Championship Roundup – 23/01/2026 – 26/01/2026

Derby 1-1 West Brom

A draw brings Derby’s two game winning streak to an end, but overall John Eustace’s side have picked up ten points from the last fifteen available, which is pretty good going. Derby are the definition of a bogey team for West Brom, insofar as visiting the Rams is concerned, as West Brom have won just one game away to Derby since 1920. The Baggies’ new boss Eric Ramsay has endured a rough start to life as WBA boss, with two defeats from two – the latter being a brutal 5-0 home loss to Norwich. This is a small step in the right direction, at least, as it ends a ten game losing streak for West Brom on their travels. Overall, though, they have still only picked up a single point from the last fifteen available, which has dumped them right into a relegation battle.

Goal 1 (1-0, 44th minute): A Derby free kick from out wide caused chaos in the box, as WBA debutant keeper Max O’Leary attempted to claim the ball but catastrophically fumbled it. The ball landed at the feet of American striker Patrick Agyemang who put the ball into the net. The forward now has eight goals, with this being his second in three games. Not a great introduction for O’Leary to the West Brom fanbase, but they’ll hope that this was just getting an error out of the way early. The 29-year-old Irishman was purchased from Bristol City the day before this match on a six-month deal, having lost his place in the Robins’ team to on-loan Manchester United stopper Radek Vitek.

Goal 2 (1-1, 95th minute): A late West Brom corner into the box was headed across goal, then directed towards the net by the head of WBA centre-back Chris Mepham. It was clawed out by Rams’ keeper Widell Zetterstorm, but the ball had crossed the line. A dramatic way for Mepham to claim his first goal of the campaign.

Derby sit in 11th, two points from the top six. West Brom are 20th, three points from the drop, and with the kind of goal difference which doesn’t help.

Middlesbrough 4-0 Preston

Boro boss Kim Hellberg came in with a bang, then saw his team wobble, and now has them back on course for a very positive finish to the season. This demolishing of Preston means that Boro have now won four games on the spin, making them joint-best with one other club (Grimsby) in terms of form across the top four English leagues. As far as Preston are concerned, a hopeful season is starting to fall apart. North End have been in the top six for a significant amount of the campaign, but repeated draws saw them begin to stutter, and now three defeats in a row has seen them fall out of the playoff places entirely. Even more concerning for North End will be that they haven’t scored a goal in four games across all competitions – whilst conceding nine.

Goal 1 (1-0, 9th minute): Boro left-back Matt Targett launched a ball into the area over the Preston defence, which midfielder Alan Browne collected completely unmarked in acres of space to slot the ball home. Not sure what happened to the Preston defenders here, but it’s a theme that would continue throughout the contest. Browne now has three goals for the season, with all three coming in his last four games.

Goal 2 (2-0, 28th minute): A through ball from left-back Luke Ayling, well inside Boro’s own half, completely sliced Preston’s defence open. Scottish forward Tommy Conway ran onto the pass and put the ball through Preston keeper Jack Walton’s legs.

Goal 3 (3-0, 42nd minute): The third goal was yet another masterclass in defensive suicide. Walton rolled out to North End defender Lewis Gibson in the area, but he completely panicked under pressure and had the ball stolen from him by Boro winger Morgan Whittaker, who finished comfortably. Whittaker now has eleven goals in twenty-eight appearances.

Red Card (Preston, 50th minute): Yet more disastrous defending from Preston in the 50th minute saw them reduced to ten men. After receiving a backpass from out wide, centre-back Jordan Storey lost his composure and was dispossessed by Tommy Conway. Storey resorted to hauling Conway down before he could break on goal, and the end result was a sending off which essentially torpedoed any slim chance of Preston getting back into the match. A second game in a row where they have been reduced to ten men.

Goal 4 (4-0, 54th minute): A direct free kick from Boro attacking midfielder Leo Castledine was saved by Walton, but pushed out directly into the path of the onrunning Tommy Conway, who swept home unchallenged for his second of the game. He now has six league goals, with three of those coming in the last two games. All in all, a truly terrible display of defending by Preston in this one.

Boro remain in 2nd, but move to within just three points of Coventry in top spot – although their goal difference is significantly behind the league leaders. Preston are 9th, still only a point outside the playoffs .

