Leeds end the year on top of the Championship with a 1-0 win at Derby
Burnley held 0-0 at Middlesbrough and miss chance to go second after Sheff Utd draw 1-1 with West Brom
Pressure mounts on Rooney as Placheta seals Oxford's 2-0 win and condemns Plymouth to another defeat
Cannon's injury time strike fires managerless Stoke to three points against Sunderland
Mehmeti's double and Dickie earn Bristol City a 3-0 victory over Portsmouth
Sheffield United 0-0 WBA
Another great delivery from the fast-starting home side.
This time it is defender Harrison Burrows swinging in a cross from the left after being put through by Gustavo Hamer.
It flashes across goal with pace, narrowly evading Kieffer Moore and Andre Brooks.
A reminder that Sheffield United have scored nine times in the first 15 minutes of league games this season.
Sheffield United 0-0 WBA
Sheffield United should be ahead with the first chance of the game.
A delightful low cross comes in from the right from Andre Brooks and Kieffer Moore just doesn't get the right contact with his weaker left foot.
That followed West Bromwich Albion's Jayson Molumby giving the ball away.
#bbcefl
Image source, Rex FeaturesPlayers are on the pitch, minute silences are respectfully observed and all three early games at Norwich, Preston and Sheffield United are ready to go.
Strap yourselves in, folks.
A full day of Championship action starts... now!
Sheffield United v WBA (12:30 GMT)
Steve Hermon
West Brom commentator on BBC Radio WM
Image source, Getty ImagesWest Bromwich Albion are willing to take their time to make the right appointment, leaving the team to be led by the trio of Damia Abella - who isn't expected to follow Corberan to Valencia - and ex-players Chris Brunt and Boaz Myhill for the rest of the festive period.
The search for Corberan's successor is being led by sporting director Andrew Nestor and, unsurprisingly, Albion have received a lot of interest.
The Baggies' recruitment process is big on analytics. This includes a head coach, a tactically astute leader, who can motivate players but bring an expressive style.
Preston v Sheff Wed (12:30 GMT)
Image source, OptaPreston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom makes four changes with Boxing Day's lone goalscorer Brad Potts is ruled out with injury.
Nottingham Forest loanee Josh Bowler starts having not featured in any of North End's past three league outings.
He's joined by Stefan Thordarson, Will Keane and Emil Riis while Ben Whiteman, Mads Frokjaer and Milutin Osmajic all sit on the subs bench.
Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl rotates three of his squad with Gabriel Olegbayo, Djeidi Gassama and Jamal Lowe available as substitutes.
They make way for Pol Valentin and Michael Smith plus Nathaniel Chalobah, who earns his first league start of the season.
Image source, OptaNorwich v QPR (12:30 GMT)
Image source, BBC SportNorwich City have midfielder Kenny McLean back from a four-match suspension that followed a charge of violent conduct for an off-the-ball incident in their reverse fixture defeat to QPR.
The Scotland international is the home side's only change from the Boxing Day victory over Millwall, with Emiliano Marcondes dropping to the bench.
Jose Cordoba is also back from suspension but is only a substitute.
Queens Park Rangers manager Marti Cifuentes has made three alterations to his team following their 3-0 loss at Swansea three days ago.
Harrison Ashby, Lucas Andersen and Ilias Chair all come in for Jake Clarke-Salter, Jonathan Varane and Koki Saito, who are substitutes today.
Image source, BBC SportSheffield United v WBA (12:30 GMT)
Image source, BBC SportInjured centre-back Harry Souttar is one of three changes made by Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder from their Boxing Day defeat at home to Burnley.
Defender Anel Ahmedhodzic, midfielder Tom Davies and winger Andre Brooks all come into today's side.
Vinicius Souza and Rhian Brewster are the other two who make way.
Alex Mowatt and Mason Holgate are both carrying knocks and miss out this afternoon for managerless West Bromwich Albion.
Callum Styles, Ousmane Diakite, Jayson Molumby, and Karlan Grant are all selected, with Uros Racic and John Swift dropping to the bench.
Image source, OptaPreston v Sheff Wed (12:30 GMT)
Image source, Getty ImagesThis time last year, Preston North End hosted Sheffield Wednesday and lost in a narrow 1-0 defeat to see their second successive end of calendar year fixture swing out their favour.
One year later and Preston are closing out 2024 by... hosting Sheffield Wednesday.
