

EFL Championship begins Friday as Wrexham aim for another promotion and American strikers make their cases
EFL Championship begins Friday as Wrexham aim for another promotion and American strikers make their cases
Happy Friday and Happy Championship opening day for everyone celebrating! The Second Division of England starts a new season on Friday, essentially heralding at the start of the European club season and offers a new edition of the always intriguing promoter race. I am Pardeep Cattry with a primer about what awaits us when the action starts.
📺 Footy fix
Always us/eastern
Friday 8 August
🇪🇺 Friendly: Chelsea vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 2 pm ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🏴 EFL: Birmingham City vs. Ipswich Town, 3 pm ➡️ Paramount+” CBS Sports Network
🇺🇸 NWSL: Houston Dash vs. North Carolina Courage, 8 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+CBS Sports Golazo Network
Saturday, August 9
🏴🏴 EFL: Southampton vs. Wrexham. 7:30 am ➡️ Paramount+CBS Sports Golazo Network
🏴 EFL: Norwich City vs. Millwall. 10.00 am ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 EFL: Stoke City vs. Derby County. 10.00 am ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 Friendly: Leeds vs. AC Milan, 10.00 am ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🇪🇺 Friendly: Palermo vs. Man City, 3 pm ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
Sunday 10 August
🇪🇺 Friendly: Borussia Dortmund vs. Juventus, 11.30 am ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🏴 Community Shield: Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool, 10.00 am ➡️ ESPN+
🏴 EFL: Leicester vs. Sheffield Wednesday, 11.30 am ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 NWSL: Chicago Red Stars vs. Bay FC, 2 pm ➡️ CBS, Paramount+
🇺🇸 NWSL: Portland Thorns vs. Seattle Reign, 4 p.m. ➡️ CBS, Paramount+
⚽ The forward line
🏴 Another Premier League -Promotierace starts
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In the championship, the race to the top is also a race for the most lucrative price of football – a berth in the Premier League edition of the following season, worth at least $ 295 million in prize money for the three happy teams that earn promotion. The edition of this season’s promotion chase is central as soon as the champion season starts on Friday, with Birmingham City organizing the newcomers of the Second Division Wrexham in a fight between contenders and pretenders.
Fresh from their third consecutive promotion and to the attention of their Hollywood owners, many will keep an eye on Wrexham to see if they can add a fourth promotion in a row to their record and land in the Premier League in record time. However, how realistic that is a different question -a team that reaches the promotion -playoff places, is usually on average 78,625 points per season, while a newly promoted team has an average of 53.17 points in a season on average, and only three promoted parties have once reached the play -offs.
That reality also applies to Birmingham City, who are back in the championship after a season in League One. However, there is reason to be optimistic about their chances of pushing it out with the latest teams that are relegated from the Premier League – Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City – for a trip to the top flight of England. As James Benge writes, on Friday offers a first chance for them to present their ambition and the players who have the caliber to book their Premier League season since 2010-11.
- Curvature: “Birmingham City does not want for ambition. Their reaction to missing Chuba Akpom, on the way to Ippswich? Drawing German international Marvin Ducksch, a man with 55 Bundesliga-targeted involvement in the past three seasons. Tommy Doyle was one of the best players in the Demaray’s championship in 202222, while Premier while League. One?
Wrexham’s EFL Championship Debut
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🔗 Midfield link game
🇺🇸 Americans to look at the championship
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This season, the championship is also a unique test area for a handful of American attackers who have set their sights on a place in the American national team schedule for next year’s World Cup at home. The American contingent is there in abundance and consists of Josh Sargent from Norwich City, Haji Wright from Coventry City, Southampton -newcomer Damion Downs and New Derby County Recruit Patrick Agyemang. The chance is ripe – but the team places are not countless.
The USMNT is currently without a go-to no. 9, largely because Monaco’s Folarin Balogun and PSV’s Ricardo Pepi have tackled a large part of the Pochettino term of office. That is where the championship, and the American quartet, arrives, especially since the players who filled in did not cement their name in stone. Wright has also tackled an injury, while Sargent may just be out of favor with head coach Mauricio Pochettino, so that the pressure on Sargent can prove its value after a 15 -goal season with Norwich – and after a transfer to Wolfsburg not materialize.
Downs and Agyemang are now talents in the elevator after they have participated in the run from the USMNT to the Gold Cup final. Neither of them, however, has really made their business in the summer, with Downs probably on the outside looking out in a strong season with Southampton. Agaremang is perhaps the player to keep an eye on. He did the hard work to break into the group after the MLS-Player-Focus camp of January and scoring the Concacaf Nations League Finals of the USMNT in March. He has the attributes to help Derby County, as manager John Eustace noticed, especially after they risked relegation last season, but it is a different story to turn into a successful relocation of MLS.
- Eustace: “He is at an age where when he comes and trains in this area, cooperates with the coaches and works with good players such as Carlton Morris [another new signing] And that such players, he will improve and get better. There will be no hurry to come in and score goals immediately. The club has invested a lot of money in him, and it is important that in the next two or three seasons we really see him change at this level in a top striker. It is fast, strong and powerful. With some good work in him, I think he can be a real threat at this level. He is really a good asset for the club, and I feel that we can develop it and change it into a Premier League striker. “
🔗 Top stories
🏴 wrexham? Swansea City? Anyone else? Who will be the next Welsh Club in the Premier League?
📅 Laura Harvey Has the Seattle rule for schedule for their rebuildingAnd there are many reasons why.
🤕 After selling son Heung-Min to Lafc, Tottenham has lost the most important piece of James Maddison due to a serious knee injury. Our Chuck Booth Looks at how traces can replace it.
⁉ The courage in North Carolina fired coach Sean Nahas, But they were not very transparent about exactly why.
💸 Manchester United will land from RB Leipzig from Star Spits Benjamin Sesko.
🏆 The balloon d’or nominees are finally out with expected names such as Lamine Yamal and Mohamed Salah on the men’s side, and Aitana Bonmati and Alessia Russo on the women’s side, but Here is who we would have voted.
💰 The back line
💵 Dear bets
- English Championship: Birmingham City vs. Ipswich Town (3 p.m. et)
💰 The choice: Both teams to score (-116) – While the championship is starting, it is time for a fight between two new championships, each of which arrives in the competition from different directions. Birmingham City comes from a record points in League One to win the division, while Ipswich Town was just relegated from the Premier League. With both high ambitions, it is a competition that does not want to lose any of both teams, making it an open affair where both teams find the back of the net. – Chuck Booth
For more choices, predictions, expert tips and the latest bet news, you don’t miss the homepage of CBSSports.com.
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