The EFL fixture list is out and we know you are bursting to know what you've got to look forward to - or dread - from your team this upcoming season.
Here are some key dates to put in your diary:
9 August 2025 - v QPR (A)
16 August 2025 - v Leicester City (H)
26 December 2025 - v Stoke City (A)
1 January 2026 - v Sheffield Wednesday (H)
2 May 2026 - v Southampton (H)
See Preston North End's full fixture list here.
Birmingham have joined the likes of Hull, Preston, Swansea and Southampton in the hunt for Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O'Brien, 26. (Alan Nixon, external - requires subscription)
Want more EFL transfer rumours? Check out Thursday's full gossip column
Your club will soon discover their schedule for the upcoming EFL season. As soon as Thursday, in fact.
Want to know who your side will face on opening day? The EFL fixtures will be announced at 12:00 BST - but that's not all.
The day will be rounded off by the first round of Carabao Cup being drawn at 16:30 BST.
So check back on 26 June to see who your team faces first, last and everything in between.
Ian Bryson, Graeme Atkinson, Martin Atherton and John Roper joined BBC Radio Lancashire to relive their 1996 Division Three triumph
Former Preston North End captain Ian Bryson says he's impressed by the club's early recruitment this summer, which has seen five new players added to Paul Heckingbottom's squad.
The club have signed goalkeeper Daniel Iversen, defenders Pol Valentin and Thierry Small and midfielder Jordan Thompson while most recently striker Daniel Jebbison agreed a season-long loan from Bournemouth.
Bryson, who captained North End to the Division Three title in 1996, told BBC Radio Lancashire: "I think it's really, really good. It's unusual for Preston - we tend not to, in recent years, get players in until the windows going on and pre-season is well under way.
"I believe that Paul gave [the recruitment team] a list saying 'I want those players, go and get them' and it looks like that's happened.
"To get five in is really good. It's about getting that squad together. My biggest thing in the whole of football is team spirit – end of story.
"If you've got a team of 20 lads out there that want to fight and work for each other, you can be successful. So to get these players in now, get them involved with the rest of the squad early enough, it creates that camaraderie that gives you a chance."
Preston North End are battling with Millwall for the signature of Aston Villa goalkeeper Filip Marschall, 23, after Norwich City reportedly pulled out of the race. (Lancashire Post), external
Want more transfer news and rumours from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's full gossip column
Image source, Rex FeaturesPreston North End chairman Craig Hemmings has reiterated the club's intention to significantly overhaul the playing squad during this summer transfer window.
The Lilywhites lost 10 players at the end of the season, with six released upon expiration of their contracts, including Emil Riis, Freddie Woodman and Ryan Ledson.
Meanwhile, loanees Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Jayden Meghoma, Ryan Porteous and Sam Greenwood all returned to their parent clubs.
Chief executive Peter Ridsdale previously said Preston would likely need at least eight signings.
The club have already made four, with goalkeeper Daniel Iverson, defenders Pol Valentin and Thierry Small and midfielder Jordan Thompson arriving.
Hemmings has suggested more players will be brought in between now and the start of the Championship campaign in August.
"This transfer window more than any other in my tenure as chairman is about revolution and not evolution," Hemmings told the club website, external.
"Paul Heckingbottom and his coaching staff have a significant opportunity to reshape the football squad into the team and style of play they believe needed to compete for the play-off places.
"Plans have long been made and player targets identified for the summer transfer window.
"We believe our scouting infrastructure, analytics focus, and efficient decision-making processes will enable us to move quickly to land some hidden gems, both from the UK and internationally."
Preston North End are keen on signing former forward Callum Robinson, 30, from Cardiff City after the Welsh club were relegated to League One. (Irish Examiner), external
Leicester City are weighing up a move for Leeds United forward Sam Greenwood, 23, who spent last season on loan at Preston. (Mail), external
Take a look at Tuesday's full gossip column to see the latest transfer news and rumours from the EFL
Image source, Rex FeaturesFormer Charlton Athletic player and under-21's manager Jason Euell has joined Preston North End's first-team coaching staff.
Euell made 428 appearances across the English Football League (EFL), and played for England Under-21s and Jamaica.
The 48-year-old joins North End from Cambridge United where he was assistant manager to Garry Monk and Neil Harris, a role he also fulfilled for the Addicks, Bristol City and England Under-20s.
Former Wigan Athletic winger Andy Liddell joins the backroom staff as a fitness coach.
Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England
Image source, Getty ImagesWatford are getting relegated, Plymouth are staying up, Millwall are in the play-offs and Portsmouth are also battling for a top-six spot.
Does something sound a bit off? Well, that's what would have happened if the Championship season started on 1 January.
