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Cardiff City Handed Toughest Start to New Championship Season As Swansea Begin At Home

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By Paul Jones

Cardiff City have been handed the toughest of Championship openers for the new 2023-24 season with a trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United.

The new fixture list has sent the Bluebirds to Leeds on Sunday August 6, to face one of the clubs relegated from the Premier League last season.

Swansea City will start their campaign at home to Birmingham City, a day earlier on August 5, while Newport County’s first match in League Two will be away to Accrington Stanley on the same afternoon.

The first South Wales derby comes early in the season, with Cardiff hosting Swansea City on Saturday, September 16.

That could change for TV purposes closer to the time, with the return fixture at Swansea pencilled in for Saturday, March 16.

Wrexham’s first match back in the Football League after their promotion from the National League, will also be on August 5, when they host MK Dons.

Southampton will take on Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in the opening match of the new Sky Bet Championship season on Friday, August 4.

Beginning life under new boss and former Swansea head coach Russell Martin, the relegated Saints face a Wednesday outfit back in the second tier after winning the League One play-offs last month and currently managerless after parting company with Darren Moore.

Leicester, under new boss Enzo Maresca, and Leeds – the two other clubs to have dropped down from the Premier League – kick off their campaigns two days later at home against defeated play-off finalists Coventry and Cardiff respectively.

The other game that day sees Sunderland entertain promoted Ipswich, while League One champions Plymouth open by hosting Huddersfield the day before.

Southampton’s first home game of the campaign will be against Norwich the following Saturday, when Leicester travel to Huddersfield and Leeds are at Birmingham.

The final day of the regular Championship season on May 4 will see Leeds and Southampton go head to head at St Mary’s, while Leicester host Blackburn.

The opening round of League One fixtures on August 5 includes Wigan, who finished bottom of the Championship last term, playing at Derby as they start their season on minus eight points after being penalised over payment of wages.

Fellow relegated sides Reading and Blackpool begin at home against Peterborough and Burton respectively, while Barnsley, who missed out on promotion to Wednesday, welcome Port Vale to Oakwell.

Thursday’s release of the new season’s EFL fixtures also shows National League play-off winners Notts County beginning their own comeback campaign by playing Sutton away.

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