The Championship has become a heavily competitive league in the past few years, with the prize pot on offer for gaining promotion to the Premier League standing at over £80 million.

With that, some clubs' objectives each season have grown, with some clubs willing to risk spending more than others in order to reach the ultimate aim of promotion.

However, some clubs often fail to achieve their goal, whilst others who are expected to finish lower down the league often surprise pundits and fans.

Football League World looks at 3 clubs who have overachieved and 3 clubs who have underachieved so far in the 2016-17 Championship season....

 

Barnsley (Overachieved)

If you'd asked any Barnsley fan on the 19th December 2015 whether they would sit 9th in the Championship table just over a year later, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that would have answered yes to that question.

That was the day that Barnsley sat 24th and last in the League One table following a run of just 7 points from their last 36, with manager Lee Johnson under increasing pressure at Oakwell.

However, a surge in form beyond the New Year saw Barnsley fire their way up the league and although Johnson left for Bristol City in February, Paul Heckingbottom took over and achieved play off final success - a 3-1 win over Millwall at Wembley to ensure the club returned to the Championship.

Barnsley spent wisely in the summer, recruiting Sam Morsy and Adam Armstrong on loan from Wigan and Newcastle respectively, as well as paying fees for George Moncur and Tom Bradshaw with the money claimed from the sale of Alfie Mawson to Swansea for around £5 million.

They flew out of the blocks in the early stages this season before a poor run of form, however they have remained consistent over the last few months and sit in 9th place on 34 points with a potential play off push on the cards in the 2nd half of the season.

Huddersfield - (Overachieved)

Huddersfield have endured a period of stability in England's second tier since their promotion under Simon Grayson in 2012, with the sacking of Chris Powell last season followed by the appointment of David Wagner signalling a change in their ambitions.

Whilst Wagner did not bring instant success to the Terriers, he brought in a number of experienced German players, such as full back Chris Lowe, in this season's summer transfer window, as well as the loan signing of Manchester City midfielder Aaron Mooy, a player who has proved crucial to Wagner's side this season.

With title odds of 40/1 from Sky Bet at the start of this season, Huddersfield were expected to improve on last season's showing of 19th whilst not heavily impressing, but Wagner's side have defied expectations, sitting in 4th place with 42 points.

Following an impressive 2-1 victory over Norwich on Sky Sports in December, Wagner was approached by Bundesliga giants Wolfsburg but rejected their offer, a firm outline of how far Huddersfield have progressed this season under the ex-Dortmund coach.

 

Reading - (Overachieved)

Reading gambled in the summer following the sacking of Brian McDermott with the appointment of former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam, with the Royals becoming the Dutchman's first managerial job.

Stam has impressed so far, with Reading sitting in 3rd place in the Championship table, just 5 points off automatic promotion at this stage.

Unsurprisingly, Stam's side has been commended for their defensive solidity but have also been effective at the other end, scoring 33 goals in 23 matches.

With the future of the club's ownership in question - Stam has spoken of his desire to speak with the potential new owners of the club in the coming days - the club must ensure they hold on to the former Lazio man to give themselves the best chance of continuing their positive start to the season and competing in the Premier League for the first time since 2013.

 

Wigan - (Underachieved)

Many expressed shock at Wigan suffering double relegation from the Premier League to League 1 between 2013 and 2015, with key players and staff such as James McCarthy and Roberto Martinez leaving in between.

There was less surprise when Wigan won the League 1 title last year, the club seemingly rejuvenated under former player Gary Caldwell, with leading striker Will Grigg becoming a continental hero following the emergence of the 'Will Grigg's on fire' chant and his efforts in firing the Latics to promotion.

Many expected Wigan to push on this season and achieve Championship stability, especially with the signings of Nick Powell, Jordi Gomez and Adam Bogdan adding quality to what was already a talented squad.

However, whilst Wigan looked solid at the beginning of the season, they have struggled for goals and Caldwell was sacked in November and replaced by former Manchester United youth manager Warren Joyce.

However, Wigan find themselves in 23rd place and four points off safety with half of the season completed, and whilst there is still time to comfortably achieve safety, they will need to start putting together a run of positive results.

Wolves - (Underachieved)

Big things were expected at Wolves at the start of the season, with new Chinese owners and a club-record £12.5m fee spent on Monaco starlet Ivan Cavaleiro. They also appointed Inter and Italy legend Walter Zenga with the aim of reaching England's top tier.

However, Wolves have not achieved as their owners and fans would have hoped - they had a mixed start to the season, beating Newcastle, Birmingham and Reading but losing to Wigan and Huddersfield as well as a 4-0 loss at home to Barnsley.

Zenga was sacked following a 3-2 home defeat to Derby at the start of November, with former Aston Villa and Blackburn boss Paul Lambert replacing him. Whilst he has overseen an upturn in form of late, they still sit in 15th place in the Championship, 12 points off the play offs after 23 games.

Aston Villa - (Underachieved)

Aston Villa suffered one of the worst seasons in their history last season, with relegation from the Premier League arriving after 3 different managers and just 17 points.

They were expected to bounce back this season, with the appointment of Champions League-winning manager Roberto Di Matteo following the takeover of the club by Chinese billionaire Dr Tony Xia.

However, despite signing quality players such as Mile Jedinak and Jonathan Kodjia, Villa have struggled to adapt to life in the second tier, with Di Matteo sacked in October following a 2-0 defeat at Preston, where his players seemed to lack any sort of confidence.

The appointment of ex-Birmingham man Steve Bruce has seen an upturn in form, with Villa now recording consistent results reflecting the quality of their squad, but they still sit only 10th (before Thursday's game against Leeds) with 34 points, 6 points off the playoffs. Their second half of the season will surely be defined by how they react to the potential losses of star players Kodjia and Jordan Ayew in January to the African Cup of Nations.