Championship fixtures 2020-21: Wycombe Wanderers host Rotherham United in opener
Last updated on .From the section Championship
Wycombe will host Rotherham in their first-ever match in the Championship on the opening weekend of the 2020-21 English Football League season.
The pair, both promoted from League One, will meet on 12 September - six weeks later than the season was due to start because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Relegated Bournemouth host Blackburn, while Watford welcome Middlesbrough and Norwich are away at Huddersfield.
Coventry, who were League One champions on points per game, visit Bristol City.
For both the Sky Blues and Rotherham it will mark their first competitive league matches in six months, after the 2019-20 EFL season was originally suspended on 13 March because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The third- and fourth-tier campaigns were eventually curtailed following a vote by clubs in June, although the play-offs were still able to go ahead as planned, with Wycombe beating Oxford at Wembley to win promotion.
There will have been fewer than 40 days between the end of the last Championship campaign and the start of the new one, after Fulham concluded the English domestic season with victory over Brentford in the second-tier play-off final on 4 August.
Matches at the start of the 2020-21 season, which officially begins on 5 September with ties in the Carabao Cup first round, are to remain behind closed doors because of the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
However, League One side Charlton Athletic said on Friday their home game against Doncaster on 19 September is "likely" to be used as a crowd pilot test.
Opening fixtures
All matches currently scheduled for Saturday, 12 September at 15:00 BST
- AFC Bournemouth v Blackburn Rovers
- Barnsley v Luton Town
- Birmingham City v Brentford
- Bristol City v Coventry City
- Cardiff City v Sheffield Wednesday
- Derby County v Reading
- Huddersfield Town v Norwich City
- Millwall v Stoke City
- Preston North End v Swansea City
- Queens Park Rangers v Nottingham Forest
- Watford v Middlesbrough
- Wycombe Wanderers v Rotherham United
How will they cram everything in?
With every team in the EFL facing 46 league games - plus further possible matches in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Leasing.com Trophy and play-offs - the season promises to be more congested than ever.
In an attempt to combat fixture pile-ups further down the line, the first four rounds of the Carabao Cup are due to be completed within the opening month of the campaign, meaning there are no midweek games in the league until 20 October.
However, there are then 13 rounds of midweek fixtures scheduled to take place in the Championship - not including the Christmas and Easter periods - up from the eight initially planned in 2019-20.
It is a similar story in League One and League Two, where there will be 11 rounds of midweek games up from five - and that is before taking into account the impact of the winter weather.
Despite starting six weeks late, the season is still due to finish before the end of May, with the play-off finals taking place on the weekend of 29-31 May.
The relegated trio
Bournemouth and Watford will be under new management when they return to the second tier, having each spent the past five seasons in the Premier League.
Jason Tindall, who was previously Eddie Howe's assistant at Bournemouth, has been given the task of trying to secure an immediate return to the top flight.
Four different managers took charge of Watford last season and the Hornets, who were FA Cup finalists in 2019, have turned to Vladimir Ivic as their new boss.
Norwich were the other side to drop out of the Premier League in July and will be once again led by Daniel Farke, under whom the Canaries won the Championship title in 2018-19.
The promoted trio
Coventry will again be ground-sharing with Birmingham City next season after failing to agree a deal with Premiership rugby union club Wasps to return to the Ricoh Arena.
The two clubs met in an FA Cup tie last term, and now find themselves in the same division after Coventry won the League One title.
The Sky Blues' nominal 'home' fixture at St Andrew's will be on Saturday, 21 November.
Wycombe's first season in England's second tier will start just over six years after they were nearly relegated from the English Football League.
Their campaign begins with a home match against Rotherham, who have twice been relegated in their first year after winning promotion from League One - a sequence that manager Paul Warne will hope to end in 2020-21.
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Wycombe v Rotherham?"
Well Wycombe were last in non-league 27 years ago and Rotherham have never been in non-league in their history but good to see you've got your finger on the pulse.
For the time being🙏
Why can't you just leave it alone?
Great to see Barrow and Harrogate in the fixture list.
Could the BBC do one of their long pieces on each of these clubs, showing some of their history, highs and lows, what their expectations are, who's involved at the clubs etc etc?
It'd be an eye-opener for most people
Best of luck to all teams, both on and off the pitch👍
Also good to have Wycombe in the Championship.
The debacle surrounding my club's last sale and subsequent collapse should prove to everyone that the 'fit and proper' ownership rules aren't worth the paper they're written on, nor are the FFP rules that seem to take forever to be dealt with
A Wigan fan concerned for the future of football in the lower leagues
Wonder whatever happened to Lampards Derby County too
Premier league fans should realise how little your club actually needs you and your money. Its EFL and Non League teams that really need your support at this time.
Many premier league teams acted disgracefully towards their staff during CV19 whilst protecting all their divas. Says loads about the morals of the EPL.
3 hours ago
Looking at the opening fixture list here, I didn't know half these team had made it out of non-league football to be honest.
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Your lack of footballing knowledge isn't really something to brag about on a football HYS.
"It's going to be a tough season for Sky this time around having to try and sell this league to the viewing public"
The extra revinue would come in handy but you are confusing active football supporting matchgoers with PL passive supporters... or telly viewers!
Anyone can sit at home clapping for "their" 11 multi - millionaires they have never seen or will ever see
That's easy.
Good to see Barrow back in the Div 2 fixture lists again - just need Workington and Southport in there and it will be a real 60s nostalgia vibe !
I guess they could always try paying heir rent to Wasps, and play at the Ricoh.
Yes they voted to finish the season but so did most clubs otherwise it wouldnt have gone thru.
They also won the playoff semi 6-3 and then won the final.
They also had the 2nd lowest playing budget in league one so massively over achieved.
Credit where credit is due people, amazing achivement so I am not getting the negativity.
Darlington has a 26000 seat ground a few years back. How did that go for them?
I take it MK Dons should be promoted straight to the prem?