EFL Championship PREVIEW 12 Sep 2026: Vardy Set for Burnley Debut, Ten Fixtures Across the Division

The EFL Championship plays a full ten-fixture round on 12 September 2026: Bolton Wanderers host Cardiff City, Derby County host Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion host QPR, Blackburn Rovers host Millwall, Charlton Athletic host Portsmouth, Middlesbrough host Norwich City, Preston North End host Lincoln City, Southampton host Bristol City, Swansea City host Burnley and Watford host Stoke City.

Bolton lost 2-3 to West Ham United in midweek, with Lewis Brunt and Akin Famewo added to the injury list after picking up hamstring problems against Millwall; new loan signing Thelonious Bair made his debut off the bench and could add attacking options, with Ryan Hardie in line to start ahead of the injured Sam Dalby. Cardiff drew 1-1 at home with Stoke City, Rubin Colwill scoring; Isaak Davies is expected to miss out with a hamstring problem and Calum Chambers remains sidelined with a knee injury.

Derby, managed by John Eustace, who was sacked by Birmingham City in 2023, are missing Carlton Morris to a muscle injury and Matt Clarke to a longer-term issue, leaving Sammie Szmodics, Lars-Jorgen Salvesen and Henrik Meister as the main attacking options; Derby fell 0-1 at home to a ten-man West Bromwich Albion in their last match and are still chasing their first home win of the season. Birmingham City, without Marc Leonard, Max Bird and Taylor Gardner-Hickman, lost at Norwich City in their last outing, a second-half goal from Carlos Vicente not enough to overturn two first-half strikes.

West Brom, missing suspended defender Brayann Pereira and injured winger Mikey Johnston and full-back Nolan Galves, beat Derby 1-0 through Aune Heggebo despite finishing with ten men, and are chasing a third straight league win, which would be their first run of three consecutive victories since September 2024. QPR, held scoreless at home by Charlton last time out, face fresh fitness concerns over Jimmy Dunne and Tariq Lamptey after both went off injured in that game, on top of longer-term absences for Ilias Chair and Karamoko Dembele.

Blackburn, winless in their last five matches in all competitions, are without most of their recognised forwards: Andri Gudjohnsen is a doubt after a tight quad injury and Moussa Baradji could feature for the first time this season, while winger Jayden Fevrier may again be redeployed as an emergency striker; Tony Mowbray's side lost 1-2 at home to Sheffield United in their last match. Millwall, missing Casper De Norre and Josh Coburn among a lengthy injury list, beat Bolton Wanderers 4-0 despite finishing with ten men themselves, Lyndon Dykes scoring his first goals for the club, and are looking to build on that after a narrow EFL Cup defeat to Newcastle United in midweek.

Charlton, missing Will Mannion, Nathaniel Chalobah, Billy Koumetio and Kayne Ramsay, were held goalless at home by QPR without registering a single shot on target, extending an unbeaten home run to three matches; Danny McNamara returns from suspension and manager Nathan Jones is back in the dugout after a touchline ban. Portsmouth, already without Collins Sichenje for the rest of the season after an ACL injury and now missing new signing Luke Brooke-Smith to a serious ankle injury, beat Cardiff City 2-0 through Conor Shaughnessy and Marezi to end back-to-back defeats; former Portsmouth winger Milli Alli, now at Charlton, faces his old club.

Middlesbrough, missing Jeremy Sarmiento and Alex Bangura, beat QPR 1-0 through Will Lankshear, his seventh goal of the season and seventh consecutive match on the scoresheet, after their four-game unbeaten run had been ended in midweek by a 3-0 EFL Cup defeat to Crystal Palace; manager Kim Hellberg said Norwich would have been in the promotion picture but for a slow start and noted they have used four different formations in their last four games. Norwich, without Mirko Topic and Ali Ahmed and with midfielder Pelle also ruled out, beat Birmingham City 2-1 through Oscar Schwartau and a first Norwich goal from Papa Amadou Diallo, their first back-to-back league wins of the season.

Preston, with Andrew Hughes, Brad Potts and Ali McCann all missing through injury, lost 2-1 at Watford in midweek despite leading for most of the match, and have not kept a clean sheet in 23 competitive games stretching back to February; manager Paul Heckingbottom is working under increasing scrutiny over results. Lincoln City, missing Tendayi Darikwa and Tom Hamer and with Mason Melia a doubt, arrive on a three-match unbeaten league run after making wholesale changes for a 4-0 EFL Cup defeat at Bournemouth in midweek.

Southampton, unbeaten in five in the Championship, beat Swansea City 3-1 away in their last match and go into the game with no fresh injury concerns beyond the long-absent Caspar Jander; Cyle Larin, in red-hot form this season, is expected to start. Bristol City, missing only the long-term-absent Luke McNally, have won their last three Championship matches, with Yu Hirakawa in contention to keep his place after a dramatic late winner in their previous outing.

Swansea's previously unbeaten start to the season ended with a 3-1 defeat at Southampton, manager Vitor Matos citing a lack of intensity and aggressiveness in the first half; Josh Key, Melker Widell, Stephen Eustaquio, Eom Ji-sung and Adam Idah could all return, while Zan Vipotnik may make way despite scoring at Southampton. Burnley, winless in eight games in open play after a 1-1 draw at Wrexham, could hand a debut to free-transfer signing Jamie Vardy, available again after a one-match ban carried over from his time at Cremonese; manager Nicky Hayen said: "It's goals, that's why we brought him in... he's an experienced player but also an intelligent player... with Jamie he has such intelligent runs that he doesn't need a lot of chances before he scores goals," though Vardy may be limited to a late substitute appearance given his lack of match fitness.

Watford beat Preston North End 2-1 in midweek, scoring twice in the final quarter after conceding an early opener to end a run without a win under manager Dionisi, but remain without Marc Bola, Edoardo Bove and Kwadwo Baah. Stoke City, missing as many as eight players including goalkeepers Viktor Johansson and Gavin Bazunu, rescued a dramatic 3-3 draw at home to Ipswich Town in midweek after back-to-back away defeats, with manager Mark Robins turning the club's form around in recent weeks.