Luton Town and Burnley will square off on the opening day of the 2024-25 Championship season

Luton Town and Burnley, both recently relegated from the Premier League, are set to face each other on the opening day of the 2024-25 Championship season.

The Hatters and Clarets finished ahead of Sheffield United in the Premier League last season but couldn’t catch up with Nottingham Forest towards the end. However, they won’t have to wait long to face each other again as they kick off the 2024-25 Championship season on August 12.

This match concludes matchday one, following Sheffield United’s visit to Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers’ clash with Derby County which start the campaign on Friday, August 9.

On the following day, the pick of the matches is last season’s playoff finalists Leeds United meeting League One champions Portsmouth at Elland Road.

Oxford United mark their long-awaited return to the division by facing Norwich City, while West Bromwich Albion make the trip to Loftus Road to take on Queens Park Rangers.

Sunderland will travel to South Wales to face Cardiff City, while Swansea City will head north to play Middlesbrough.

At the MKM Stadium, Hull City will host Bristol City, Millwall will welcome Watford to The Den, and Stoke City will meet Coventry City in Stoke-on-Trent.

Wayne Rooney’s debut as Plymouth Argyle manager will take place at Hillsborough, where the Pilgrims will face Sheffield Wednesday, another club that narrowly avoided relegation last season.

The highlight fixture of matchday two is Leeds’ visit to The Hawthorns to face West Brom, though other fixtures scheduled for August 17 are yet to be finalized.

A week later, Daniel Farke’s team will feature in their first Yorkshire derby of the season at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground. Meanwhile, Swansea and Cardiff will also clash on the same weekend.

Continuing with derby matchups, Burnley will host Blackburn at Turf Moor on August 31, while Portsmouth and Sunderland, once regular rivals in the Premier League, will also face off.

On Boxing Day, Sheffield United will host Burnley at Bramall Lane in a potentially pivotal match in the promotion race, while three days later, Derby County will take on Leeds United at Pride Park in another notable fixture.

The season finale on May 3 will feature West Brom facing Luton, a match that promises to be significant as two promotion contenders could go head-to-head.