Aston Villa promoted to Premier League after Championship playoff final victory

Aston Villa are back in the Premier League following their 2-1 Sky Bet Championship playoff final win over Derby at Wembley and bookmakers expect them to make an impact in next season's top flight.

Most playoff winners find themselves among the relegation favourites, but Villa are 3-10 with bet365 to stay in the division after Dean Smith led his boyhood club back into the big time.

Smith's side hit the front against Derby just before half-time through Anwar El-Ghazi and John McGinn doubled Villa's advantage as the Scottish midfielder took advantage of a poor mistake from Rams keeper Kelle Roos.

• Sky Bet Championship final standings

Derby got a goal back when Jack Marriott's shot was deflected in by Martyn Waghorn to set up a grandstand finish, but Villa saw off the late Rams raid and can now look forward to facing England's elite once again.

Villa are 4-1 with for a top-half finish and 50-1 to make the top six. It's an unlikely 1,500-1 that Smith's side win the Premier League.

Jack Grealish's desire to captain the team he has always supported in the Premier League should keep him at Villa Park, even though talent-wise he could easily be pulling the midfield strings for a top-half club, but Smith will need a new striker to replace loanee Tammy Abraham.

With Chelsea under a transfer ban they may well need Abraham, who scored 26 Championship goals, to boost their squad numbers, leaving Villa short of an attacking focal point to their bright midfield options.

Villa can be backed at 5-2 to be relegated and 1-6 to finish in the bottom half of next season's Premier League.

Derby are 14-1 with sponsors Sky Bet to win next season's Championship, however, it remains to be seen whether novice manager Frank Lampard will stick around for a second season at Pride Park with the Chelsea legend strongly linked with a switch to Stamford Bridge.

County's success this season has also owed much to Lampard's links with Chelsea. Loanees Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori have been influential, as has Liverpool's Harry Wilson.

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