The Lancashire side will want a different result at the second time of asking but it's not only the club that have a history with the Owls they don't wish to repeat.
North End boss Paul Heckingbottom has not once in any his past five attempts managed to defeat Wednesday in a Championship match (D3 L2).
Can he right that wrong today with a home victory or will he need to add 'win at Hillsborough' to his list of new year resolutions?
Norwich v QPR (12:30 GMT)
Image source, Getty ImagesWind the clock back four weeks and there were 14 places separating Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers in the Championship table at the end of November.
Now, there are just five places between the teams, with the Canaries picking up only one win in their last five. QPR have won three games in the same period.
But all of those victories for the Rs - including a 3-0 thumping of today's opponents, external - came at Loftus Road.
By comparison, Marti Cifuentes' team have taken two points out of a possible nine from their last three away matches.
Recent form still gives the much-improved away side every chance of a strong result, but it is worth noting that Norwich have lost just once in 19 home league games against today's visitors. That defeat was 16 years ago.
Sheffield United v WBA (12:30 GMT)
Image source, Getty ImagesThe festive season has been a little more unsettling than either of these sides would have liked.
A Boxing Day defeat at home to promotion rivals Burnley meant that Sheffield United lost their three-point cushion at the top of the Championship, while West Bromwich Albion saw manager Carlos Corberan head for pastures new at Valencia.
If the reverse fixture between these two sides three weeks ago is anything to go by, we will see a decent game with plenty of chances.
That match finished 2-2, which is also a plausible result given that no team has drawn more matches in the division this season than the Baggies (11).
That said, Sheffield United haven't drawn their final game of a calendar year since 2003.
All kick-offs at 15:00 GMT unless otherwise stated
Image source, Rex FeaturesThe Christmas leftovers are all but gone, the decorations are starting to make their way back into the attic but the Championship has one last hurrah to make before being packed away until the new year.
Here's what's on today's agenda:
#bbcefl
Image source, Rex FeaturesHello and welcome to the New Year's Eve celebrations... at least in the Championship that is!
We won't see our teams in the second tier again until 2025 and no doubt they will want to go out with a bang.
Each of the top three have the chance to finish the year on top as we start our coverage with Sheffield United hosting managerless West Bromwich Albion in the early kick-off.
At 15:00 GMT, it's all about the bottom as Plymouth Argyle, Cardiff City Hull City and Portsmouth all fight to keep themselves out of last place come the new year.
While Stoke, having cut boss Narcis Pelach's time short to just three months after giving him the boot, have the unenviable task of welcoming fourth-placed Sunderland.
Then current league leaders Leeds United make the trip to Derby at 17:45 GMT for our late afternoon game, while an in-form Burnley close out the day's proceedings as they visit 7th place Middlesbrough in the evening.
Busy day. Let's get cracking...
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 44 | 15 | 29 | 51 |
| |
| 2 | 24 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 33 | 14 | 19 | 49 |
| |
| 3 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 30 | 9 | 21 | 48 |
| |
| 4 | 24 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 36 | 21 | 15 | 44 |
| |
| 5 | 23 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 38 |
| |
| 6 | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 37 |
| |
| 7 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 33 | 31 | 2 | 37 |
| |
| 8 | 24 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 28 | 19 | 9 | 36 |
| |
| 9 | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 33 |
| |
| 10 | 24 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 30 | 28 | 2 | 33 |
| |
| 11 | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 32 | 36 | -4 | 33 |
| |
| 12 | 24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 40 | 36 | 4 | 30 |
| |
| 13 | 23 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 20 | 2 | 29 |
| |
| 14 | 24 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 26 | 30 | -4 | 29 |
| |
| 15 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 32 | 34 | -2 | 28 |
| |
| 16 | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 29 | 30 | -1 | 27 |
| |
| 17 | 24 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 24 | 32 | -8 | 26 |
| |
| 18 | 24 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 24 | 32 | -8 | 25 |
| |
| 19 | 24 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 26 | 41 | -15 | 25 |
| |
| 20 | 23 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 26 | 39 | -13 | 24 |
| |
| 21 | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 22 | 32 | -10 | 22 |
| |
| 22 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 23 | 38 | -15 | 21 |
| |
| 23 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 26 | 40 | -14 | 20 |
| |
| 24 | 23 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 22 | 51 | -29 | 18 |
|
