Championship Roundup – 04/11/2025 to 05/11/2025

Birmingham 4-0 Millwall

Fans at St. Andrews have certainly gotten their money’s worth over the past few days. Having watched their side put four past Portsmouth at the weekend, Brum fans witnessed a repeat scoreline as their side comfortably dispatched high-flying Millwall. It means Birmingham now have three wins out of their last four games. A desperately disappointing result for Millwall, who saw an excellent run of form which had taken them to 3rd place in the table come to an abrupt halt.

Birmingham scored their first after 28 minutes, with South Korean midfielder Paik Seung-ho sending a cross from on-loan Sunderland winger Patrick Roberts into the bottom corner – a second goal in two games for Seung-ho. Demarai Gray netted his second of the season on the stroke of half-time, and Alex Cochrane scored a third four minutes into the second half. The game was comprehensively ended as a contest in the 65th minute as Jay Stansfield scored his sixth of the campaign.

Birmingham move up to 9th position, whilst Millwall fall to 5th place.

Bristol City 0-1 Blackburn Rovers

Rovers’ revival continues – three straight wins in a row has helped ease fears that Rovers were looking at a desperate relegation struggle this season – with Gerhard Struber’s injury-hit Robins’ side unable to halt the recent momentum built up by Valerien Ismael’s men. It’s a second defeat in a row for Bristol City, and overall their fourth defeat of the campaign.

After having the better of the first half, Rovers deservedly went ahead in the fifth minute of added time at the end of the first half. Rovers’ two Japanese players linked up, with Ryoya Morishita setting up Yuki Ohashi to score from close range – a third goal of the season for Ohashi. The second half saw Rovers defend their lead well, restricting the Robins’ to a handful of chances – none of which were on target.

Bristol City drop out of the playoff places into 7th. Rovers claw their way up to 18th. 

Charlton Athletic 1-0 West Brom

Charlton continue to adapt to their most recent stint in the Championship like the proverbial fish to water, picking up their third win in a streak of five games undefeated. They’ve only lost once in their last ten games. West Brom continue to tumble down the league at an alarming pace, with their good early season form rapidly melting away. This was a fourth defeat in six games.

The Baggies created a number of good chances, but luck just isn’t with them at the moment. Instead they found themselves on the end of a 95th minute sucker punch. Addicks’ midfielder Sonny Carey hit a shot from the edge of the area which took a deflection on its way into the net. His tally is now at five for the season. Understandably, the home fans and bench celebrated this late winner wildly.

Charlton now sit inside the playoff places in 6th, whilst West Brom’s poor form sees them continue to drop like a stone – now in 15th position.

Derby County 2-1 Hull City

Derby’s surprise ascent shows no signs of slowing down, as victory here at Pride Park secured a fourth win in a row for John Eustace’s side. Hull had been building up a head of steam themselves, but tasted defeat here for the first time since late September.

Carlton Morris, still undoubtedly brimming with confidence after recently scoring the first hat-trick of his career, opened the scoring for the Rams by heading them ahead in the 27th minute. Hull would peg back the home side five minutes after the break, with left winger Joel Ndala scrambling in his first of the season from a seated position. Derby weren’t to be denied, however, as Norwegian striker Lars-Jorgen Salvesen pounced on a mistake by Tigers’ keeper Ivor Pandur in the 83rd minute to score his first of the season and seal the victory for John Eustace’s men.

Derby continue their rise up the division, now in 11th place. The end of Hull’s good run of form sees them remain in a respectable 8th position.

Ipswich Town 1-1 Watford

A proper run of good form continues to elude Ipswich – after losing two in a row, the Tractor Boys bounced back with two straight wins before labouring to a draw against Javi Gracia’s Watford at Portman Road. It ends a WLWL sequence for the Hornets, but one imagines they will be quite satisfied with this away point.

Watford struck first in this one, with captain Imran Louza scoring a fourth goal in four games in the 16th minute to give the Hornets the lead. Their advantage only lasted four minutes, however, as Ipswich swiftly levelled things up. Defender Cedric Kipre’s forward ball punctured the Watford defence and set Jaden Philogene away to score his sixth of the campaign, with the winger having not netted in his previous four games. The story of Ipswich’s season has been their inability to score when on top, and they found themselves frustrated yet again, ultimately being forced to share the points despite having 16 shots to Watford’s 4.

Ipswich sit in 10th spot, whilst Watford are 12th.

Leicester City 1-1 Middlesbrough

Still no sign of revival for Marti Cifuentes’ Leicester side. A draw in this one means they have not won in five games, and only taken two points from the last fifteen available. One win in ten has heaped early season pressure on the Foxes’ boss. Boro will likely be happy enough to take a point from the Kingpower, but it does mean they haven’t won in three matches now.

A penalty in the fourth minute of first half added time from Jordan Ayew – the experienced striker’s second of the season – looked to have done enough to give Leicester a much-needed three points. Things looked even grimmer for Boro when defender Alfie Jones got himself sent off for a professional foul in the 90th minute. Yet, against the odds, a deep 96th minute cross from Callum Brittain met the head of Luke Ayling and gained the Teesiders an unlikely point. It was 34-year old right-back Ayling’s first goal for Boro, having been at the club since the summer of 2024.

