EFL Championship PREVIEW 19 Sep 2026: West Ham return to Millwall for a derby the Championship hasn't hosted in 14 years

Nine games fill Saturday's Championship card, and our model finds only one fixture it treats as a clear-cut certainty: Queens Park Rangers, whom it rates close to three-in-five to beat Preston North End at Loftus Road, the shortest price it has attached to any match this weekend. Most of the rest are far closer. Cardiff City against Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City's visit from Middlesbrough are both inside a coin toss, with barely anything separating the three outcomes. Three matches see the model lean toward the away side rather than the home one: West Ham United at Millwall, Swansea City at Lincoln City, and Southampton at Wrexham.

Preston arrive at Loftus Road under new management. Paul Heckingbottom was sacked after a 1-0 home defeat to Lincoln City on 13 September left the club with a single win from their opening seven league games, and Jason Euell has taken interim charge for the trip to west London. Euell played down the occasion after his first full week in training, saying the test QPR pose is no different to any other Championship game, and goes into it without the injured midfield trio of Ali McCann, Theo Carroll and Brad Potts. QPR, unbeaten last time out in a 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion in which Chris Mepham's own goal was cancelled out by a Callum Styles equaliser, have Paul Smyth back from a back complaint and Karamoko Dembele closing in on a first-team return from a long-standing anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The day's occasion is at The Den, where Millwall host West Ham United in what is reported as the 100th meeting between the two clubs and their first competitive fixture in fourteen years, restored to the calendar by West Ham's relegation from the Premier League last season. Nuno Espirito Santo called it "a special game," adding: "The atmosphere will be different, and there's expectation from both sets of fans. We know things are decided on the pitch, so we need to be focused, ignore the noise and play the game." His side are without Joel Veltman and are unlikely to risk Tomas Soucek despite his return to training, and they arrive on the back of a Carabao Cup exit at Fulham in midweek. Millwall's Alex Neil goes into the game with a lengthy injury list that ran to eleven absentees for Tuesday's 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough, and has spoken of a squad worn down by a congested week, though he has promised his side will give everything.

At the bet365 Stadium, Stoke City have won their last league outing 2-1 at Watford and could have Sam Gallagher available again after injury; Sheffield United arrive having lost 1-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers before going out of the EFL Cup at fourth-tier Fleetwood Town in midweek, with Tyrese Campbell returning to face the club that sold him. Birmingham City, still without a home league win this season, host a Middlesbrough side unbeaten after Tuesday's 2-2 draw with Millwall; Chris Davies is without the ill Demarai Gray and the injured Patrick Roberts, while Kim Hellberg's squad has Alfie Jones sidelined with a calf problem. Burnley, who beat Derby County in last month's Carabao Cup tie at Turf Moor, host a Derby side who have Rhian Brewster available again after a spell out with concussion; Nicky Hayen has described the game as must-win for his own team.

Cardiff City, still waiting for their first league win since promotion, host a Charlton Athletic side without a goal in three matches; Brian Barry-Murphy is missing Rubin Colwill, while Nathan Jones is without four first-team players including Nathaniel Chalobah. Lincoln City, five games unbeaten after a narrow midweek win over Bristol City, welcome a Swansea City side whose head coach Vitor Matos has praised the newly promoted Imps as one of the league's best defensive units. Portsmouth, unbeaten in two matches with back-to-back clean sheets, host Blackburn Rovers, who ended a four-match winless run with a 3-1 win at Millwall and are managed by Tony Mowbray in his second spell at Ewood Park; John Mousinho has said the result will help define how his own side feel about the start of their season. Southampton, playing under the four-point deduction they carry into this campaign, go to Wrexham unbeaten in six games; Wrexham, beaten 6-0 at West Ham last time out, are without Nathan Broadhead, Oliver Rathbone and Max Cleworth.