Right, time for the main slate... plenty of issues to resolve at the top and bottom of the Championship in the next couple of hours.

Strap in...

Adam Lanigan
BBC Sport reporter at Hillsborough

Image source, BBC Sport

Bottom of the league, 15 points from safety, the mood amongst the blue-and-white hordes should be despondent.

But travelling across Sheffield to Hillsborough, it feels quite the opposite.

Supporters with a spring in their step, ready to cheer on Wednesday after the end of one of the bleakest periods in their long history.

The club has been in administration for a little over 24 hours, but they have quickly gone about trying to remove bad memories of the previous owner.

Two letters gone from the North Stand seats, six more to go. Probably a reflection of how the fans feel, a start but so, so much more work still to do.

Image source, Getty Images

It's been a difficult week for Sheffield Wednesday.

They lost to Middlesbrough on Wednesday in front of a sparse crowd as their fans conducted a mass boycott in protest of owner Dejphon Chansiri, ending the night bottom of the league - but that's not the worst of it.

Yesterday, they were hit with the news that the club has went into administration and will receive a 12 point deduction.

It does, however, effectively mean the end of Chansiri's reign and that tonight's match against Oxford will see crowds fill the stands once more now that their role has been played.

But with yet more uncertainty and now 15 points separating them and 21st place, how long can a side galvanise through the troubles before they begin to completely deflate?

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Middlesbrough are now four points behind Coventry as they face Wrexham for the first time ever in the English Football League.

Wednesday's 1-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday made it back-to-back wins for the first time since August for Rob Edwards' side, though they have still only scored four goals in their past five games.

Boro have won eight of their past 11 at home, taking 27 points and losing only once, to Leeds in April.

Wrexham ended a four-match winless run with a 1-0 win over Oxford United on the same night and will be seeking to launch a winning streak for the first time this season, though defeating Middlesbrough is something boss Phil Parkinson has never done, having lost all four encounters while at previous club Bolton without scoring.

The last time these sides met in any competition was the FA Cup in December 1999 when a certain Darren Ferguson was on the scoresheet for the Red Dragons in a 2-1 win.

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It’s a day for small records as Bristol City welcome Birmingham knowing victory will mean they have won three league matches in a row for the first time since December 2023.

Success against Southampton last week put The Robins up to fourth in the Championship table, and three points this afternoon could lift them to third.

Birmingham meanwhile are on the road again this week and will be hoping to win successive away league games for the first time since September 2022.

Chris Davies’ side fought hard to beat Preston last week and lift themselves further away from the dreaded drop zone.

On paper, Bristol City have the edge with Scott Twine and Anis Mehmeti firing on all cylinders, but who’s to say Jay Stansfield won’t pop up and spoil the party?

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Derby will look to start a winning run as they welcome Queens Park Rangers to Pride Park.

The Rams put an end to a five-match winless streak when they beat Norwich on Tuesday to leapfrog the free-falling Canaries and move away from the drop-zone with their first win in nine at Pride Park.

Visitors QPR will be a different task though, sitting ninth after a 1-0 win at Swansea on Wednesday which made it 10 points gained from their past four away games.

Julien Stephan’s side have lost only one of their eight matches since the 7-1 mauling at Coventry in August which kick-started their season, and the Rs have a good recent record against the Rams too, taking 15 points from the past seven encounters and winning the last clash 4-0 in February in John Eustace's first match at the helm.

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Hull City and Charlton Athletic were likely on few radars for a promotion run this season.

The Addicks, fresh from League One and not carrying the kind of spending weight their fellow promoted sides Birmingham City and Wrexham could splash around.

The Tigers, coming out of last season's relegation battle with an unknown, untested new manager and hit with transfer embargos to boot.

It might still be early days but Charlton are well ahead of their rivals from League One and Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic has led his team to a three match winning streak, seeing both sides in the top end of the table.

Tonight's match is one between underdogs - but it's got heavy-weight battle written all over it.

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How big might this one be?

Rovers head into the visit of Southampton with just one point from their past five games and sitting second from bottom, after finishing seventh last season.

Despite that it is "stupid" to suggest Blackburn’s squad is weaker this term, according to boss Valerien Ismael, who says performances have been better than results.

Rovers are one of three sides in the Championship yet to win at home this season, with their last victory at Ewood Park coming in April, and failing to win today would make it six games without a home victory to start a season for the first time in 46 years.

Southampton's only away win so far came at Sheffield United at the end of September, which was also their only win in their past 10 games as Will Still’s side have slipped to 18th with 12 points from 11 games so far.

The omens aren’t great for Saints as they have only won on one of their past 16 league visits to Ewood Park, that coming 27 years ago, and lost 11 of those games.

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Swansea welcome Norwich to south Wales this afternoon knowing their opponents have the worst form in the Championship.