Millwall 4-0 Charlton Athletic

A fourth win in six for Millwall, and a resounding one at that, keeps their top six ambitions looking very realistic indeed. In fact, they’re still genuinely in with a shout of the top two, such has been their excellent recent form. The only thing that had counted against Alex Neil’s men recently was their goal difference – they had been the only side in the top eleven with a negative goal difference – but that has been significantly improved with this result as well and has entered positive territory. It’s a pretty dispiriting result for Nathan Jones and his men, who have only managed one win in their last seven games. The Addicks’ goal difference had been quite reasonable compared to the teams around them, but that has now taken a big hit as well. It will be even more galling for them that two of the four goals in this one came in added time at the end of the game.

Goal 1 (1-0, 7th minute): Lions right-midfielder Femi Azeez floated the ball into the area from out wide, which was headed on by forward Macaulay Langstaff towards the far post. Addicks keeper Thomas Kaminski did attempt to save it, but one of his own defenders, Kayne Ramsay, got in the way and managed to score an own goal in the process.

Goal 2 (2-0, 81st minute): A corner was swung in and the ball was headed into the ground by Millwall defender Caleb Taylor. He watched as the ball bounced into the net past Kaminski, making it his third of the campaign.

Goal 3 (3-0, 92nd minute): A soft penalty kick from Millwall winger Camiel Neghli was saved, but the ensuing scramble ended with the ball crossing the line via midfielder Luke Cundle. A second goal for him in sixteen appearances.

Goal 4 (4-0, 93rd minute): Just a minute later, and Charlton’s misery was complete. Charlton failed to deal with a ball swung into the area, and the ball landed at the feet of left-winger Aidomo Emakhu inside the box to drill into the bottom corner. The Irish wideman now has two goals for the season.

Millwall remain in 5th, six points clear of 7th place. Charlton are 19th, three points outside the drop zone.

Birmingham City 1-1 Stoke City

A return of nine points from eighteen available isn’t a terrible return for Chris Davies’ Birmingham side, but it’s the kind of form that encapsulates why they are in mid-table rather than pushing further up the league. One thing Birmingham fans can expect at home is goals – their side have now scored in fifteen consecutive home games. They equal the record set between April 1969 and January 1970. Stoke had won their past two away games, but their form overall continues to be patchy. Two wins, two draws and two defeats keeps them outside of the top six, but thanks to their excellent start to the season they are still very much within reach of the playoffs for now.

Goal 1 (1-0, 42nd minute): A deep corner was headed back across goal by Birmingam forward Jay Stansfield, then nodded in from inside the six yard box by Japanese defensive midfielder Tomoki Iwata. A second goal of the season for him.

Goal 2 (1-1, 71st minute): Another corner, this time going in off the back of Brum’s unfortunate German defender Phil Neumann, who was completely unaware. Own goal.

Birmingham sit in 13th, five points outside the playoffs. Stoke are a few places above them in 10th, two points from the top six.

Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Watford

A combined collection of Rovers fan groups – calling themselves the Coalition – announced some weeks ago that there would be a call to boycott this match in protest against the owners. It resulted in the usually empty-looking Ewood appearing slightly emptier, but the main positive was that it got the plight of the club back into the media. A decent amount of season ticket holders did heed the call, but it has to be highlighted that the impact is not going to be visually obvious in a stadium which seats 30,000 plus and usually fills a third of that capacity at most. As far as the game is concerned, the result doesn’t help the club much. It’s now one win in fourteen for Valerian Ismael, who is seemingly somehow still under zero internal pressure. Rovers have a miserable four points from the last twenty-one available, and are now in huge trouble at the wrong end of the league. Watford’s momentum under Javi Gracia has stalled significantly in recent times, with a 5-1 FA Cup defeat to Bristol City followed by defeat at Millwall and a draw to Portsmouth – both at home. They will consider this another two points dropped against a team they would have hoped to beat.

Goal 1 (0-1, 26th minute): A corner into the box ended up at the feet of DR Congo midfielder Edo Kayembe, who fired the ball into the bottom near corner. A third of the season for him.

Goal 2 (1-1, 28th minute): Rovers took just two minutes to respond - from one corner to another. This time a low ball into the area from playmaker Todd Cantwell was flicked into the net by defender Lewis Miller. The Australian grabs his second of the season.

Rovers remain in the relegation zone, a point from safety in 22nd. Watford are a point from the top six in 8th place.

Bristol City 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday

After a run of two defeats and a draw, victory here was imperative for the Robins if they wanted to keep optimism alive over their playoff hopes. It’s easy to consider winning a match against crisis-club Wednesday as a given, but you still have to beat the team put in front of you. Bristol City also end a run which had seen them fail to score in their last three matches. As for Wednesday, there is little positive to say. Since their sole victory this season against Portsmouth back in September, the Owls have picked up just six points from sixty-three available, on top of receiving a twelve-point deduction. They’re on their longest run without a win in their history, they haven’t scored a goal in seven games (zero shots on target in this one), and this was almost certainly the last time they’ll see influential captain Barry Bannan turn out in their colours. Grim times for the Yorkshire club.

