The EFL Championship opened with a bang last night as Birmingham City and Ipswich Town played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with the Tractor Boys equalizing from the penalty spot in added time following Jay Stansfield’s opener.
Now, the focus turns to the second tier’s Saturday and Sunday fixtures with the other 22 sides in the division aiming to get off to a positive start. Let’s get started.
Championship Fixtures: Saturday
Charlton Athletic vs Watford:
Saturday’s opening fixtures start with a mid-day kick off for newly promoted Charlton Athletic against Watford. In Charlton’s last five games, which were pre-season friendlies, they have WWDLW.
In Watford’s last five games, which were also pre-season friendlies, they have a streak of DWDDW.
Coventry City vs Hull City:
In the Midlands, Coventry City are also at home for a mid-day kick-off to Hull City which will be played at The Coventry Building Society Stadium.
In the pair’s previous meetings, Coventry have won six out of 18 games whilst Watford have won 7 out of the 18 played games. They have also drawn five out of the 18, with the most recent draw being a 1-1 score-line.
Southampton vs Wrexham:
Newly relegated side Southampton FC are also at home for a mid-day kick-off to newly promoted Wrexham. The away side have played within Sky Bet League One and EFL League Two within the space of three seasons.
After actor Ryan Reynolds bought the club in November 2020, the club have since had a dedicated documentary called Welcome to Wrexham, which showcases the club’s “up’s and down’s” over the history of the club.
The club came up from the EFL League Two in the season of 2023/24 and since then have secured promotion to the EFL Championship last season.
Middlesborough vs Swansea City:
In the north-east, Middlesbrough host Welsh side Swansea in their opening match.
Boro have played a wide-range of teams throughout their pre-season friendlies, with their last one being against Deportivo de La Coruña, which ended in a 2-2 draw. They have also played local non-league side, Hartlepool United which was drawn 1-1.
The home side have also travelled up to Scotland to play Glaswegian side Rangers and played out a 2-2 draw. The only match they have not drawn in their last five was against Sky Bet EFL League One side, Bradford City, which ended in a 2-0 defeat.
Swansea City have had similar experiences within their pre-season campaign, with the Swans having one draw which was against fellow Championship side Oxford United. The game finished 3-3.
Norwich City vs Millwall:
London side Millwall will also be travelling to East Anglia to play Norwich City. Within their pre-season campaign, they have only lost one match out of the five which was against Elche, who they lost to in a 2-1 defeat.
Norwich City has only had one win in their pre-season campaign with it being a win against NAC Breda who they beat 2-0.
Oxford United vs Portsmouth:
Oxford United are against Portsmouth in their first meeting in the Championship. United have had a mix of wins, loses and draws in their pre-season friendlies campaign. Their last pre-season match ended in a 3-0 win against Málaga.
Portsmouth have has similar experiences in their pre-season friendlies with only having one loss against Crawley Town in a 1-0 defeat.
Queens Park Rangers vs Preston North End:
Preston North End are to travel down to London on the opening day as they play against Queens Park Rangers down at Loftus Road Stadium.
The pair have met 35 times. Within that they have drawn 9 matches with PNE winning 14 times and QPR winning 12 times.
The most recent match between the two was a defeat for PNE in a 1-2 defeat.
Stoke City vs Derby County:
Stoke City host Derby County at home in their opening fixture, with the pair having met previously in May this year. They had a 0-0 draw away from the bet365 Stadium.
Derby County have played a total of 87 matches against Stoke City. Out of the 87, they have won 35 matches and drawn 22.
West Bromwich Albion vs Blackburn Rovers:
In the Midlands, West Bromwich Albion have Blackburn Rovers at home. WBA have had a mixture of wins, loses and draws in their pre-season campaign. The biggest loss fell against Lincoln City by a score-line of 4-2.
Blackburn Rovers have only lost one of their pre-season matches and have won the rest, with the biggest win being against Qatar SC in a 5-1 win.
The last time the two met was in February earlier this year and Blackburn Rovers took away all three points in a 2-0 win.
Sheffield United vs Bristol City:
The final match of the day on Saturday is a later kick-off at 17:30 for Sheffield United vs Bristol City.
Sheffield United last met Bristol City at Bramall Lane in May where they took all three points in a 3-0 win. The two sides have met 35 times but Bristol City have only won 10 of those matches and have drawn six.
EFL Championship Fixtures: Sunday
Leicester City vs Sheffield Wednesday:
On Sunday August 10th, Leicester City have their first match back in the EFL Championship against Sheffield Wednesday.
It is thought Sheffield Wednesday might have to forfeit the match as the club have little players left after their struggles in the summer.
Sheffield Wednesday have suffered financial difficulties and as a result of this their players have departed, the manager has departed and they still face a ban on signing any players due to their previous issues with them not following the EFL’s signing players rules.