Liam Manning's Canaries are in a whole lot of trouble, having lost their last four league games, and are without a win since the end of August.

But all good (and bad) things must come to end, so it might just be today the rut is ended by striker Josh Sargent adding to his five goals for the season, a tally which has him joint-fifth top scorer.

Meanwhile, the picture for Swansea is a little less terrifying, with Alan Sheehan’s side at least having won in their last four.

But defeats since to QPR and Leicester will back that win against Blackburn feels like an age ago.

So, who will break the deadlock? Swans’ fans will be desperate it isn’t their former defender Harry Darling who will be starting for Norwich.

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The feeling at The Den will be much different to that of the King Power when Leicester pop in for a visit this afternoon.

Millwall's ferocious start sees them third on the table and on a three-match winning streak, whereas for the Foxes... they sit further down the mountain in 10th.

Sure, they are still the highest performers of the trio relegated from the Premier League, and they are only three points short of the Lions, AND they've only lost two of their 11 games.

But their performances haven't inspired the same kind of chutzpah their previous Championship campaign did and fans are starting to wonder if they will spending more time in the second division than they were hoping for.

Not even the statistics favour them, with Millwall winning four out of their past five home games against the Foxes and keeping a clean sheet in three.

But while Millwall boss Alex Neil knows his side are flying high, he's not building up his expectations.

"We've given ourselves a really good starting point and can we go and build on that and win as many games as we can?," Neil told BBC Radio London.

"We certainly won't be getting carried away."

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Here's what's left to come from the 15:00 BST kick-offs:

• Blackburn Rovers v Southampton
• Bristol City v Birmingham City
• Derby County v Queens Park Rangers
• Hull City v Charlton Athletic
• Middlesbrough v Wrexham
• Millwall v Leicester City
• Sheffield Wednesday v Oxford City
• Swansea City v Norwich City

Image source, Opta/Rex Features

Yes, it's still October, and it's a marathon not a sprint, but on all the evidence of the opening quarter of the season, Coventry City are the team to beat in the Championship.

34 goals scored, nine conceded, +25 goal difference, nearly double any other side in the 92, and four points clear of Middlesbrough, who will try to close the gap against Wrexham shortly.

Stoke are the only side to have conceded fewer and are back in the top three after a slender win at Portsmouth while Ipswich have returned to the top half of a tight table with a 1-0 win over their own against West Brom.

Steve Ogrizovic
Ex-Coventry City goalkeeper on BBC CWR

Coventry have just got to keep doing what they have been doing all season.

It was brilliant first-half performance, and Carl Rushworth was outstanding and made four great saves. Coventry went on to score three and could of had about six.

We deserved this victory and the second half I can understand, it is disappointing we just stopped playing and accepted what we had an let Watford get a goal.

Overall a convincing victory.

Image source, Getty Images

An even match of football is separated in the most unfair of fashions: by an own goal.

Stoke started the brighter of the two sides but Portsmouth grew into the game, with Makenzie Kirk failing to take a few wonderful chances.

Hayden Matthews also had a brilliant shift at the back for Pompey, up until the 69th minute when he poked the ball into his own net trying to cut out a cross from Sorba Thomas.

After that Stoke shut up shop and did everything required of them to the grind out the win, with keeper Viktor Johansson putting on an outstanding display to keep his precious clean sheet.

Professional and precise from Mark Robins' side, who get themselves back to winning ways.

Image source, Getty Images

Coventry have won six games in a row for the first time since 1964. The Sky Blues are also unbeaten in their opening 12 matches for the first time in 25 years to go four points clear at the top of the Championship... for a couple of hours at least.

These are great days at the CBS Arena, but make no mistake, this was by no means a procession.

Carl Rushworth made a string of crucial saves to give City the platform to build a healthy lead through Brandon Thomas-Asante's header, Jamie Allen's thumper and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto's curler before the break. James Abankwah's red-card just before the interval effectively ended the game as a contest, but the youthful Hornets kept going, even with 10, and should really have had more to show for it than Imran Louza's penalty.

They'll very probably play worse and win this season, but as for City, they have a lot to look forward to as they did farewell to British Summer Time.

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Ipswich steal three points after substitute Jack Clarke pounces on a loose ball in the box.

The game had gone stale before West Bromwich keeper Josh Griffiths denied Ivan Azon but failed to keep the ball, allowing Clarke to rifle it into the corner to take the lead.

The Albion will be mighty disappointed after showing such solid defence in the first-half. It sees them drop to 11th, just one place above today's hosts.

Into SIX added minutes at the CBS Arena where no jeopardy remains and the home fans are having a sing-song.

The lively Hornets sub Nestory Irankunda has gone into the book for Watford for a pretty crude barge on Tatsuhiro Sakamoto near the touchline, borne entirely of frustration.