Leicester continue to underachieve in 13th. Despite their dramatic late equaliser, Boro slip out of the top two into 3rd position.

Oxford United 0-3 Stoke City

Oxford found themselves outclassed in this one by a Stoke City side who have gotten back on track after a recent stumble. This marks a third win in a row for them, and an overall fourth win in five matches. The Potters’ defence continues to impress, having only conceded nine times this season – the best defensive record in the division to date.

The goals in this match all came from Rovers’ alumni. Former loanee Lewis Baker opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a tap in. Steven Nzonzi doubled the Potters’ lead in the 32nd minute, with the 36-year old netting his first goal for the club. Baker would then finish the game off three minutes after the break, capping off a devastating counter attack.

Oxford sit in 21st, four points clear of the relegation zone. Stoke surge up to 2nd position, taking Middlesbrough’s spot in the automatics.

Coventry City 3-1 Sheffield United

After experiencing a rare defeat at the weekend, the Sky Blues resumed normal service at the Coventry Building Society Arena by sweeping aside Sheffield United. Chris Wilder’s Blades lost a third match in succession, with the manager admitting post match that January cannot come soon enough. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of his current team, but an understandable sentiment considering the season they’ve had so far.

Initially Coventry appeared to be experiencing a hangover from their first loss of the campaign, going behind in the 25th minute when former Coventry player Sam McCallam put the Blades in front. The Sky Blues sorted themselves out at half time, though, and their formidable attacking unit soon reminded everybody why Coventry are the league’s top scorers. Japanese winger Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scored his third in three games to level the scores four minutes after the restart. Centre-back Bobby Thomas scored his second of the season on the hour mark to put Coventry ahead, and striker Brandon Thomas-Asante netted his tenth of the campaign to make sure all three points were wrapped up for the home side.

Coventry remain top of the table, four points ahead of Stoke. Another defeat leaves Sheffield United in 23rd position.

Preston 2-1 Swansea City

Preston’s unexpected bright start to the season shows no signs of dimming, as they won a third match in a row to continue their promotion push. Swansea, on the other hand, continue to fall down the table after only picking up five points from the last eighteen available.

A thirty-yard rocket from Preston’s Thierry Small put North End into the lead in just the 8th minute, the left-back’s third goal of the season. Striker Milutin Osmajic doubled the lead in the 49th minute with his fourth of the campaign, whilst a late consolation from Swansea’s Eom Ji-Sung was not enough to spur a late comeback for the visitors.

Preston are 4th, two points off 2nd place. Swansea sink to 17th.

QPR 1-2 Southampton

QPR’s excellent form seems to have vanished as quickly as it arrived, with the London club now having lost four of their last five matches. A third loss in a row at the weekend saw Southampton dispense of Will Still’s services, and of course, the players paid tribute to their former manager by winning only their third match of the season in his absence.

After a goalless first half, eighteen year-old winger Jay Robinson fired the Saints in front in the 55th minute. Brazilian midfielder Leonardo Scienza put Southampton two up in the 69th minute. QPR’s Rumarn Burrell scored yet again – his fourth goal in five games – just four minutes later to make it a nervy end to the game for the Saints. The away side held on, however, to record their first victory since the end of September.

QPR slip to 16th. Southampton are up to 19th.

Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Norwich

As rumours continue to swirl about who is bidding for control of Sheffield Wednesday, the club must nonetheless continue to battle on the pitch to give their supporters something to cheer about on match day. Whilst a points deduction certainly hasn’t helped, one win in fourteen would see them bottom regardless. Norwich are in wretched form themselves, and whilst this result halts a six match losing streak, it’s not exactly a morale boost.

Wednesday were ahead in this one after just four minutes, with captain Barry Bannan proving his worth to the club once again as he scored a fantastic effort. Norwich’s Shane Duffy finished the half arguing with his manager, and was promptly substituted at half time. Mathias Kvistgaarden scored his second goal for the Canaries in the 61st minute to draw them level, but there was to be no winner in this one for Norwich. The last time the away team took three points from a match was the end of August. No prizes for guessing who gifted them those points.

Sheffield Wednesday remain bottom. Norwich creep up to 22nd.

Portsmouth 0-0 Wrexham

After getting just one point from the last twelve available, and enduring three defeats in a row, Portsmouth will likely be happy enough to take a point from this match and hope it gets things moving in the right direction again. It was Wrexham’s third draw in six matches, as their form remains consistently inconsistent. This was the first time Portsmouth and Wrexham had played each other since 1986.

No goals in this one, but Portsmouth had ninteen shots to Wrexham’s seven and, if their attackers were on form, could certainly have taken three points from this one. Pompey are the least potent team in the league thus far, having scored just ten goals in fourteen matches. Wrexham created some great chances themselves, but were also unable to convert.

Portsmouth sit in 20th place, and Wrexham are 14th.