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Seven matches at 15: 00 BST including Middlesbrough at Portsmouth Earlier: Blackburn 1-1 Stoke, Hull 1-0 Sheff Utd, Sheff Wed 0-5 Coventry Fan protests against owner cause five-minute interruption at Hillsborough Coventry go top via Asante-Thomas double, Wright, Simms & Sakamoto Sheff U miss late penalty in loss at Hull, Blackburn rescue point against Stoke Get Involved: #bbcefl or use button at top of page Alex Hoad, Dan George, Gideon Brooks & Ben Hutchinson It's never been easier to get in touch with us. Gve us your thoughts on today's action by clicking on the Get Involved button at the top of this page. Portsmouth v Middlesbrough (15: 00 BST) Laura Kenyon BBC Final Score reporter at Fratton Park Middlesbrough wearing their new white with green trim
third kit for the first time. Will it bring them luck today at a blustery
Fratton Park? An unbeaten start to the league season, the best defensive record
in the division and a raucous, sold-out away end. Plenty of motivation for
Pompey to push for a first win in five games. Bristol City v QPR (15: 00 BST) John Acres BBC Final Score at Ashton Gate One
of the best views from a press box. Looking forward this. Both games were 1-1
last season. Both teams have drawn their last two Championship matches. My
prediction would be. .. DRAW. Bristol City v QPR (15: 00 BST) Gerard Struber's Bristol City have lost just one in eight in the league Just one defeat in eight league outings for Gerhard Struber's Bristol City sees them sitting pretty in fifth spot in the Championship and there was plenty to like about their most recent performance. A 1-1 draw against an upwardly mobile Ipswich last time out (their second on the spin) lent weight to hopes that City can be in and around the play off spots for a second season running. The Reds will be without long term absentees Luke Mc Nally, Joe Wiliams, Cam Pring, Max Bird and Josh Stokes as well as captain Jason Knight, who has been sidelined by a groin injury. However, Struber is expected to be able to call upon Rob Atkinson, despite the fact that the centre-back was withdrawn in the second half of Tuesday night's draw at Deepdale. For QPR, a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of the country's most prolific attacking force Coventry back in August provided the boot up the backside that manager Julien Stephan needed. Since that day his Hoops are unbeaten with three wins and two draws even if a goalless stalemate against Oxford United last Wednesday was not exactly a progressive step. Stephan has promised squad rotation as he seeks to keep his players as fresh as possible with games coming thick and fast after the upcoming international break. Preston v Charlton (15: 00 BST) If you'd said six months ago these two would be meeting today in a clash of two early would-be promotion chasers, I suspect 99% of people would have expected it to be a League One game. But no, Preston avoided Championship relegation on a dramatic final day while Charlton won the League One play-off final to return to the second tier. And they have both begun very well - the Lilywhites are seventh, one point and two places above the Addicks, with both sides looking solid at the back, North End still unbeaten at home and Charlton undefeated in four overall. Although this is their first meeting in nearly six years, the Addicks have a shocking record at Deepdale, with just one win in 20 league visits since 1955. Keep an eye on Thierry Small - the 21-year-old helped Athletic earn promotion last season before joining Preston on a free transfer. He's started all eight league games and got his first goal in the 2-2 draw at Hull on Tuesday, while his old club were held 1-1 at Derby on the same night. Watford v Oxford (15: 00 BST) Oxford United travel to Vicarage Road for a game against Watford where both sides will be desperate to pick up points to boost them up the table. The U's sit one spot above the relegation zone based off just goal difference, the Hornets are three points clear of the bottom three. Watford
have won four out of the last five home league meetings against Oxford, conceding just two goals during this run. U's boss Gary Rowett has won each of his last three league matches against Watford,
keeping a clean sheet in all three victories. Portsmouth v Middlesbrough (15: 00 BST) Hot and cold Portsmouth host Middlesbrough, who were league leaders at the start of the day and are yet to lose a Championship game this season. Despite their imperious start to the season, Boro have failed to take maximum points from their past two matches which have been draws against Stoke City and Southampton. Portsmouth have dropped down the table recently, drawing two and losing two in their past four games. But John Mousinho's side are known for being strong at home, and the Fratton Park crowd will no doubt be up for this one. Middlesbrough
have won just two of their past 13 away league games against Portsmouth, scoring just 0. 6 goals on average per match during that time. Swansea v Leicester City (15: 00 BST) Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes The Foxes' upward push has involved some small steps of late with Marti Cifuentes' solid start at the King Power hampered by four draws on the bounce. The latest against Wrexham was a disappointment for the Leicester boss who did not hold back in his criticism of his own players, labelling their performance "a bit arrogant". On the face of it, four draws against Oxford United, Coventry City, West Bromwich Albion and now Wrexham, whilst not catastrophic by any means, is not promotion form. Swansea represent a tricky proposition on home soil where they remain unbeaten in the league this season. With just one defeat in their past seven games, Alan Sheehan's side are sitting nicely on the heels of the pacesetters in eighth place. Millwall v West Brom (15: 00 BST) Millwall will seek to bounce back from their 4-0 mauling
