Beards And Brews

Luton Town and Burnley will face each other in their first match back in the Championship following their relegation from the Premier League, the English Football League announced on Wednesday.

The season begins on Friday, Aug. 9 and runs until May, 3 2025 with two games. Blackburn Rovers host promoted club Derby County and Preston North End vs. Sheffield United.

The first Steel City derby of the campaign will take place on Nov. 9 at Bramall Lane before Wednesday host Sheffield United at Hillsborough in the reverse fixture on March 15.

Leeds United will host Portsmouth, who were promoted from League One as champions, on the opening weekend as Daniel Farke's side look to bounce back from their Championship playoff final defeat to Southampton in May.

Wayne Rooney will take charge of his first match as Plymouth Argyle boss in their fixture against Sheffield Wednesday on the opening weekend.

Oxford United face Norwich City in what is their first match in the second tier of English football for 25 years.

In League One, Wrexham face Wycombe Wanderers in their first match in the third tier following the club's first back-to-back promotion in its 159-year history.

The Welsh side who are co-owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney will travel to play Birmingham City -- who boast Tom Brady as a minority owner -- in their sixth match of the season.

The Championship signed a new £935 million ($1.18bn) deal with UK broadcaster Sky Sports in May which comes into effect in the upcoming season. 

As part of the deal there are more games being broadcast live, but with the traditional 3 p.m. blackout remaining in place, there will be a wider spread of kick-off times.

There will be a significant increase in the amount of matches kicking off at times not affected by the blackout such as 12.30 p.m. on a Saturday, as well as frequent matches taking place on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

Leicester City won the Championship last season, having amassed 97 points. The former Premier League winners pipped Ipswich Town to the title by a single point.