The EFL Championship fixtures have thrown up some juicy opening encounters as Southampton host Wrexham in week one.
It’s a fixture worthy of their Hollywood owners for Wrexham on their return to England’s second-tier football.
The newly promoted Welsh outfit travel to former Premier League side Southampton on Saturday, 9 August, in the opening round of fixtures.
The Saints finished bottom last season as they succumbed to a second relegation in three seasons.
Wrexham, meanwhile, achieved their third straight promotion under the ownership of acting stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Elsewhere, Ipswich Town kick off the new season as they visit Birmingham City on Friday, 8 August.
Like Southampton and Wrexham, there were two divisions between these sides last season.
But with Ipswich relegated from the Premier League and Birmingham promoted from League One as champions, it should make for an intriguing matchup.
The final side relegated last season, Leicester City, round out the opening weekend’s fixtures.
The Foxes host Sheffield United on Sunday, 10 August, in the final match of week one.
The big day is here! 🤩🙌
The 2025/26 #EFL fixture list will be announced at 12pm today! 👀
Drop your opening fixture predictions for your club below ⬇️ #EFLFixtureReleaseDay pic.twitter.com/zqogRONY0e
— EFL (@EFL) June 26, 2025
EFL Championship Fixtures On Opening Weekend
Like the Premier League opening day fixtures, the first round of Championship matchups has thrown up some great games.
As well as those mentioned above, there’s a rematch of last season’s Play-off semi-final as Bristol City face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Preston North End, whose kit is sponsored by viral jacket potato vendors SpudBros, visit Queens Park Rangers.
And having both narrowly missed out on the Play-off last season, West Brom and Blackburn Rovers go toe-to-toe at the Hawthorns.
Friday 8 August
- 20:00 Birmingham City v Ipswich Town
Saturday 9 August
- 12:30 Southampton v Wrexham
- 12:30 Charlton Athletic v Watford
- 12:30 Coventry City v Hull City
- 15:00 Middlesbrough v Swansea City
- 15:00 Norwich City v Millwall
- 15:00 Oxford United v Portsmouth
- 15:00 Queens Park Rangers v Preston North End
- 15:00 Stoke City v Derby County
- 15:00 West Bromwich Albion v Blackburn Rovers
- 17:30 Sheffield United v Bristol City
Sunday 10 August
- 16:30 Leicester City v Sheffield Wednesday
Why Are EFL Championship Games At 4:30pm On Sundays?
As happened last season, there are notably fewer Saturday 3:00pm kick offs than in the past.
That’s because the EFL now operates under a landmark Sky Sports TV deal, with far more games shown live than ever before.
Every Championship side will have at least 24 of their 46 league fixtures shown live on Sky, with at least 20 games shown for each League One and League Two club.
This is a staggering increase from the previous deal, signed in 2018.
There are now 1,059 EFL games on Sky per season, up from just 138 across all three divisions previously.
As a result, more and more games are having to move their kickoff times to accommodate Sky’s TV scheduling.
This means a lot more midweek games and early or late kickoffs on weekends, something many match-going fans are already unhappy with.
EFL Championship Stats
Last season’s top goal scorer was Joel Piroe of Leeds United.
He scored 19 to help his side to promotion, and won’t be in this year’s competition.
But Norwich City winger Borja Sainz was second in the scoring charts, just one behind Piroe.
The Spaniard is expected to leave the Canaries this summer, and has attracted a lot of interest from some big clubs.
West Brom’s Tom Fellows led the assist chart, providing 14 in 45 games along with Portsmouth’s Josh Murphy.
Goalkeeper James Trafford kept 29 clean sheets for Burnley, equalling an EFL record for a single season as the Clarets also won automatic promotion.
Such was the impressive nature of his performances that Newcastle United are in talks over the £40 million rated Burnley man.