Goal 1 (1-0, 64th minute): A perfectly aimed cross from Robins’ right-back Ross McCrorie was headed in from inside the six yard box by attacking midfielder Scott Twine. An eighth goal of the season for him.

Goal 2 (2-0, 78th minute): A Sheffield Wednesday attack was broken up on the edge of the Robins’ area, and the resulting ball up the pitch completely caught the Wednesday backline off guard. Substitute Sinclair Armstrong ran through on goal but found himself tangled with defenders. The Wednesday keeper dove into the mix and pushed the ball out, but it fell to left-winger Sam Bell who passed the ball into an empty net. It’s Bell’s first goal in four games for Bristol City, having recently been recalled from a loan at League One Wycombe.

Bristol City are on the fringes of the playoffs in 7th, one point outside. Wednesday are bottom.

Hull City 2-1 Swansea City

Hull continue their promotion charge with a victory which means they’ve picked up twenty-two points from the last twenty-seven available, and have currently won three on the spin. It’s been a season of unexpected success thus far for the Tigers, led by Bosnian Sergej Jakirovic in his first stint in charge of a club in England. Vitor Matos has had a decent start in his own debut season in English football, having lifted the Swans away from the relegation scrap they looked doomed to participate in. Despite a loss here, they’ve overall managed ten points from the last fifteen, putting them in a strong position compared to where they were before Matos took charge.

Goal 1 (1-0, 24th minute): As a Hull free-kick came soaring into the Swansea box, Welsh centre-back Ben Cabango leapt up and very deliberately palmed the ball out of play. It was so bafflingly blatant that a penalty was the only logical outcome. Scottish striker Oli McBurnie stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way. A second goal in two games for McBurnie, and his eleventh league goal overall.

Goal 2 (2-0, 39th minute): Tigers’ central midfielder Regan Slater gathered the ball just outside the Swansea area and smashed an absolute rocket high into the net. A second of the season for him.

Goal 3 (2-1, 59th minute): A corner into the area was flicked towards the far corner of the net by Swansea’s attacking midfielder Liam Cullen. The ball was going in, but Swans’ Scottish midfielder Jay Fulton ran in to try and get the goal for himself. No luck, though - the ball went in before he got his touch, so it goes to Cullen for his third of the season.

Hull are in 4th, five points off 2nd and seven points off 7th. Swansea are 16th, seven points from danger.

Leicester City 1-2 Oxford United

One win in five games is how Leicester’s recent form reads, and this result at home to the team who are second-bottom from the league underscores just how out-of-form they are at present. In a season where they were expected to challenge for the top two places, they’ve instead found themselves mired in mid-table, with no signs of that situation changing any time soon. The Foxes’ board finally decided they could wait no longer for a turnaround, and Marti Cifuentes was relieved of his duties the day after this match after just six months at the helm. Leicester’s biggest concern will be a potential looming points deduction, which could genuinely plunge them into a relegation battle. Oxford, meanwhile, have been fighting to stay outside of the drop zone all season. Poor recent form has seen them fall into the bottom three, but new boss Matt Bloomfield is currently undefeated in three matches. After two goalless draws in his first two games, this win will give the manager and his team a significant boost in confidence.

Goal 1 (0-1, 4th minute): A long throw into the area was flicked on by the head of Oxford defender Ciaron Brown, and then placed home by an unmarked Sam Long inside the six-yard box. The right-back opens his scoring account for the campaign.

Goal 2 (0-2, 71st minute): Leicester somewhat inexplicably had their entire team at the other end of the pitch for a corner, which then led to an inevitable Oxford breakaway where precisely zero defenders were on hand to stop U’s forward Mark Harris from running through on goal. Keeping his cool, Harris rounded the keeper and slotted the ball home. The Welshman scores his second of the season – a lot of seconds of the season this week.

Goal 3 (1-2, 84th minute): Foxes winger Abdul Fatawu received the ball inside the area and hit a deflected ball high into the net to get one back for the Foxes – but it only ended up being a consolation, and it would be the last goal of the brief Marti Cifuentes era. Fatawu now has six league goals.

Leicester drop to 14th, six points from the playoffs. Oxford remain in 23rd, but are now only three points from safety.

