The 2023/24 Championship season started on Friday night with Southampton's 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday; Triple-header follows on Sunday with Leicester vs Coventry, Leeds vs Cardiff and Sunderland vs Ipswich.
Saturday 5 August 2023 16:03, UK
Three big hitters have dropped down from the Premier League, and will be among the favourites heading into the new Championship season.
Southampton are back after 11 years away - and started with a 2-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night - while Leeds United return to the division after three years of top-flight football
Then there are Leicester City, Premier League champions seven years ago, returning to the second tier for the first time in nine years.
At the other end, Plymouth Argyle were promoted as League One champions. They are back in the Championship for the first time in 13 years, having spent seven of those years in League Two.
Ipswich Town came second and return after four years away, while Sheffield Wednesday were promoted through the play-offs, returning to the second tier for the first time since 2021.
Leicester may have lost James Maddison, Harvey Barnes and Youri Tielemans, among others, but Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho, Timothy Castagne and Wilfried Ndidi are still a part of their squad heading into their opening game at the King Power Stadium. They host Coventry live on Sky Sports Football from 11.30am on Sunday ahead of a 12pm kick-off.
Likewise, Leeds United still have Tyler Adams, Jack Harrison and Wilfried Gnonto in their party as they prepare to host Cardiff, live on Sky Sports Football from 2pm on Sunday ahead of a 2.30pm kick-off.
It is set to be a star-packed opening weekend of Championship football.
It wouldn't be the Championship without some degree of managerial upheaval, and seven of the 24 clubs will have new faces in the dugout at the start of the new season.
All three relegated clubs have new managers at the helm. Southampton moved to take Russell Martin from Swansea City. He steered the Swans to mid-table finishes in the last two seasons, but impressed many observers with his possession-based style of play.
Leeds have appointed Daniel Farke, the German who has previously won this league twice with Norwich City in 2019 and 2021. Leicester, meanwhile, have put their faith in Enzo Maresca. The 43-year-old is taking on his first managerial position following on from being Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City.
Elsewhere, Sheffield Wednesday parted company with Darren Moore despite promotion. Xisco Munoz, who took Watford into the Premier League in 2021, has replaced him.
Speaking of Watford... they have appointed Valerien Ismael, who took Barnsley into the play-offs in 2021, before a less successful stint in charge of West Brom in the Championship the following season.
Swansea were forced into action after losing Martin, replacing him with Michael Duff, who took Barnsley to the League One play-off final last season, where they lost to Sheffield Wednesday.
While Cardiff have appointed Erol Bulut, the Turkish 48-year-old who has previously manager of Fenerbahce.
Leicester, Leeds and Southampton are very much in the mix for promotion, but can anyone else challenge them for those top two spots?
Middlesbrough fell in the play-offs last season, but enjoyed an incredible run until that point under Michael Carrick. They have also held on to star striker Chuba Akpom, but will need to find replacements for Cameron Archer and Aaron Ramsey, the loan duo from Aston Villa who were so crucial to their run of form in the second half of the campaign.
Ipswich Town are also an outside bet, and could continue their momentum following last season's promotion under Kieran McKenna. While their rivals Norwich City have been bolstering their squad with experience over the summer, adding the likes of Ashley Barnes and Shane Duffy, and will be expected to improve on last season's mid-table disappointment.
Coventry City narrowly missed out on promotion last season, losing in the play-off final to Luton on penalties. They have lost key striker Viktor Gyokeres, while midfielder Gustavo Hamer remains linked with a move away. But you can never rule out Mark Robins and his side from defying expectations again.
While Sunderland, who made it to last season's play-offs, will hope to continue to improve under Tony Mowbray.
What about anyone else? Well, this is the Championship. So anything can happen.
There is plenty of excitement at Cardiff City following the return of Aaron Ramsey. The former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder, and Wales legend, returns to his boyhood club 15 years after leaving them to join the Gunners. Although he did have a brief loan spell there in 2010/11.
Another Welsh international has been on the move, with Ethan Ampadu finally leaving Chelsea to join Leeds. Remarkably, he is still just 22, but has found a permanent home after four consecutive loan spells.
Leicester City have brought in England internationals Harry Winks and Conor Coady, the latter of whom was in Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad last year.
There should be plenty of other big signings between now and the closure of the transfer window.
The bulk of the Championship drama takes place at 3pm on Saturday, with eight games kicking off at that time.
You will be able to follow it all by watching Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports News from 12pm, or via our dedicated EFL live blog on our website and app.
Blackburn vs West Brom, 3pm
Bristol City vs Preston, 3pm
Middlesbrough vs Millwall, 3pm
Norwich vs Hull, 3pm
Plymouth vs Huddersfield, 3pm
Watford vs QPR, 3pm
Stoke vs Rotherham, 3pm
Swansea vs Birmingham, 3pm
Should you miss your team play, or just want to catch up, then remember we have free match highlights from all Sky Bet Championship fixtures available for you shortly after the full-time whistle blows.
