EFL 2026/27: Spygate reunion, derby galore and biggest mismatch? 10 games to get excited about this season football news

The fixtures for the 2026/27 EFL season will be announced on Thursday 25 June.

And with renewed rivalries – both old and new – in the Championship, League One and League Two, there are plenty of games to get excited about in the coming…

West Ham v Millwall reunite after 14 years

More than 14 years have passed since West Ham and Millwall last met in a competitive game, but the bitter rivals are set to reunite in the Championship this coming season.

Even in all this time without a game between them, the animosity between the two has not abated, and it is shaping up to be a fiery clash when the two meet for only the eighth time this century.

Millwall have also never been to the London Stadium before. They lost their last game against the Hammers, but were unbeaten in their last seven in the league before that.

Rivals of Spygate! Middlesbrough v Southampton

Get your binoculars ready. Southampton’s elimination from the play-offs, and Middlesbrough’s then failure to beat Hull City, meant the two would meet again in the Championship.

Middlesbrough to Southampton may be the longest journey in the second tier next season, but an unlikely rivalry has been set up and will be fiercely contested – especially if Kim Helberg and Tonda Eckert remain in the respective dugouts until this one kicks off.

Black Country Derby – Wolves v West Brom

The Black Country Derby is back! The two have not met for more than two years since their FA Cup clash at The Hawthorns, when they reminded the football world just how volatile the clash can be.

As for the league, they haven’t met in front of fans since 2012 – when West Brom won 5-1 at Wolves (there were two meetings in the Premier League during the 2020/21 Covid season).

This will be their first meeting at the championship level since 2008.

Lancashire opponents meet again!

Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League and Bolton’s promotion from League One means we get a real bout of Lancashire competition in the Championship, when you throw in Preston and Blackburn too.

You can throw a cap on these four given that they are so close, and all have a history going back to the Football League promotion for the first time, when this fourteenth was a third of the original founding 12.

Bolton v Burnley will be highly anticipated. Separated by two leagues last season, they meet on almost equal terms this time. It had been over a decade since they last met.

South Wales Derby – Cardiff v Swansea

Cardiff’s immediate return to the Championship means we will once again be blessed with the South Wales derby this season, one of the best environments in British football.

Cardiff earned bragging rights the last time they played, beating them 3-0 on their way to relegation in January 2025.

But Swansea still have that magical four games between October 2021 and April 2023, when they won both league games in a season against Cardiff, something they have never done against another.

Biggest mismatch in EFL history? Leicester v Bromley

It’s hard to imagine a bigger contrast between the two clubs anywhere in the world this season.

A decade ago Leicester were Premier League champions, while Bromley finished 14th in the National League. It was their first season at that level itself, having been promoted from the National League South the year before.

Now, they meet on equal terms in League One. Bromley are level for the first time, while Leicester are in just their second season. The Foxes played at Old Trafford and Anfield a season ago, now it will be a trip to Hayes Lane.

MK Dons vs AFC Wimbledon Revisited

There are traditional football rivalries, and unconventional ones, and MK Don v AFC Wimbledon falls firmly into the latter category.

The intense history between the two clubs has always sparked genuine interest in fixtures between the two, who are set to reunite in League One following promotion to MK Dons.

AFC Wimbledon have won three and drawn one of their last four meetings, including one in the FA Cup, and they will be hoping to preserve that record after avoiding relegation last season.

Yorkshire rivalry returns after Wembley drama

Sheffield Wednesday’s relegation from the Championship means we sadly won’t have a Steel City derby this season, but the Owls will join another very local side in Barnsley in League One.

Hillsborough and Oakwell are just 12 miles or so apart, with the clubs last meeting in the 2023 League One play-off final when a 123rd-minute Josh Windus goal clinched the championship on Wednesday.

The moment the Yorkshire pair locked horns this season will never be forgotten.

York City’s first game in the EFL 10 years away

It’s hard to imagine anything like York City’s drama this season Last day promotions from the National LeagueBut a proud old club has returned to the EFL for the first time in a decade.

The Minstermen are tipped to compete at League Two level again this season and the first EFL game at York Community Stadium, which opens in 2021, should be a special occasion indeed.

Nottinghamshire Showdown

Notts County’s promotion from League Two means a return to the Nottinghamshire Derby! They are set to face Mansfield this season.

It is more than two years since the pair met following Mansfield’s promotion in 2024, when Notts County will be looking to overhaul a record that has seen them win just one of their last 15 league games against their local rivals.