QPR 2-3 Wrexham

It wasn’t too long ago that Julien Stephane’s men looked like they might stage an unexpected charge towards the top six, but recent form has seen them slide back towards mid-table. QPR have only won one of their last seven matches, and that win was against bottom club Sheffield Wednesday. They’ve really lost their way lately, and are going to need to find a way to improve their form rapidly if they are going to retain any hope of attaining a playoff position. Wrexham, however, are most certainly on the up. Doubts about Phil Parkinson’s capability to lead the club in the Championship are being swept aside as they steadily climb the table. They’ve only been beaten seven times this season, making them one of the toughest teams in the league to get three points from, and five victories from their last seven games means that they are making back-to-back promotions a very real possibility.

Goal 1 (1-0, 6th minute): A nice backheel on the edge of the area allowed Rangers’ attacking midfielder Kader Dembele to burst into the box and hit a shot which bounced against the underside of the crossbar. Wrexham were unable to clear their lines, leading to right-midfielder Harvey Vale hitting a beautiful turning volley inside the area and rifling the ball into the back of the net. Second of the season, of course.

Goal 2 (1-1, 54th minute): Some nice build up play from the Red Dragons saw defender Callum Doyle receive the ball deep inside the area, and he smashed the ball into the far top corner from a tight angle to bring the scores level. His first goal of the campaign.

Goal 3 (2-1, 80th minute): A corner into the box was met by the head of QPR’s centre-back Steve Cook, unmarked, who steered the ball into the far side of the net to put the Hoops back in front. He joins teammate Doyle in scoring his first of the season.

Red Card (QPR, 90th minute): Usually a red card in the 90th minute is more of an irritation than a game-defining moment, but as the next few minutes would show, this turned out to be a catastrophic blow for Rangers. Oxford’s George Thomason was on the touchline when Rangers’ defender Amadou Mbengue steamed in and smashed the Wrexham midfielder off the pitch with zero chill. The referee was not amused, and a second yellow meant that Mbengue was heading for a slightly early bath. Little did QPR know it was about to get much worse.

Goal 4 (2-2, 93rd minute): A corner was palmed away by Rangers’ keeper Joe Walsh, but it landed in the path of Wrexham forward Josh Windass who hammered a first-time half-valley into the net to bring the away side level once again. He now has eight for the season.

Goal 5 (2-3, 94th minute): A minute later, and what had looked like three points for QPR just a few minutes prior became zero. It was an absolute beauty of a strike from far outside the area from Wrexham midfielder Ollie Rathbone, a goal worthy of winning any game. His fourth goal in just nine appearances.

QPR are in 12th, still only four points from the top six despite this defeat. Wrexham move into the playoff positions, now in 6th spot.

Sheffield United 3-1 Ipswich Town

Since Chris Wilder returned to Sheffield United, the Blades have oscillated between looking like the team that finished 3rd last season and looking like the team that started this season by losing eight of their opening nine league games. This match was definitely the former, as they ran out comfortable winners against promotion-chasing Ipswich. Having lost their last two games, this result means they’ve won three of their last five. The Tractor Boys did have the longest winning streak in the top four divisions before this result, which brought their winning run of four games to an unceremonious end. It’s perhaps not a surprise that the end came away from home – Town have won ten from fifteen home matches, but have just four victories from thirteen away matches. If they want to finish the season inside the top two, they will need to improve their form on their travels.

Goal 1 (1-0, 38th minute): A swift Blades’ break from inside their own half caught Ipswich off guard. Attacking-midfielder Callum O'Hare charged towards the area and put the ball past Town keeper, and former Rover, Christian Walton to give the home side the lead and notch his seventh of the season.

Goal 2 (2-0, 45th minute + 4 minutes): Walton pushed away one shot from distance, then saved a second, before a first-time third deflected attempt from outside the area finally beat him. The goalscorer was midfielder Andre Brooks, who now has two for the season.

Goal 3 (2-1, 60th minute): Ipswich got a lifeline fifteen minutes after the break, as they were awarded a penalty. A shot was charged down by defender Mark McGuinness, who was deemed to have used his hands for the block. The resulting spot kick from Town winger Jack Clarke somewhat fortuitously went in off the inside of the post. An eleventh goal in twenty-eight appearances for Clarke, and a third in two games.

Goal 4 (3-1, 66th minute): It took just six minutes for the Blades to restore their two goal advantage. A good old long punt up the pitch from Sheffield United keeper Michael Cooper was hooked into the area by midfielder Gus Hamer and finished off by striker Patrick Bamford. A route one classic. Bamford his six in thirteen games now, but despite boosting his impressive strike rate he wouldn’t end the game in a good mood.

