Fulham vs Middlesbrough, Coventry vs Nottingham Forest live on Sky Sports on Sunday afternoon
Sunday 8 August 2021 07:50, UK
Who is David Prutton tipping for victory in Sunday's Sky Bet Championship fixtures? Find out here...
Fulham are back in the Championship! And once again right among the favourites to return to the Premier League again with Marco Silva at the helm. With Aleksandar Mitrovic up front in this league you have to fancy them.
It has been a summer of shrewd business from Middlesbrough, and Neil Warnock would not still be there at this stage of his career if he didn't fancy them for promotion. With him in charge they are contenders. I'll back a draw here.
Prutton predicts: 1-1 (Sky Bet odds)
It was an excellent return to the Championship for Coventry last season. Consolidation was the aim and they did just that under Mark Robins. Whether they can kick on remains to be seen, but it is great to see them back playing in their home city.
Chris Hughton has a habit of dragging teams up this league after a quiet start. Nottingham Forest did not pull up any trees under him last season, but after a full pre-season, they should be a different proposition this campaign. That being said, I think the spoils will be shared in this one.
Prutton predicts: 1-1 (Sky Bet odds)
Cardiff will start the season with high hopes of making the top six under Mick McCarthy, even without Harry Wilson in their ranks this season. McCarthy knows all about this division and they have the quality in their squad to challenge.
Barnsley have lost their manager and their talisman in Alex Mowatt. They are so well run, though, and you always trust their managerial appointments. It will be fascinating to see how Markus Schopp gets on and if can continue to build on what Valerien Ismael achieved. It could be a bumpy start, however. Home win.
Prutton predicts: 1-0 (Sky Bet odds)
It's time now for Stoke to have a real swing at the top six. Michael O'Neill had his season to steady things last year, and a club of their stature now needs to be challenging for a play-off spot at least.
It will be interesting to see how Reading and Veljko Paunovic rally this season, after looking nailed on for a play-off spot for so long. They looked a little light towards the end, and that won't have been helped by their lack of business so far, and the departure of Michael Olise. I fancy Stoke to kick things off with a win.
Prutton predicts: 1-0 (Sky Bet odds)
Considering Sheffield United spent so much of last season heading towards an inevitable relegation, they will probably be excited to kick things off again in the Championship. Chris Wilder was always going to be an impossible man to replace, but they couldn't have done much better than by bringing in Slavisa Jokanovic.
After so many seasons of scraping around at the bottom of the table, Birmingham will have real optimism of kicking on and having a more comfortable campaign under Lee Bowyer. No one will like playing them, but I think the Blades will have too much for them on opening day.
Prutton predicts: 2-1 (Sky Bet odds)
Blackburn vs Swansea: 0-1 (Sky Bet odds)
Bristol City vs Blackpool: 1-2 (Sky Bet odds)
Derby vs Huddersfield: 0-0 (Sky Bet odds)
Luton vs Peterborough: 2-2 (Sky Bet odds)
Preston vs Hull: 0-1 (Sky Bet odds)
QPR vs Millwall: 2-1 (Sky Bet odds)
