Burnley will host West Ham United on the opening weekend of the 2026-27 Championship season, with the two relegated clubs meeting on Sunday, 16 August.
The Clarets, who finished 19th in the Premier League last season, will kick off their second-tier campaign at Turf Moor against the Hammers, who dropped out of the top flight on the final day.
Wolves, also relegated from the Premier League, will play the division’s curtain-raiser against Blackburn Rovers at Molineux on Friday, 14 August, getting proceedings underway at 20:00 BST.
Southampton, who begin the season on minus four points following the Spygate scandal, travel to Watford on the opening weekend as they prepare for a challenging campaign.
Saints were expelled from the play-offs in May after a member of staff was found spying on Middlesbrough training before their Championship play-off semi-final.
They admitted to also watching training sessions at Oxford United and Ipswich Town during the regular season, and were deducted four points for the 2026-27 campaign alongside being removed from the play-off final.
Promoted Cardiff City welcome Welsh rivals Wrexham on Monday, 17 August in a highly anticipated fixture that rounds off the opening weekend of fixtures.
League One champions Lincoln City, who earned promotion under former boss Michael Skubala, begin life in the second tier at beaten play-off finalists Middlesbrough on Saturday, 15 August.
Bolton Wanderers, third-tier play-off winners, start their Championship campaign with a home game against Preston North End on the same afternoon.
All three relegated Premier League clubs will be desperate to bounce back immediately, though the division has not been kind to top-flight droppers in recent seasons.
In both of the past two seasons, a team relegated from the Premier League suffered a second successive demotion to League One, with former champions Leicester City following the same path Luton Town had taken in 2024-25.
Burnley have experienced a remarkable cycle of promotion and relegation, having gone up or come down in each of the past four seasons, though they remain without a manager following Scott Parker’s departure in May.
Their bid to appoint Wales manager Craig Bellamy as boss looks to have fallen through, leaving the club in a difficult position ahead of pre-season preparations.
West Ham’s Nuno Espirito Santo has kept his job despite the club’s relegation after 14 seasons in the top flight, and the Portuguese manager brings significant Championship experience to the role.
Nuno previously led Wolves to the Championship title in 2017-18, his one previous season managing at this level, giving the Hammers reason for optimism.
Wolves themselves have moved swiftly after finishing bottom of the Premier League, sacking Rob Edwards earlier this month to bring in Cesar Peixoto and adding Kieran Trippier and Raul Jimenez to their squad.
The 2026-27 Championship calendar also offers several mouth-watering derby clashes, with Saturday, 19 September standing out as a particularly notable day.
Millwall welcome East London rivals West Ham for their first meeting since February 2012, while Wolves host West Brom in the first league fixture between the two in front of fans in 14 years.
Southampton meet Portsmouth at St Mary’s on Saturday, 10 October, and Blackburn travel to Turf Moor for the first east Lancashire derby on Saturday, 21 November.
Six Championship clubs have already appointed new managers this summer, including Tony Mowbray at Blackburn, Alessio Dionisi at Watford, and James Morrison, who has been given the role at West Brom on a permanent basis after steering them to safety last season.