Red Card (Sheffield United, 84th minute): Having scored his side’s third of the game, Bamford ended his afternoon early after receiving a second yellow card towards the end of the second half. It was a particularly stupid way to get sent off, too, as he tried a dive in the area which was as comical as it was unwise. The referee didn’t see the funny side, and Bamford was gone.

Sheffield United are in 17th place, six points clear of the relegation spots. Ipswich remain in 3rd, but lose ground on Boro in 2nd. Ipswich still have a game in hand, but defeat here means that winning that game in hand would no longer take them above Boro.

Portsmouth 1-1 Southampton

Whilst John Mousinho’s Portsmouth are still not picking up wins at a rate of knots, they do have a recent knack of making sure they don’t lose. In fact, Pompey have only lost one of their last eight games – albeit that one loss was a 5-0 trouncing by Bristol City which has done their goal difference no favours. Nonetheless, nobody can say they aren’t putting up a fight to stay in the division. A much needed win midweek against Sheffield United would have given Tonda Eckert and his Southampton team hope that they may be able to get a decent run of form going. A draw here in the South Coast derby isn’t really what they needed, especially as expectations were that they will be in and around the promotion places this season, but it technically makes it two games unbeaten for the Saints.

Goal 1 (0-1, 57th minute): Defence swiftly turned into attack for the Saints as they got the ball up the pitch fast enough to catch out the Pompey defence. Brazilian playmaker Leo Scienza skipped into the area and confidently put the ball past Portsmouth keeper Nicolas Schmid. Scienza’s tally reaches five league goals, with this being his second in two games.

Goal 2 (1-1, 77th minute): An Adrian Segecic corner caused mayhem in the Southampton goalmouth. Unable to clear the ball, it was ultimately nodded into the net by Pompey midfielder Ebou Adams to restore parity. Of course, it’s his second goal of the season. One of those weeks where a silly amount of players all reach the same tally of league goals.

Portsmouth are outside the relegation zone by a point, sitting in 21st. Southampton are still in 15th place, seven points from the playoffs.

Norwich City 2-1 Coventry City

The final encounter in this long weekend of games, from Friday to Monday, saw league leaders Coventry surprisingly go down away to Norwich. The Sky Blues had just started recovering from a recent wobble, but defeat at Carrow Road means they’ve now only won two of their last six games, and lost three in that same period. It’s not panic stations yet for Coventry, but their invincible aura from earlier in the season has definitely vanished over the past couple of months. It’s a statement win for Philippe Clement and his Norwich side. Having climbed out of the immediate trouble, they are now hauling themselves away from the drop zone at pace. It’s likely too late for them to mount a playoff push at this point, but honestly, who knows. There are fifty-one points left for Norwich to play for, and they’d probably need about thirty-six to be in with a realistic shout of a top six place. Not impossible, but certainly a very tall task with little room for error.

Goal 1 (0-1, 38th minute): It was the visitors who, as would have been expected, took the lead. A shot from outside the area from Sky Blues midfielder Victor Torp bounced off Norwich defender Ruairi McConville inside the box and then fell to the feet of Romain Esse. The newly-acquired young winger, on-loan from Crystal Palace, experienced some fortune as the defenders stumbled around him, giving him time to hammer a shot low into the net. Another who scores his second of the season, albeit in just three games.

Goal 2 (1-1, 46th minute): A goal within a minute of the second half restarting made it clear that Norwich were not going to make it an easy night for the league leaders. A perfect through ball from out wide from winger Ali Ahmed slipped Anis Ben Slimane into the box, at which point he coolly rounded the keeper and finished from a tight angle. Having not been favoured by Liam Manning early on and then suffering an injury, Slimane has come to life under Philippe Clement, with this being his third goal in five games.

Goal 3 (2-1, 67th minute): Ali Ahmed has had some start at the Canaries, and his early impact continued as he bagged the winning goal for his side after assisting the equaliser. Norwich surged towards the Coventry box from the middle of the pitch, ultimately leading the ball being squared for Ahmed to place a shot into the far bottom corner and seal all three points for the home side. The Canadian winger has two goals (of course) and two assists in his first three games for Norwich.

Norwich move up to 18th, four points clear of the relegation zone that had been their home for most of the season. Coventry remain top, but Boro are hot in their heels, now just three points behind the league leaders. The Sky Blues still remain eight points ahead of their next nearest rivals, however.

League Table c/o BBC Sport