Rob Gurney
BBC Radio CWR Sport commentator

Image source, Shutterstock

It is another very early goal and that is 32 goals for the Sky Blues and we have barely begun the 12th game of the season.

Stoke go close to taking the lead as Aaron Cresswell's whipped cross is met by the head of defender Ashley Phillips.

His glancing effort goes just wide of Josef Bursik's goal.

Aaron Cresswell charges down the left side for Stoke but Marlon Park comes across to cut the ball out.

Corner for Stoke.

Huge chance for the Hornets to go ahead as Rocco Vata is played clean through on goal down the left, only for Carl Rushworth to stand up strong and block his effort with a strong right hand as Vata tried to dink it over him.

What a let-off for the City defence who parted like the Sky Blue sea.

Stoke are keeping the ball well in the opening minute, surrounded by a very loud Fratton Park.

Looks like a change to a back-four for the Sky Blues with Luke Woolfenden dropping out of the side and Jamie Allen making his second start in midfield, with Victor Torp ruled out.

Haji Wright is given the nod to lead the line in place of Ellis Simms, having sat out the midweek trip to Pompey.

Prior to kick-off, Portman Road erupted into applause to honour former Ipswich Town captain Mick McNeil.

The club legend passed away aged 85 earlier this week.

The defender played 173 games for the Tractor Boys between 1964 and 1972, and won the Second Division title with the side in the 1967-68 season.

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Away we go with the first three games of the Championship day...

What drama do we have in store? What will the table look like at 3pm?

Let's find out...

66 players, three referees, six assistants and tens of thousands of fans are in position, and we are too...

Kick-off is moments away.

Let us know your views regarding your time for the day ahead or even the Sheffield Wednesday situation. It would be interesting to hear from fans of rival clubs and their take on what's unfolded at Hillsborough.

Use the button at the top of the page and we will publish the best responses throughout the afternoon.

Image source, Opta

Frank Lampard has made three changes to the Sky Blues XI which won 2-1 at Portsmouth on Tuesday night.

Jamie Allen, Haji Wright and Tatsuhiro Sakatmoto return with Luke Woolfenden and Ellis Simms dropping to the bench while Victor Torp misses out completely after coming off late on at Fratton Park.

Javi Gracia has made five changes to the Hornets side which beat West Brom 2-1 at Vicarage Road 24 hours after Coventry played.

Kevin Keben, Moussa Sissoko, Edo Kayembe, Kwadwo Baah and Mamadou Doumbia are handed starts.

Matty Pollock, Hector Kyprianou, Nestory Irankunda and Luca Kjerrumgaard drop to the bench with Jeremy Petris unavailable.

Image source, Opta

Image source, Opta

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho make three changes to the side which lost to Coventry, with Jordan Williams, Hayden Matthews, and Tuesday's goalscorer Makenzie Kirk brought into the starting XI.

Defenders Josh Knight and Zak Swanson are dropped to the bench, and midfielder John Swift is out of the squad altogether.

Stoke manager Mark Robins, meanwhile, make seven changes after that defeat to Millwall.

Robins opts to bring in Maksym Talovierov, Lewis Baker, Ben Pearson, Aaron Cresswell, Bae Jun-ho, Million Manhoef, and Divin Mubama.

Image source, Opta

Image source, Opta

Only captain Dara O'Shea and Leif Davis remain in the squad that lost to Charlton in the week as Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna makes nine, I repeat, nine, changes.

The side have a different face starting between the sticks this afternoon as Alex Palmer recovers from the injury he picked up against the Addicks last time out.

It gives replacement stopper Christian Walton his first league start of the season.

Azor Matusiwa returns from suspension and is named in the XI alongside George Hirst, Jaden Philogene, Sammie Szmodics, Sindre Walle Egeli, Jack Taylor, Cedric Kipre and Darnell Furlong.

Ashley Young, Marcelino Nunez, Jens Cajuste, Kasey McAteer, Chuba Akpom, Jack Clarke, Ivan Azon and Jacob Greaves are all available from the bench.

West Bromwich Albion make a much more modest amendment to their starting XI with the addition of George Campbell and Charlie Taylor.

Alfie Gilchrist and Callum Styles rotate to the bench.

Image source, Opta

Image source, Rex Features

Championship leaders Coventry head into the early game as the EFL's only unbeaten side and with the chance of going four points clear of closest-challengers Middlesbrough.

Watford collected their first win under returning boss Javi Gracia against West Brom on Wednesday but, along with Ipswich, are the only sides without an away win in the division and are now 11 without a win on their travels dating back to March.

The Sky Blues have lost only one of their past dozen encounters with the Hornets and have taken 13 points from the past seven overall while it’s now 15 years since Watford won at City.

Victory today would be a sixth straight in the league for Coventry for the third time ever and the first since 1964, when Frank's dad Frank Lampard Sr and uncle Harry Redknapp were fresh-faced teenagers in the West Ham academy.

It's all going swimmingly for Lampard so far, but can they keep it up?

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Seventh-placed Stoke City visit Portsmouth wanting to patch up what was, until last week, one of the Championship’s best defences.

Two goals conceded in the opening 20 minutes against Millwall added to their six for the entire season, something which boss Mark Robin’s will be keen fix at Fratton Park this lunchtime.

Portsmouth on the other hand are languishing down in 17th but are showing some signs the season might be on the up.

John Mousinho’s side had put together a tidy three-match unbeaten run during October until a hotly contested defeat to table-toppers Coventry last week.

That, combined with knowing the last time Stoke won at Fratton Park was back in February 2010, might just give the home side the spark of hope they need.

"Of course the fans are frustrated but there's a frustrated dressing room as well. Everybody knows we could do more," Ipswich Town defender Ashley Young told BBC Radio Suffolk.

The Tractor Boys conceded three goals within 12 minutes in their 3-0 loss to Charlton in the week for their second successive defeat to leave them stranded in the midtable.

This afternoon they face West Bromwich Albion, a club hoping to contend for promotion but currently finding themselves lingering just outside by one point.

It's a big game for both sides. The Baggies because they are looking to avoid drifting away from the pack ahead, Ipswich because everybody is watching and so far, they aren't delivering.

"When a club comes out of the Premier League, there's always going to be pressure surrounding them. I think we're the team everybody wants to beat," Young added.

"You saw the way Charlton were celebrating after the game like they'd won a cup final and for many teams that's what it's going to be like [against us]."

Image source, Shutterstock

This week's Championship action has not just deepened long-standing hangovers suffered by the three clubs relegated from the Premier League but pointed to issues more wide-reaching than simply having to adapt to life back in the second tier.

Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton all succumbed to defeats in midweek, meaning that for the first time in six seasons, all three freshly relegated sides sit outside of the top six of the Championship at this stage of the season.

As unbeaten leaders Coventry City show no signs of letting up, and second-placed Middlesbrough remain close in pursuit, Marti Cifuentes, Kieran McKenna and Will Still have plenty to ponder if they are to find a formula to claim an immediate return to the top flight with their respective sides.

With more than 100 Championship points still on offer, BBC Sport examines the main factors behind the three sides' sluggish starts and whether they are showing any signs of turning around their fortunes sooner rather than later.