Sky Bet Championship 2020/21 fixtures: Watford start against Middlesbrough; Brentford travel to Birmingham
Watford will begin life back in the Sky Bet Championship with a home clash against Neil Warnock's Middlesbrough.
The Hornets, who returned to the second-tier of English football following five seasons in the Premier League, will be led by Vladimir Ivic as they start their campaign against a side who successfully avoided the drop last season.
Watford will then face Sheffield Wednesday, who start the campaign on -12 following a points deduction for breaking spending rules, before a home clash with Luton.
The new campaign will kick-off on September 12 and will conclude on May 8. The play-off final is scheduled to take place on the weekend of May 29/31.
Brentford, who are the 9/2 favourites for the title with Sky Bet after their defeat in the play-off final, will start their season with a trip to Birmingham.
Huddersfield will then become the first opponent for a league match at Brentford's new stadium as they travel to take on Thomas Frank's side the following week.
Elsewhere, Norwich, who dropped back into the Championship just one season after winning the title, make the trip to West Yorkshire to take on Carlos Corberan's Huddersfield in their first contest.
They welcome former manager Alex Neil the week after as he brings his Preston team to Carrow Road.
Opening weekend fixtures
Scheduled to take place on September 12
- Barnsley v Luton
- Birmingham v Brentford
- Bournemouth v Blackburn
- Bristol City v Coventry
- Cardiff v Sheffield Wednesday
- Derby v Reading
- Huddersfield v Norwich
- Millwall v Stoke
- Preston v Swansea
- QPR v Nottingham Forest
- Watford v Middlesbrough
- Wycombe v Rotherham
Bournemouth also failed to avoid relegation and they take on Blackburn at home on opening weekend. A trip to Middlesbrough and then a home clash against Norwich make up their first three games.
In terms of the promoted sides, Coventry's season opens with a visit to promotion hopefuls Bristol City, while League One play-off winners Wycombe take on Rotherham - who finished in second.
🗓️ Wycombe's first ever season in the second tier of English football will begin against Rotherham.
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) August 21, 2020
🏆🤣 Here's how they won the play-off final...with the added bonus of 'that' @daRealAkinfenwa interview!@wwfcofficial pic.twitter.com/5yWF3zu642
Nottingham Forest will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on the play-offs with a visit to QPR, while Stoke will be hoping for better fortunes and they start their season at Millwall.
Barnsley take on Luton, Cardiff face Sheffield Wednesday and Derby host Reading in the other fixtures on opening weekend.
Brentford and Watford, who are the two favourites for promotion before the campaign gets underway, will meet on the penultimate weekend of the season.
The Bees visit Bristol City on final day and Watford host Swansea.
Sky Bet Championship promotion (odds via Sky Bet)
- Brentford - 13/8
- Norwich - 2/1
- Watford - 2/1
- Bournemouth - 7/2
- Cardiff - 9/2
- Nottingham Forest - 9/2
- Stoke - 9/2
- Swansea - 9/2
Odds correct as of 1715 BST on 20/08/20
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