Image source, Getty Images

League One has some titans joining the fray this season.

Leicester lifted the Premier League trophy a decade ago but now they return to the third tier for the first time since 2009, while Sheffield Wednesday are back to kick-off a new era under brand new ownership.

But with such recent, rich history comes mammoth expectation and for the Foxes in particular, nothing else will do other than promotion.

While for a club like last season's League Two champions Bromley, who have already reached a new height in securing promotion to League One for the first time, the pressure is off.

Could this be another year of the underdogs?

Click here for our preview of the 2026-27 season in the third tier.

Image source, Shutterstock/Getty Images

League Two never fails to provide gripping entertainment right until the final day of the season.

If recent years are anything to go by, the 2026-27 campaign promises to be no different with Salford City tipped to win promotion to League One for the first time in their history and York City back in the EFL after a 10-year hiatus.

With today's curtain-raisers upon us, BBC Sport spoke to correspondents across England and Wales for their takes on the clubs they cover and what to expect this season.

Click here for our season preview in the fourth tier.

• Newport v Rochdale (12:30 BST)
• Oldham v Port Vale (12:30 BST)
• Accrington v Colchester
• Barnet v Salford
• Cheltenham v Rotherham
• Chesterfield v Fleetwood
• Crawley v Crewe
• Gillingham v Walsall
• Grimsby v Exeter
• Northampton v Swindon
• Tranmere v Shrewsbury
• York v Bristol Rovers

• Notts County v Leicester (12:30 BST)
• Oxford United v MK Dons (12:30 BST)
• Reading v Luton (12:30 BST)
• Barnsley v Bromley
• Blackpool v Wycombe
• Bradford v Peterborough
• Burton v Stevenage
• Cambridge United v Wigan
• Huddersfield v AFC Wimbledon
• Leyton Orient v Sheff Wed
• Mansfield v Doncaster
• Plymouth v Stockport

Image source, Shutterstock

Good afternoon, what a wonderful day it is...

You can leave the Viking Row, Wonderwall, Mexican ducks and (most) hydration breaks in the summer of '26 - proper football is here again.

The open road of the EFL season stretches nine months before us, punctuated by 46 twists and turns along the way.

Whisper it, but it looks like being one of the most open and competitive seasons ever in a league which is already known around the world for being ridiculously unpredictable.

We have a feast of football for you this afternoon with five bumper early kick-offs and then 19 more games to come after that.

Settle in for five-plus hours of mayhem because we are so very BACK and we have a lot to get through...