The 2026/27 EFL season fixtures will be announced on Thursday, June 25.
And there are PLENTY of games to get excited about across the Championship, League One and League Two, with renewed rivalries – both old and new – to come…
West Ham vs Millwall reunite after 14 years apart
West Ham and Millwall last met in 2012
More than 14 years have passed since West Ham and Millwall last met in a competitive fixture, but the bitter rivals are set to reunite in the Championship this coming season.
Even in all that time without a game between them, the animosity between the two has not abated, and it is set to be a fiery clash when the two meet for just the eighth time this century.
Millwall have also never been to the London Stadium before. They were beaten in their last game against the Hammers, but were unbeaten in their last seven in the league before then.
Spygate rivals! Middlesbrough vs Southampton
Get your binoculars ready. Southampton’s expulsion from the play-offs, and Middlesbrough’s failure to then beat Hull City, means that these two will meet in the Championship again.
Middlesbrough to Southampton may be just about the longest journey in next season’s second tier, but an unlikely rivalry has been forged and it will be hotly-contested – particularly if Kim Hellberg and Tonda Eckert remain in the respective dugouts by the time this one kicks off.
The Black Country derby – Wolves vs West Brom
Wolves and West Brom last met in the FA Cup in 2024
The Black Country derby is back! The two haven’t met in more than two years since an FA Cup clash at The Hawthorns, when they reminded the footballing world just how volatile a clash it can be.
In league terms, they haven’t met in front of fans since 2012 – when West Brom won 5-1 at Wolves (there were two meetings in the Premier League in the 2020/21 Covid season).
It will also be their first encounter at Championship level since 2008.
Lancashire rivals meet again!
Burnley dropping out of the Premier League and Bolton being promoted from League One means we will have a veritable FEAST of Lancashire rivalry in the Championship, when you also throw in Preston and Blackburn.
You could pretty much throw a cap over these four they are in such close proximity, and all have history going right back to the first ever Football League campaign, when this quartet made up a third of the original founding 12.
Bolton vs Burnley will be of particular anticipation. Separated by two leagues last season, they meet on level terms this time around. It has been more than a decade since they last faced each other.
The South Wales derby – Cardiff vs Swansea
Cardiff and Swansea will meet again in the South Wales derby after a year apart
Cardiff’s instant return to the Championship means we will be blessed with the South Wales derby again this season, one of the best atmospheres in British football.
Cardiff earned the bragging rights the last time they played, beating them 3-0 in January 2025 on their way to relegation.
But Swansea still have those magical four games between October 2021 and April 2023, when they won both league games against Cardiff in a season, something neither had EVER done against the other.
The biggest mismatch in EFL history? Leicester vs Bromley
It is hard to envisage a bigger contrast between two clubs anywhere in the world this season.
Leicester were Premier League champions a decade ago, while Bromley had just finished 14th in the National League. That in itself was their first ever season at that level, having been promoted from National League South the year before.
Now, they meet on level terms in League One. Bromley are at the level for the first time ever, while Leicester are there for just the second season ever. The Foxes were playing at Old Trafford and Anfield a season ago, now it will be a trip to Hayes Lane.
MK Dons vs AFC Wimbledon meet again
AFC Wimbledon celebrate victory over MK Dons in 2024
There are traditional football rivalries, and non-traditional ones, and MK Dons vs AFC Wimbledon falls firmly into the latter category.
The acrimonious history between the two clubs always stokes real interest in fixtures between the two, who are set to reunite in League One after MK Dons’ promotion.
AFC Wimbledon have won three and drawn one of their last four meetings, including one in the FA Cup, and they’ll be hoping to preserve that record after narrowly avoiding relegation last season.
Yorkshire rivalry returns after Wembley drama
Sheffield Wednesday’s relegation from the Championship means we sadly won’t have a Steel City derby this season, but the Owls will be united with another very local side in Barnsley in League One.
There are only 12 miles or so between Hillsborough and Oakwell, while the clubs last met in the 2023 League One play-off final when a Josh Windass goal in the 123rd minute steered Wednesday into the Championship.
That moment will not be forgetten when the Yorkshire pair lock horns this season.
York City’s first fixture back in the EFL after 10 years away
York City are back in the EFL after a decade away
It is hard to imagine anything this season will live up to the drama of York City’s final-day promotion from the National League, but a proud old club has returned to the EFL for the first time in a decade.
The Minstermen are tipped to compete at League Two level this season as well, and the first ever EFL game at the York Community Stadium, opened in 2021, should be a really special occasion.
A Nottinghamshire showdown
Notts County’s promotion from League Two means a return of the Nottinghamshire derby! As they prepare to face Mansfield this season.
It has been more than two years since the pair have met, following Mansfield’s promotion in 2024, while Notts County will want to rectify a record that has seen them win just one of their last 15 league games against their local rivals.