Championship preview: Contenders, pretenders and strugglers

Published4 hours ago

With League One and League Two clubs involved in the FA Cup this weekend, the Championship has a free run of the EFL.

So far England's second tier has served up its usual helping of drama and chaos in equal measure while sacking season seems to be in full swing.

Struggling Derby County open proceedings on Friday against Bolton Wanderers and we have picked out five things you may want to keep an eye out for on Saturday.

This weekend's Championship fixtures

This weekend's Championship fixtures

Blues out to ruffle Swans feathers

Tom Wagner and his Knighthead Capital Management hardly made an auspicious start as owners of Birmingham City.

Sacking boss John Eustace when they were sixth in the Championship and appointing Wayne Rooney took many by surprise and, with the former Manchester United and England striker winning only two of his 15 league games in charge before being replaced by Gary Rowett, relegation became a near certainty.

A rebuild under Chris Davies saw Blues pay a League One record fee to sign Jay Stansfield, with his 19 goals helping to fire them to a record-breaking promotion.

Last season brought consolidation and a 10th-place finish with the hope for a promotion tilt this time around and the early signs are promising.

A run of five wins from their past six games has propelled Davies' side up to third, and a chance to possibly go top by beating Swansea on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

"The league table is temporary at the moment and when I came in two-and-a-half years ago we'd just been relegated, so we've come a long way and we feel like we deserve to be where we are," said Davies after Tuesday's 3-0 win over Millwall.

Swansea's visit not only provides a good test for Birmingham's credentials but also of the Welshmen's powers of recovery.

A 4-0 thrashing of Blackburn last weekend was sandwiched in between a 5-0 walloping by QPR and Tuesday's 3-1 reverse at Portsmouth which has seen Vitor Matos' side fall out of the automatic promotion places.

This then feels like a first real test for both teams to prove their worth.

Can the Hammers end a hectic week on a high?

A week is a long time in football, just ask West Ham United fans.

From the boos and jeers following a home defeat by West Brom last Saturday came the sacking of boss Nuno Espirito Santo, the appointment of Scott Parker and a crazy 3-3 draw at Cardiff City - such is the life of a Hammers supporter.

Parker is back at the club he served for four years as a player, bringing with him a reputation as a man who knows how to get teams out of the Championship. The 46-year-old has already won promotion with Fulham, Bournemouth and Burnley.

"I've been in this division three times and I've got out of this division three times. This is a tough division, there is absolutely no denying it," Parker said.

"I will use every ounce of my experience, every ounce of my knowledge, to have an understanding of what we're going to need to bring consistency."

The first 45 minutes of his tenure was a perfect example of the task facing him as the Hammers went 3-0 down at Cardiff before fighting back to claim an unlikely point.

Saturday's trip to Blackburn (15:00 GMT) brings them up against a side who have lost two on the bounce but have a habit of producing a result just when you think they are on the slide.

Chopping block for Charlton's Jones at Blades?

Now, unless you are a Sheffield United supporter you may not have noticed them so far this season but there they are, quietly going about their business in ninth place.

With four wins from their past six games the Blades have tip-toed their way into the play-off frame and only five points short of the top two.

"I'm not getting carried away, we needed to get to the first international break and work a few things out which we've done - I want to build something here and some stuff works and some doesn't so we're learning on the job," head coach Chris Wilder said after Tuesday's Sydie Peck-inspired win at Preston.

Contrast Sheffield United's emotions with those of Charlton for whom second-season syndrome is snapping at their heels.

From the highs of being top of the table after three successive wins to start the season, the Addicks have plunged to four straight defeats with no victory since the end of August.

Suddenly Saturday's meeting at The Valley (15:00 GMT) has a lot riding on it for both teams.

Life not so great for Alexander at Preston

When Graham Alexander returned to the scene of past glories as a player to become Preston North End manager towards the end of September his new team were second from bottom, three points short of the safety line.

Six games into his tenure they are now nine points adrift with a solitary draw to show for their efforts. If he had any doubt as to the size of the job he had taken on, the half-a-dozen matches since will have opened his eyes fully.

"I wanted it to be a fresh start when I came in but they're carrying baggage of the past and I can understand that, and it's my job and the coaching staff to get them to put that down and see the rest of the season as an opportunity," Alexander told BBC Radio Lancashire.

If you were looking for a team who might be carrying baggage then Southampton would have been one given the fallout from Spygate, but Saints' season has been sailing along.

Their two hiccups have come away from home, but having taken seven points from their past nine on the road they will surely be feeling confident before their trip to Deepdale (15:00 GMT).

Morrison motoring with the Baggies

Throughout a rather tempestuous 2025-26 season, the one constant at West Bromwich Albion was James Morrison.

Having worked their way through Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay, Morrison was called upon to take the reins before being handed the role permanently in April as reward for steering them clear of relegation.

A five-game unbeaten run, including impressive wins over Wrexham, Blackburn and West Ham has pushed Albion into the top six going into Saturday's meeting with Millwall at The Hawthorns (15:00 GMT).

A lengthy injury list has so far prevented the Londoners from replicating last season's form which took them to the brink of automatic promotion before play-off heartbreak.

These two are seeking to be contenders for at least a top-eight finish and a result for either may show us who is the real deal and who might just be a pretender.

BBC Sport will have live text coverage of all the weekend's Championship action starting on Friday with Derby County v Bolton Wanderers (20:00 GMT).

Related topics

Championship

Football

West Bromwich Albion

Millwall

Sheffield United

Preston North End

Southampton

Charlton Athletic

Birmingham City

Swansea City

West Ham United

Blackburn Rovers