As we approach the third weekend of the new EFL season, we have decided to bring back our series where we pick out five matches from the weekend’s football action to look out for, highlighting the exciting, important and mouthwatering ties.
This article will focus on the games to look out for in The Championship as the weekend draws closer, and it’s fair to say the opening two game weeks have lived up to the enthralling and dazzling reputation that the second tier is known for. From the thrilling 3-3 draw between Leeds and Portsmouth on the opening day at Elland Road, to Queens Park Rangers’ last-gasp equaliser at the impressive Sheffield United, there has already been shocks, twists and a lot of goals!
So, here are our five picks for game week 3 in the second tier:
1. The South Wales Derby
It goes without saying that this huge fixture would be on our list. Luke Williams’ Swansea City take on Erol Bulut’s Cardiff City in the South Wales derby on Sunday at 3 pm, live on Sky Sports. The Bluebirds come into this encounter with their noisy neighbours off the back of a demoralizing 5-0 defeat away to Scott Parker’s Burnley and will be looking for a much better response in this tasty encounter, as they have failed to score in both league matches so far.
Whereas, Swansea come into this early season clash off the back of an impressive 3-0 win against Preston North End, and with the home advantage again for the first South Wales Derby of the season, they will look to ensure that Cardiff City stay at the foot of the table at the end of the weekend. The Swans have won five of the last six against their rivals, and will be desperate to extend that run when the two sides meet on Sunday afternoon.
2. Top Two Battle
Of course, when we say “top two“, we are very aware that the season has only just kicked off and there is a very long way to go before the champions are crowned, but when Sunderland host Burnley on Saturday afternoon it will see second take on first, with both teams being part of the three clubs yet to drop points.
As mentioned above, Burnley come into this one with confidence brimming after smashing Cardiff City 5-0 at Turf Moor last time out. The Black Cats are in a similar sparkling mood, after a 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, which coincidentally built on their own win against Cardiff on the opening day. Something is going to have to give in this one, with Burnley having already scored nine goals, meeting the only team in the second tier who are yet to concede.
3. New Era At Deepdale
After manager Ryan Lowe’s shock departure after defeat to Sheffield United on the opening night of the season, Preston North End announced Paul Heckingbottom as their new boss on Wednesday. His opening game as the new boss will take place at 3 pm on Saturday against recently relegated Luton Town. It’s his first job since being sacked by The Blades last season, after a run of poor results in the top flight.
Luton Town visit Deepdale without goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski, who was sent off in a 0-0 draw with newly promoted Portsmouth for a rash second yellow card, Rob Edwards’ side previously were hammered 1-4 on their own patch, so will be desperate to avoid any potential Preston new manager bounce and secure their first three points of the season.
4. Friday Night Firecracker
The weekend’s football kicks off on Friday evening, with Daniel Farke’s Leeds United heading to Sheffield to take on Danny Rohl’s Sheffield Wednesday, who it’s fair to say have had a topsy-turvy opening two matches. Wednesday thrashed Plymouth Argyle at Hillsborough in Wayne Rooney’s first match as Argyle boss, before as mentioned above, being on the end of a heavy defeat at Sunderland last time out.
Leeds will be looking to secure their first win of the season after drawing both of their opening matches, and will also begin life without forward Georginio Rutter, who completed a move to Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion this week, for a fee in the region of £40 million. This will certainly be an entertaining game and one in which Leeds will be itching to start on the front foot, but despite being the favourites, will know that Hillsbrough’s atmosphere is up there with one of the best in the division and can be a tough place to go to when short of confidence.
5. Happy Hornets
With Sunderland and Burnley facing each other, Tom Cleverley’s Watford could take advantage of the fact that at least one of the two other sides with a 100 percent record are guaranteed to drop points when they host Derby County on Saturday. Despite an underwhelming pre-season and a lot of concern around the team heading into the new season, The Hornets have made a flying start to The Championship season with Wins against Millwall and Stoke City, with a 5-0 EFL Cup thrashing of Milton Keynes Dons in between. It’s fair to say Watford have defied expectations even at this very early stage of the season, and will be looking to see just how long they can keep this unbeaten run going.
Paul Warne’s Derby County picked up their first win since returning to the second tier with a narrow 1-0 win over Middlesbrough last Saturday lunchtime, and will look to improve defensively on the road this weekend, after they conceded four times against Blackburn Rovers on their last away outing. However both meetings between these two sides in the last five years ended in victory for Watford, so Derby will be looking to put the head-to-head stats to one side when they travel to Hertfordshire.
So, there are our five matches to look out for this weekend in The Sky Bet Championship. Whether you are following your team across the country or enjoying the football from the comfort of your own home, we hope you have a fantastic weekend!
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