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Both Bolton and Cardiff will be desperate to get their season up and running when they meet at the Toughsheet Stadium.

After victory on the opening day, Steven Schumacher’s side have gained only one point from the last five games, despite a resilient showing against West Ham in midweek.

It is not much better for the Bluebirds who sit two places above Bolton in 20th and are yet to win this season.

However, boss Brian Barry-Murphy has dismissed conversations about relegation, saying his side have spent most matches keeping the ball well...they just need to do something with it now.

Image source, BBC Sport

Derby boss John Eustace hands a first home start to forward Henrik Meister, striker Carlton Morris returns to skipper the side and Joe Ward is also back in three changes from the team beaten at home by West Brom in midweek.

Ryan Hedges, Dion Sanderson and Alex Mowatt drop to the bench.

After defeat by Norwich, Jhon Solis and Alex Cochrane come into the Birmingham team with Paik Seung-Ho and Kristoffer Lund among the substitutes.

Image source, BBC Sport

These two need what in the old days we might have termed a 'kick up the backside' but apparently you are not allowed to do that in these more enlightened times.

Back-to-back defeats and only one win from their opening six matches has left Derby in the relegation zone - early days? Yes we know but it is hardly an ideal start from a Rams team hoping to at least replicate last season's eighth place finish - good enough for a play-off spot this year don't forget.

A shrug of the shoulders or simply the word 'meh' will be enough to describe Birmingham's start - three draws at home; a win, a draw and a defeat on their travels - it hardly smacks of a promotion challenge - early days? Yes we know but they had the same number of points at this stage last season and finished 10th.

"When you look at the table now, we've lost four games to top five teams. They've been together throughout pre-season, working together and over the course of the season that's where we want to get to and will by having a stable and settled team," said Derby head coach John Eustace.

'We're looking really competitive and we're close to being a a really good team at this level but we're not quite there and need to keep pushing," added Blues boss Chris Davies.

Patterns to a season can be set very early so Derby and Birmingham need to shake themselves awake if the leading pack are not to get a head start - a win for either side today you feel is of paramount importance.

Image source, Opta

It's been a pretty tight turnaround for both these sides, with West Brom winning 1-0 at derby on Wednesday night while QPR were drawing 0-0 at Charlton at the same time.

Given the Baggies played almost an hour of their game with 10 men after Brayann Pereira was sent off 34 minutes into his debut it's perhaps not a shock that boss James Morrison has shuffled his pack.

However, it is perhaps something of a surprise to see leading scorer Jimmy-Jay Morgan among those rotated to the bench.

Former Manchester United man Toby Collyer is in for his first appearance since joining last month and defender Chris Mepham comes in to captain the side.

QPR boss Julien Stephan has also freshened things up with five changes.

Dennis Cirkin, Jake Clarke-Salter and Amadou Mbengue all come in a heavily altered backline.

Image source, Opta

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Two teams who have made excellent starts to the campaign meet in the West Midlands.

West Brom have claimed four wins from their opening six games and new star forward Jimmy-Jay Morgan has scored three and assisted another three in the Championship since his arrival from Chelsea in the summer.

Albion also boast an excellent recent record against today's opponents on their home patch, QPR have won just one of their past 14 league visits to The Hawthorns.

Another win for the home side today will see them end the weekend atop the division.

For their part, the R's have won three and drawn two of their first half dozen league games.

However, as well as struggles here over the years they're also finding life hard going away from Loftus Road in 2026 full stop. They have failed to score in eight of their 13 away games in the Championship this year, the most of any side currently in the division.

Image source, BBC Sport/Getty Images

West Ham are at the summit after their 6-0 hammering of Wrexham last night.

West Brom meet QPR at 12:30 BST where a win for the Baggies would move them back to the top while the visitors' inferior goal difference means a victory for them is unlikely to be enough.

Swansea and Charlton also know wins would put them on 14 points but, again the goal difference is an issue compared to that of West Ham's.

As markers go, thrashing one of the division's most talked about clubs is an emphatic way to set one down.

West Ham United leapt back to the top of the Championship on Friday night with a 6-0 battering of Wrexham at the London Stadium.

There were six different scorers for the Hammers - Jarrod Bowen, Joel Piroe, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Taty Castellanos, Mohamadou Kante and Manor Solomon - as they inflicted Wrexham's heaviest defeat for six years.

The victory was also a notable piece of history for the home side, who scored six goals in a game with all goals coming from different scorers for the first time.

We have three games to get us up and running today.

Image source, BBC Sport

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Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another hectic Saturday of Championship action.

Usual business today, three early games and then seven more at 15:00 BST.

We'll also have some reaction to the opening game of the EFL weekend last night... Wrexham fans might want to look away now.

Onwards.