The Sky Bet Championship is back this weekend! Here are all the key stats and facts you need to know...
West Bromwich Albion v Coventry City
- West Brom have kept a clean sheet in six of their last seven home league games against Coventry City (W4 D2 L1), although the other game was a 4-2 defeat in 2007-08.
- Coventry are looking to complete a league double over West Bromwich Albion for the first time since the 1969-70 season.
- West Brom have won each of their last five league games at the Hawthorns without conceding; the Baggies last went six home league fixtures without conceding in December 1977.
- Coventry City have lost three consecutive away league games, last losing four in a row on the road in the Championship in November 2020.
- Coventry striker Viktor Gyökeres has provided three assists in his last two league games, as many as he’d registered in his previous 48 combined.
Norwich City v Burnley
- Norwich won 2-0 against Burnley last season at Carrow Road in the Premier League, and last won consecutive home league games against the Clarets between 2001 and 2005 (run of four).
- Burnley have won nine of their last 14 league games against Norwich (D3 L2) and won 1-0 earlier this season.
- Norwich City have won both of their two league games under David Wagner. The last Norwich City manager to win his opening three league matches in charge of the club was Bruce Rioch in 1998.
- Burnley are looking to win nine consecutive league games for the first time since November 1991 in the fourth tier.
- Scott Twine netted his first Burnley goal last time out in the league, scoring a direct free-kick – since the start of last season, Twine has scored seven direct free-kicks in league competition, the most of any player in England’s top four tiers.
Rotherham United v Sheffield United
- Rotherham United are looking for their first league double over Sheffield United since the 1980-81 campaign under Ian Porterfield.
- Sheffield United are winless in their last four league visits to Rotherham (D3 L1), with this their first trip to the New York Stadium since November 2018, a 2-2 draw.
- Rotherham United are looking to record consecutive home league wins in the Championship for the first time since August this season (winning 4-0 versus Reading and 2-0 versus Birmingham City).
- Sheffield United have lost just one of their last 13 league games (W10 D2), and are unbeaten in each of their last eight in a row (W7 D1).
- No Championship side has scored more goals in the 90th minute or later this season than Sheffield United (4), with these four goals earning the Blades four points.
Huddersfield Town v QPR
- Huddersfield Town have won six of their last nine league games against QPR (D2 L1), winning 2-1 away at the Hoops earlier this season.
- QPR have picked up just one point in their last four away league games against Huddersfield (D1 L3) since a 1-0 win in August 2015.
- Huddersfield Town have won just one of their last five league games on home soil (D1 L3), with the Terriers failing to score on three occasions in this run.
- QPR have won just one of their last 14 games in all competitions; their lowest tally of wins during a 14-game run since December 2014 to March 2015 (also one win).
- Only Cardiff City (21) have scored fewer league goals in the Championship this season than Huddersfield Town (25), while no side have netted fewer goals from open play than the Terriers this term (14).
Hull City v Cardiff City
- Hull City have won their last three league games against Cardiff City, last winning four in a row between 1993 and 1995.
- Cardiff have won just one of their last seven league visits to Hull (D3 L3), winning 2-0 in April 2018 under Neil Warnock.
- Hull City have lost only one of their last eight league games (W3 D4) and are looking to win consecutive home matches for the first time since August (run of 3).
- Cardiff have failed to win any of their last 10 league games (D5 L5) – the current joint-longest winless streak in the division (alongside Blackpool).
- Hull striker Aaron Connolly scored twice against QPR last time out, as many goals as he’d scored in his first 21 games in the Championship.
Luton Town v Stoke City
- Luton have picked up just six points in their last 12 league games against Stoke (W1 D3 L8), losing 2-0 earlier this campaign.
- Stoke City are unbeaten in their last six league visits to Luton Town (W4 D2) since losing 2-1 there back in February 2000.
- Luton have won five of their last six league games (L1), keeping a clean sheet in the last two (W2) – they last won three consecutive league games without conceding in December 2017.
- Stoke beat Reading 4-0 in their last league game, and are aiming to win successive Championship fixtures for the first time since October.
- Luton striker Elijah Adebayo has scored in each of his last five appearances in all competitions for Luton (5 goals), having failed to net in each of his previous 11 beforehand.