against Coventry on Wednesday as West Brom head to south London today. Though the Lions remain unbeaten in four games on the road this season,
the defeat by the Sky Blues was a third in four on home soil, a run during
which they have scored one goal and conceded nine. They lie 12th ahead of the visit of the fourth-placed Baggies, who are three
points ahead in a congested Championship top half. Albion ended an iffy run of one win in five with Wednesday's
1-0 victory at Norwich, which made it three wins from their four away games,
only going down at table-topping Middlesbrough so far. Ryan Mason's men have failed to score more than one goal in
seven of their eight matches - but have conceded just seven goals in total too, keeping three
clean sheets, two of them on the road. Derby v Southampton (15: 00 BST) Tom Gayle BBC Final Score at Pride Park As we know football supporters are notoriously
impatient, myself included. We want success now, not in May, especially those
who attend week in week out. Opinions among fanbases can be split
following an ‘average’ start, which I feel is a fair assessment of both Derby
and Southampton so far. For me, John Eustace has less to prove. He
knows what he’s doing at this level, and has been able to mould his own squad
over the summer. If speaking to a few Derby fans who were on the same train as
me is a barometer, they’re just “a game or two away from clicking”. As for Southampton and Will Still, the jury
is still very much out. Today’s team news would have caused plenty of debate
within the away support. You could argue the case for the majority of their
bench being starters at other clubs. Still is prepared to make big calls, but
sooner rather than later he has to start winning more games. Derby v Southampton (15: 00 BST) Derby's quest for a first home win of the season resumes as
they welcome Southampton to Pride Park this afternoon. Though Tuesday's late draw against Charlton means the Rams
have lost just one of their past six matches, four of those have ended
all-square and they have taken just two points from their opening four home
games. Will Still's side picked up their first away win of the
season at Sheffield United on Tuesday, earning as many points on the night as they had in
their previous five matches combined. Though County are fifth-bottom, a point above the drop-zone
and five places adrift of Southampton, a two-goal win for John Eustace's men would
actually take them above the Saints in the table. Feels like this one's on a knife-edge. OK, time to turn attentions to today's seven 15: 00 BST kick-offs then. .. #bbcefl Bleak viewing for Steel City football enthusiasts, this. Eight defeats in nine for the blunted Blades while Wednesday are only three points better off and have taken one point from five home games after their humbling by Coventry. The Sky Blues were pretty in hot pink today and lead the way, though Middlesbrough can return to the summit with a win at Portsmouth later. Hull City are into the top-10 while Blackburn picked up their first home point of the season to peg back Stoke, who stay third, for now. Oxford United head to Watford this afternoon now sitting in the bottom three. Nobody can resent Coventry’s current success. Years of uncertainty and playing their home games in Northampton or Birmingham, it’s been a long road back. As a Sky Blues fan you can’t do anything but sympathise with the Owls fans & players. Hopefully, they will be back too. Roger Turner, Leicester Sheff Wed 0-5 Coventry Two clubs heading in very different directions indeed. Coventry played some gorgeous football, confidence flowing through them, and completed one of these notoriously tough 'nine point weeks' with nine points, oh, and 12 goals, and three clean sheets. Wednesday battled away but this was a mismatch. The on-field protest from fans in the first half shining a light on the unrest which engulfs the club at present. Brandon Thomas-Asante scored two before the break, with Haji Wright adding a controversial third having been offside, while sub Ellis Simms completed a flowing team move with a tap-in and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto thundered the fifth. On this performance Coventry are the team to beat in the race for the Premier League this season, while Wednesday's gloom may well deepen in the weeks and months to come. FT: Hull City 1-0 Sheffield United Carl Asaba Former Sheffield United striker on BBC Radio Sheffield This result is a shock, we've lost to Hull because we're not good enough. The mind boggles as to how some of these players are starting every week at the moment. Blackburn 1-1 Stoke The referee blows his whistle for full-time and the game ends all square. Ultimately what was a competitive game ends with the points shared and both sides having chances to win it. Blackburn were much improved in the second half and were good value for their equaliser, Stoke's attacking threat remained throughout with a number of shots well saved by Balazs Toth. Sheff Wed 0-5 Coventry Steve Ogrizovic Ex-Coventry City goalkeeper on BBC CWR We're running out of superlatives to describe this side already. They've done nothing yet but so far, so good. Hull City 1-0 Sheffield United Ivor Pandur saves Harrison Burrows penalty A day of firsts as David Akintola's first for Hull City and Ivor Pandur's first ever penalty save in his senior career. Hull were just about value for the win, a third of their campaign, as Sheffield United remain rooted to the bottom of the table. Chris Wilder has work to do during the international break with his side still clinging to just one win this season. But there were signs of promise in that they created plenty even if they could not put them away. The biggest of the lot fell to Harrison Burrows from the spot with two minutes of normal time to go but he could not take it. Hull move into tenth place in the table. Last Updated 4th October 2025 at 14: 26 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
