EFL Championship PREVIEW 8 Sep 2026: Wrexham host Burnley for the first time since 2000, and West Ham return to Bolton on Tuesday night

Two fixtures carry real history on Tuesday. Wrexham against Burnley is, per Sports Mole, the hosts' "first competitive meeting with Burnley since losing 1-0 at home in March 2000" — Phil Parkinson's side come into it off a goalless draw at Swansea he greeted warmly ("The boys were absolutely brilliant"), while Nicky Hayen's Burnley were beaten late by Bristol City, who "staged a dramatic turnaround, equalising in the 81st minute before netting a stoppage-time winner to condemn the Clarets to their first home defeat of the season." And at Bolton, per Yahoo Sports, "West Ham and Bolton have not faced each other in league action since 2011." Steven Schumacher's hosts must cope without Josh Sheehan, "sent off against Millwall, with Ethan Erhahon likely to replace him in midfield", after a collapse their manager called out — he "claimed his side 'played really well' until the final 10 minutes when they conceded three 'pathetic' late goals." Nuno Espirito Santo's West Ham arrive flying — "A 4-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last Tuesday was followed by a 3-0 victory over Derby County on Saturday" — though he is sweating on two of the scorers' fitness: "That's a concern. Let's see how both of them are. Hope they recover for Bolton."

Elsewhere, Blackburn meet Sheffield United with Tony Mowbray's squad stretched thin — Sports Mole lists them "without the likes of Harry Pickering, Scott Wharton, Lewis Miller, Moussa Baradji, Augustus Kargbo, Yuki Ohashi and Balazs Toth through injury" — after a derby defeat in which Mowbray admitted his side conceded "two really soft goals"; the visitors "suffered their first defeat of the season at the weekend when they were beaten 3-1 by Norwich City." Cardiff against Stoke carries an off-field question: "Police are investigating an altercation involving new Bluebirds signing Krystian Bielik and a Portsmouth supporter", with his availability undecided, while Brian Barry-Murphy acknowledged "It's a very tough schedule" and the in-form Potters — "back-to-back victories, including a thumping 4-0 win over Charlton Athletic" — travel without Sam Gallagher and Bosun Lawal. Southampton host Swansea with Tonda Eckert missing only Caspar Jander, against a side Sports Mole describes as "led by Portuguese boss Matos" with "league victories over Stoke City, Derby County and Watford" plus goalless draws against Sheffield United and Wrexham. And Watford take on Preston looking to arrest a slide — "consecutive draws with back-to-back away defeats, including a narrow 1-0 loss" at West Brom, with Edoardo Bove likely out — while Paul Heckingbottom's visitors come "with renewed belief after clinching their first victory of the season in Saturday's Lancashire derby against Blackburn Rovers."