Middlesbrough v Blackpool
- Middlesbrough are looking to complete their first league double over Blackpool since the 1972-73 campaign.
- Blackpool have lost only one of their last eight away league games against Middlesbrough (W3 D4), winning 2-1 at the Riverside Stadium last season.
- Middlesbrough have won each of their last four league games at the Riverside Stadium, including the previous two without conceding; Boro last did so in three consecutive games in December 2021.
- Blackpool have failed to win any of their last 10 league games (D4 L6) – the current joint-longest winless streak in the division (alongside Cardiff).
- Middlesbrough striker Chuba Akpom has scored 14 goals in 22 Championship appearances this season, having scored just eight goals in his 91 games in the competition before the 2022-23 campaign
Millwall v Sunderland
- Millwall are hosting Sunderland for a league game for the first time since March 2018, a 1-1 draw. They haven’t lost at home against the Black Cats since September 1995 (W2 D1 since).
- Sunderland are looking to complete a league double over Millwall for the first time since 1995-96 under manager Peter Reid.
- Millwall are the only side in the Championship yet to drop any points from winning positions this season, winning all 12 games in which they’ve led.
- Sunderland have gone unbeaten in each of their last six away Championship matches (W3 D3) since back-to-back defeats on the road in October.
- Tom Bradshaw, who has scored three goals in his last three league games, has been directly involved in nine goals this season (7 goals, 2 assists) – only in 2021-22 (10) has he had a hand in more goals in a Championship campaign for Millwall.
Preston North End v Bristol City
- Preston North End are unbeaten in their last nine home league matches against Bristol City (W4 D5) since losing 4-0 in February 2011.
- Bristol City are looking to complete a league double over Preston for the first time since the 1996-97 campaign.
- Preston haven’t drawn any of their last 17 league games (W9 L8), the current longest run without a draw in the Championship.
- Bristol City have avoided defeat in each of their last four away league games (W1 D3) – they last had a longer such streak in October 2019 (run of 8), a run that included a 3-3 draw at Preston.
- Only Rotherham and Luton (both 19) have dropped more points from winning positions in the Championship this season than Bristol City (17).
Reading v Watford
- Reading won their last home league game against Watford, winning 1-0 in October 2020. They last won consecutive home games against the Hornets between 2002 and 2004 (three in a row).
- Watford have won four of their last five league matches against Reading (L1) and have won their last two in a row.
- Reading have won 70% of their points in home games this season (26 of 37), the highest such share in the Championship.
- Only Preston and Luton (7 each) have kept more away clean sheets in the Championship this term than Watford (6), with the Hornets stopping their opponents from scoring in three of their last five on the road.
- Reading attacker Tom Ince has scored in four of his last six league appearances against Watford, netting four goals in the process (one assist).
Swansea City v Birmingham City
- Swansea are winless in their last five league games against Birmingham (D3 L2) since a 3-1 win in July 2020.
- The home team has only won three of the last 15 league meetings between Swansea and Birmingham (D7 L5).
- Swansea City have won two of their last four league games (D1 L1), having failed to win any of their eight in a row beforehand (D5 L3).
- Birmingham City have lost five consecutive league games for the first time since March 2019. The Blues last suffered a longer losing run in the league in March 2018 (7 in a row).
- No other current Birmingham City player has scored more league goals versus Swansea than Scott Hogan (3), with two of his three strikes against them being after coming off the bench.
Blackburn Rovers v Wigan Athletic
- Blackburn have lost their last two league games against Wigan; they have never lost three in a row against the Latics.
- Wigan have only won one of their 13 away league visits to Blackburn (D3 L9), a 1-0 victory in May 2012 thanks to a goal from Antolin Alcaraz.
- Blackburn have won seven of their last nine home league games (L2), although their two defeats in this run have come in the last three matches at Ewood Park.
- Wigan have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last 15 league games – the current longest such run in the Championship.
- Wigan have had 11 different players aged 30 or over make an appearance for them in the Championship this season – more than any other side. In contrast, no Championship side has had fewer 30+ year old players appear for them in 2022-23 than Blackburn (2).
