EFL Championship PREVIEW 22 Aug 2026: Boro Aim to Regroup at Blackburn After Play-Off Heartbreak

Blackburn host Middlesbrough on Saturday in the pick of the Championship's second round of fixtures. Boro arrive having finished last season the cruellest way possible: they went through to the play-off final only because fourth-placed Southampton were disqualified for unauthorised filming of rivals' training sessions, then lost 1-0 to Hull City at Wembley when Oli McBurnie scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time.