Saturday Football Cheat Sheet: Best bets for the EFL Championship, League 1 and 2

EFL match day 1 tips and predictions

12:30 Championship - Bolton v Preston: Back Trotters

Stephen Tudor: Preston have been tipped by some to really struggle this season and certainly their slew of losses pre-season gives that thought some credence.

Granted, they showed resilience to get past Huddersfield in the League Cup last weekend, despite being a man short for 70 minutes. But is resilience enough?

Bolton, by comparison, looked sharp and inventive in their League Cup outing, until Xavier Simons had a moment of madness and saw red. A straightforward one this. It's Wanderers for the win.

12:30 L1 - Notts County v Leicester City: Foxes to make winning start

Alan Dudman: Leicester won just one of their final 13 away league games last season (D7 L5), although that sole victory did come in their last match on the road when they beat Blackburn 1-0. The Foxes' fall from grace means they start this season with a new manager in Russell Martin and new opponents.

As the 9/4 favourites for the title, Leicester can, and should be considered a fair price at 1/1 here, especially against a team that was playing in League Two last season.

Admir Bristric signed on the dotted line earlier this week from Slovenian club Olimpija Ljubljana for an undisclosed fee to take Martin's business to eight incomings at the King Power.

The 23-year-old spent last season on loan at Slovenian club Bravo, scoring 10 goals in 24 appearances and helped them secure qualification for the Europa Conference League.

That sort of signing is beyond quite a few clubs in this division and Martin's focus on keeping possession, a hallmark of his sides, was evident in the recent 1-0 EFL Cup win over Northampton with 77% of the ball.

15:00 Championship - Norwich v West Brom: Back goals as Canaries take off

Jack Critchley: There is plenty of optimism amongst Norwich fans ahead of this season. There is a positive atmosphere in the camp with Philippe Clement having endeared himself to everyone at Carrow Road, and despite some setbacks (notably Ali Ahmed's season-ending injury), they should be able to kick on.

They have a talented squad, and they produced an xG of 3.52 against MK Dons in the League Cup last weekend. They aren't likely to change that approach here. Mo Toure, Andre Brooks and Anis Slimane all got on the scoresheet, and that will put a spring in their step ahead of this opener.

West Brom also flew out of the blocks last weekend, swatting aside Rotherham at the New York Stadium. James Morrison's side were incredibly tough to break down during the second half of the season, but they should offer far more going forward this time around. Jimmy Jay-Morgan has enjoyed a fantastic pre-season and is likely to be heavily involved once again.

17:30 Championship - Sheff Utd v Birmingham: Back visitors' comeback

The Opta Stat: Only Leicester City (32) dropped more points from winning positions in the EFL Championship last season than Sheffield United (29), while the Blades lost five of their final nine matches at Bramall Lane last term (W2 D2).

Read our experts' 1-24 league predictions for...

The Championship
League One
League Two

20:30 La Liga - Sevilla v Rayo Vallecano: Back goals as Spanish season starts

Kevin Hatchard: Rayo can't play at their ground at Vallecas because of serious health and safety concerns (there are fears fans could contract Legionnaires' Disease), their training ground is a mess and the overall state of the facilities available to them is dreadful. Controversial owner Raul Martin Presa has been heavily criticised by fans and players alike, but change appears unlikely.

Sevilla don't have those problems, but a series of coaching changes has failed to halt the club's slide into mediocrity, and infighting at the top of the organisation has been a regular feature. The loss of key striker Akor Adams to Venezia is a blow, while the versatile Juanlu has gone to Bournemouth.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Both Teams To Score trading at evens here on the Exchange. 22 of Sevilla's 38 league games last term saw BTTS land, and both clubs have been struggling to keep clean sheets in pre-season. If you look at Sevilla's run-in last season, they managed just one shut-out in their final 11 matches.

Now read the Championship Ultimate Guide 2026/27