EFL Championship REVIEW 1 Sep 2026: four from eight for the model, and its biggest miss was the biggest win

Four from eight for the model on the season's third Championship night, and its biggest miss was also the day's biggest win. It had leaned to Wolverhampton Wanderers at West Ham United; instead West Ham won 4-2 for a first win since relegation, Divine Mukasa at the centre of it with two — a rising drive off the underside of the bar on 33 and another on 53 — around Jarrod Bowen's penalty and a Konstantinos Mavropanos header, with Marshall Munetsi and a Mavropanos own goal the Wolverhampton Wanderers reply.

The late drama went the model's way: Sheffield United, its home pick, beat Bolton 3-2 in stoppage time, Romelle Donovan running onto a Kalvin Phillips pass to settle a game that had swung four times — Xavier Simons and Sam Dalby putting Bolton ahead twice, Japhet Tanganga and Patrick Bamford hauling United level each time. Two more home calls came in: Stoke beat Norwich City 1-0 through Ethan Galbraith's deflected strike, and Swansea beat Watford 2-0, Eom Ji-sung and Adam Idah scoring inside the first half-hour. The model's other correct call was an away one, Bristol City winning 3-1 at Preston, Scott Twine's early opener answered by Caleb Wiley before substitutes Lisav Eissat and Dom Ballard turned it late.

The rest got away from us. Derby won 2-0 at Portsmouth, where the model favoured the hosts, Sammie Szmodics and substitute Lars-Jorgen Salvesen scoring; Birmingham were held 1-1 by Southampton, Keven Schlotterbeck's header cancelled by August Priske's; and Lincoln City and Blackburn drew 0-0, Blackburn seeing out the last twenty minutes a man down after Tom Atcheson's second booking.