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Championship Betting Tips
EFL Championship 2026/27: Opening Matchday Fixtures
The new season officially kicks off on the weekend of August 14–17, 2026. Here is the full schedule for the opening round of games:
Friday, August 14, 2026
- Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Blackburn Rovers (20:00 BST)
Saturday, August 15, 2026
- Bolton Wanderers vs Preston North End (12:30 BST)
- Sheffield United vs Birmingham City (17:30 BST)
- Bristol City vs Millwall (15:00 BST)
- Charlton Athletic vs Derby County (15:00 BST)
- Middlesbrough vs Lincoln City (15:00 BST)
- Norwich City vs West Bromwich Albion (15:00 BST)
- Portsmouth vs Queens Park Rangers (15:00 BST)
- Stoke City vs Swansea City (15:00 BST)
Sunday, August 16, 2026
- Watford vs Southampton (13:30 BST)
- Burnley vs West Ham United (16:00 BST)
Monday, August 17, 2026
- Cardiff City vs Wrexham (20:00 BST)
Opening Weekend Predictions
Here are our key predictions for the most anticipated clashes of Matchday 1:
- Wolves vs Blackburn Rovers: Wolves will want to make a statement dropping down from the top flight. Expect a tight affair under the Molineux lights, but a Wolves home win looks likely to start the campaign.
- Burnley vs West Ham United: A massive heavyweight battle between two sides recently relegated from the Premier League. With both squads rebuilding, a fiercely contested score draw is on the cards at Turf Moor.
- Cardiff City vs Wrexham: A massive all-Welsh rivalry caps off the opening weekend on Monday night. Backed by a raucous home crowd on their return to the second tier, Cardiff City to edge out a narrow victory against Hollywood-backed Wrexham.
- Bolton Wanderers vs Preston North End: Newly-promoted Bolton return to the Championship with a mouth-watering local derby. The momentum of promotion might just carry them to secure a hard-fought draw against an established Preston side.
England Championship Predictions
The Championship of the English Football League is the second strongest and classiest national division. Every year, 24 teams compete to get into the prestigious Premier League. And they have such a chance - the two best teams at the end of the championship get a ticket to the EPL. And the teams that took third to sixth place play according to the “relegation” system, as a result, one of them also gets a ticket to the elite world of English football.It is difficult to bet on the Championship, since the championship is very unpredictable and has the following features:
- Strong teams take part in the championship, which are mostly two heads above many opponents outside the top 5 of the UEFA rating. Such famous teams as Leeds, West Brom, Blackburn played in this championship.
- Almost all teams have strong support from fans, fans willingly attend their matches in 2024, TV broadcast rights are sold well, and therefore the clubs of this English football league are rich, and therefore competitive, prone to uncompromising struggle.
- The course of the match and the situation in the tournament table can change dramatically - today some are in the lead, tomorrow others. The results of the competitions are often unexpected and difficult to predict.
EFL Championship Predictions
All bettors know that bets on matches from the category "England Championship" are distinguished by high odds. But profit from them can only be obtained in case of a win, and this is possible only if the prediction for the outcome is accurate.To create mathematical analytical calculations, experts do a lot of work. They analyze events that can affect the outcome of a football competition, evaluate the form of the teams, their motivation and immediate prospects, determine which of the opponents has the best chances of winning. This is how accurate predictions are made not only for the outcomes, but also for other markets in the match schedule, for example, for statistics.
Today you can get predictions for betting on games of the Championship absolutely free of charge. Rest assured, in this section of our site there is always interesting and useful information for betting - tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and every day.
How to Watch Championship Online
We recommend Stake.com for EFL Championship live streaming. Please note that geo-restrictions apply.If you want to watch English football on your mobile, tablet or laptop, follow these simple steps:
- Register a new Stake account (or log on)
- Click on the In-Play or Live Streaming link
- Choose the match you want to watch
