Birmingham and Wrexham were both promoted from League One last season Wrexham's first second-tier match for 43 years will be at Southampton on Saturday, 9 August - a day after Birmingham City open the Championship season by hosting Ipswich Town. Leicester City's return to the second tier begins at home against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, 10 August. League One play-off final winners Charlton Athletic mark their return to the Championship after a five-year absence with a home game against a Watford side now managed by Uruguayan Paulo Pezzolano. Sheffield United, who were beaten by Sunderland in the Championship play-off final, start the campaign against the Bristol City side they beat in the semi-finals. It was only 14 months ago that Leicester claimed the Championship title and promotion back to the Premier League at their first attempt. But relegation after just one season back in the top flight means they will mark the 10-year anniversary of their Premier League title triumph with a final-day trip to Blackburn on 2 May, 2026. Southampton, who have gone up and down the two divisions alongside Leicester in the past three seasons, will welcome Hollywood-owned Wrexham to St Mary's in one of 10 fixtures on Saturday, 9 August. The Championship season starts a week after the League One and League Two campaigns and sevendays before the Premier League campaign begins. Your club's full fixture list Luton open League One season against AFC Wimbledon Oldham visit MK Dons in first game back in EFL Friday, 8 August Birmingham City v Ipswich Town (20:00) Saturday, 9 August Charlton Athletic v Watford (12:30) Coventry City v Hull City (12:30) Southampton v Wrexham (12:30) 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 (15:00) Sheffield United v Bristol City 17:30 BST Sunday, 10 August Leicester City v Sheffield Wednesday (16:30) All times BST Leicester City lasted only one season in the Premier League after going up as Championship title winners in 2023-24 Leicester City will be welcoming players back for pre-season in the coming days, but who will be in charge of the Foxes for their opening fixture against the Owls remains uncertain. Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy has managed to hold on to his job for more than nine weeks since Leicester's relegation from the Premier League was confirmed. There was intense speculation about his future in the final weeks of the campaign, and that has not gone away since the season ended. Uncertainty about the decorated former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Netherlands striker's position has dragged on alongside off-field concerns about a potential points penalty for the club. Leicester werecharged in May for allegedly breaching the EFL's financial ruleswhen they won the Championship title and promotion just over a year ago. If Van Nistelrooy is replaced, it means the club will have a third different permanent manager in the dugout since Enzo Maresca took them up in that 2023-24 season. Ipswich's Kieran McKenna is the only promotion-winning boss from that season to have survived the Premier League campaign. Southampton return to the second tier with Will Still now at the helm after Russell Martin and Ivan Juric were both sacked by Saints in a season that they finished bottom of the top flight with just 12 points. Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney met with Birmingham City shareholder Tom Brady before the two sides met in League One last season A record-breaking campaign by Birmingham City saw them make an immediate return to the Championship by amassing an EFL record 111 points as League One title winners. Blues chairman Tom Wagner has previously said that going on to reach the Premier League next season "is certainly the goal" of a club that has been transformed by an ownership group that includes seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. The profile boost the NFL legend has given them also means their rivalry with Wrexham, owned by Hollywood pair Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, will draw huge attention once again. The Welsh club finished runners-up to Blues in League One last season, but set a record of their own as they became the first team in the top five divisions of English football to earn three consecutive promotions. Getting Wrexham to the Premier League has been the aim from the outset for Reynolds and McElhenney, who have made the club's meteoric rise of recent years into a global docuseries hit. While it is not a local derby, Birmingham and Wrexham's meetings on 4 October at the Stok Racecourse ground and 11 April at St Andrew's, will get headline treatment. John Mousinho kept Portmsouth in the Championship with a five-game unbeaten run at the end of last season The first league meeting between Southampton and Portsmouth for more than 13 years will take place at St Mary's over the weekend of 13/14 September. Both South Coast derbies ended in draws when the two sides last played during the 2011-12 Championship campaign and the most recent meeting between them saw Saints thump Pompey 4-0 at Fratton Park in the EFL Cup in 2019. Meanwhile, Ipswich's return to the Championship means the East Anglian derby - also known as the Old Farm derby - against Norwich City is back on the schedule at Portman Road in early October and mid-April at Carrow Road. And with Derby County avoiding relegation on the final day last term, they face East Midlands rivals Leicester City in the league for the first time in 11 years when they meet in early December at Pride Park before they face one another again three weeks later at the King Power Stadium. Sheffield United's defeat in the Championship play-off final means another season of the Steel City Derby against Sheffield Wednesday, with the Blades hosting their city neighbours first over the weekend of 22/23 November.
Promoted Wrexham to start season at Southampton
TruthLens AI Suggested Headline:
"Wrexham Set for Championship Opener Against Southampton After 43 Years"
Bbc News
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TruthLens AI Summary
Wrexham's upcoming match against Southampton on August 9 marks a significant moment in the club's history, as it will be their first appearance in the second tier of English football in 43 years. This match coincides with the opening of the Championship season, which also sees Birmingham City hosting Ipswich Town the day before. Wrexham, alongside Birmingham, earned promotion from League One last season, with the Welsh club notably achieving three consecutive promotions, a record in the top five divisions of English football. This meteoric rise has garnered substantial media attention, especially given the club's ownership by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who have turned their journey into a popular docuseries. The match against Southampton, who have also recently fluctuated between tiers, is part of an exciting opening weekend that features several key fixtures, including Leicester City's return to the Championship against Sheffield Wednesday on August 10.
Additionally, the new Championship season will showcase various rivalries and notable matches, including the long-awaited fixture between Southampton and Portsmouth, which has not occurred for over a decade. The league's structure this season promises to be competitive, with teams like Sheffield United and Bristol City also eager to make their mark. The narrative around Wrexham continues to evolve, particularly as they aim for Premier League status under their ambitious owners. The club's rivalry with Birmingham City, bolstered by the presence of NFL star Tom Brady among the club's shareholders, is set to draw significant attention as both clubs vie for success in the Championship. The season's early fixtures highlight not only the excitement of promotion for Wrexham and Birmingham but also the challenges ahead for teams like Leicester City and Southampton as they adapt to life back in the second tier of English football.
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