In this week’s edition of The Football League Paper Podcast, Matt Badcock is joined by Football League Paper Chief Writer Chris Dunlavy and John Lyons, Football League Paper Editor, to talk through all the latest in the EFL.
Championship
In the Championship, Will Lankshear fired home a brace, which included a stoppage-time winner, as Middlesbrough made a winning start to their 2026/27 campaign with a 2-1 victory over Lincoln City.
It was a difficult start for the relegated sides as Wolves kicked off the season with a 2-2 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers, while West Ham and Burnley played out a thrilling 2-2 draw of their own, as the Clarets netted two late goals, courtesy of Zian Flemming, to rescue a point at Turf Moor.
Southampton suffered a 2-1 defeat away at Watford in their opening fixture, while QPR sit at the top of the table after a 3-1 victory away at Portsmouth, with Ilias Chair scoring twice for Julien Stéphan’s side.
In transfer news, the race for Rennes midfielder Jordan James continues to heat up.
The Welsh international featured on loan for Leicester City last season, and there are a number of the division’s heavy hitters vying for his signature, including Middlesbrough, West Ham, Wolves and Burnley.
League One
Russell Martin’s first game in charge of Leicester City got off to an indifferent start as they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Notts County.
Will it be the same old, same old, or will fortunes change for the Foxes this season?
Luton Town and Reading played out the game of the weekend as the Hatters claimed all three points in a thrilling 4-3 win at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Luton were 3-1 down at half-time after Jack Marriott’s hat-trick for the Royals, but came back and won it through Gideon Kodua in the 96th minute.
Elsewhere, Bromley’s first-ever game in League One ended with a 1-0 victory over Barnsley at Oakwell.
League One
In League Two, there was a statement win for Barnet, who beat pre-season favourites Salford City 3-1 at the Hive with Oisin Gallagher, Charlie Lakin and Kabongo Tshimanga on the scoresheet for the Bees.
Salford boss Peter Cklamovski hit out at his side in his post-match interview, saying the performance had left him “embarrassed”.
Another pre-season favourite suffered defeat as York City beat Bristol Rovers 3-2 at the LNER, easing the pressure on Scott Lindsey.
There were also big wins for Newport County, who beat Rochdale 3-0 at Rodney Parade to go joint-top of the league with Walsall, who picked up their first three points of the campaign with a 3-0 win over Gillingham.
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