightly alarming 10/1 to be chopped.