The Sportsman Untitled: Wrexham in focus, Blades blunted and Boro keep on winning

The Sportsman Untitled, our Championship podcast, is back again this week, and this time I’m joined by a brand-new face. Simon Lillibury (that’s me), is hosting alongside regular contributor Conor McGilligan and debutant Callum Fowler, who has made a name for himself as one of the most entertaining and knowledgeable EFL content creators.

On this week’s show, there is the usual round-up of all the key weekend games, including Sheffield Wednesday’s astonishing away win at Portsmouth. Sheffield United couldn’t avoid defeat on Chris Wilder’s return while league leaders Middlesbrough found another win to extend their lead at the top. 

Football Odds

The Championship Outright Winners market has seen a major change, with Middlesbrough shortening as they won yet again to extend their unbeaten start, and their lead at the top of the table. The other big losers from the weekend were Southampton, who have drifted massively from 7/1 to win the league to 12/1 after a heavy defeat at Hull. Will Still certainly has a big job on his hands to get them going this season. 

Over the weekend, Coventry City drew 0-0 at Leicester in the M69 derby to remain unbeaten, while the rain came pouring down at Ewood Park, leading to Blackburn Rovers’ fixture with Ipswich Town being abandoned after 80 minutes, with the score 1-0 to the home side. 

The trio also take a deep dive into Wrexham this week, with Phil Parkinson securing a vital 3-2 win away at Norwich City to lift the mounting pressure on his shoulders. After such a summer of upheaval, can the boss make a success of things, and what actually constitutes success for the Welsh side in 2025/26?

Ben Sheaf made quite the impact at Carrow Road as Josh Windass scored twice in the 3-2 victory that saw the Red Dragons secure their second win of the campaign. Parkinson continues to see his team concede a boat-load of chances, but Wrexham have now won two away games on the bounce and are targeting their first home success this weekend as they host a struggling Derby County.

Today's Football Fixtures

There’s also a discussion about the parachute payment teams, with Sheffield United, Ipswich and Southampton all struggling to get going. Saints lost 3-1 at Hull in another below-par performance, as Still struggles to make his mark on the second tier. The Tigers, and Oli McBurnie, get some credit of their own after an impressive win, while Birmingham City bagged a late, late winner at home to Swansea. 

Looking ahead to the fixtures next weekend, our Sportsman Extra episode will come out on Thursday as Conor and Callum preview West Brom vs Leicester on Friday night (20:00, Sky Sports Main Event). On this episode, the trio look forward to Coventry vs Birmingham (12:30, Sky Sports Main Event), Southampton vs Middlesbrough (15:00) and Preston vs Bristol City (15:00) and give their score predictions. 

As always, thanks for supporting the show - and make sure you like and subscribe to the channel for weekly EFL Championship content.

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