Here's a look at the 2025 calendar year table, showing who the form sides were in the second half of the season and who went into freefall.
Perhaps the most notable difference between the actual final top six and the 2025 version is that Millwall would be in the play-offs and Premier League-bound Sunderland would not.
Burnley and Leeds still comfortably occupy the automatic promotion spots, albeit the Clarets would be unbeaten at the top of the pile with the Whites in second.
Coventry improved significantly after Frank Lampard replaced Mark Robins and are third over the course of the year.
The Sky Blues would instead be pitted against Bristol City in the play-off semi-final as opposed to Sunderland. Who knows what difference that would have made to their promotion bid...
Image source, Rex FeaturesPortsmouth - who spent much of the season battling relegation and only secured their Championship safety with two games to spare - are seventh and just one point outside a play-off spot.
Pompey sit above Sunderland, who lost their final five games of the season and are down in eighth.
The data perhaps shows just how long Regis Le Bris' side effectively had a play-off spot sewn up before their victory at Wembley against Sheffield United to claim promotion.
Relegation battlers Oxford find themselves seven places higher than where they actually finished in the 2024-25 campaign (17th), reflecting the good work done by Gary Rowett after he took over as boss from Des Buckingham.
Image source, Rex FeaturesPlymouth would have survived comfortably had the season begun in January 2025, showing a significant uptick after Miron Muslic replaced Wayne Rooney at the helm.
Middlesbrough tailed off significantly in the second half of the season, underpinning why they missed out on the play-offs. It was a drop off that ultimately cost Michael Carrick his job as head coach.
Norwich City conceded more goals (32) than any other side in 2025, which counteracted the hard work they'd done at the other end, having been the fourth top scorers (31) since the turn of the year.
Image source, Rex FeaturesWatford had a disappointing 2025, winning just five of their 23 games and losing 13 to finish bottom of the calendar year table.
The Hornets had the joint-worst goal difference along with Cardiff (-10) and head coach Tom Cleverley was sacked following the end of the season.
Preston and Cardiff won the fewest games of any side in 2025 (4), which cost the Bluebirds their Championship status and almost led to the Lilywhites dropping into League One as they avoided relegation by one point.
Paul Heckingbottom's side would be down if only games this year were counted.
Luton and Derby scored the fewest goals in 2025 (19) and attacking output was an issue that plagued both sides throughout the entire campaign.
It had major consequences for the Hatters with back-to-back relegations, while the Rams survived by a point - and only on goal difference in the yearly table.
Data collated from Transfermarkt
Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England
Image source, Getty ImagesThe 2024-25 Championship season might be over but there are many ways to analyse and reflect on the campaign that has gone before us.
Not every club can go up but if there are signs a team is moving in the right direction, it can still be considered good progress - or quite the opposite if things are on the slide.
Here is a look at how each of the 18 sides who were in the Championship for the past two seasons got on points wise compared to the 2023-24 campaign.
It perhaps comes as no surprise that Sunderland, who won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, recorded the most significant improvement after finishing 16th in 2023-24 and picked up 20 more points.
Despite a tumultuous season off the field, Blackburn were the second most improved side in the division, gaining 13 points on the previous campaign as they missed out on the play-offs by just two points.
Leeds racked up 90 points in 2023-24 but somehow still managed a 10-point improvement as they hit the 100 mark on their way to winning the title in their best-ever season in the second tier.
Millwall's seven-point improvement was enough to help them finish five places higher in eighth, but they fell short of the top six by two points.
Meanwhile, Bristol City were only six points better off but managed to climb five places and claim a play-off spot, recording their best Championship finishing position since 2007-08.
Coventry also only improved by five points but were able to jump from ninth to fifth, perhaps showing just how fine the margins can be in the Championship when it comes to securing a play-off berth.
Image source, Getty ImagesYou might want to look away now, Hull City fans.
The Tigers went backwards more than any other side compared to the previous season under Liam Rosenior, dropping from seventh place and three points outside the play-offs to only escaping relegation on goal difference on the final day.
Cardiff went from mid-table in 2023-24 to rock bottom and will drop down to League One for the first time in 22 years. It is pretty clear to see why as the Bluebirds picked up 18 fewer points compared to the previous season.
Norwich tumbled to 13th place after finishing in the play-offs a year before - an underperformance which ultimately cost Johannes Hoff Thorup his job as head coach.
Preston were 10 points off the play-off places in 2023-24 but picked up 13 fewer points under Paul Heckingbottom in what was their worst season since they were relegated from the Championship in 2010-11.
The Lilywhites' downturn was largely due to a major dip in form in the latter stages of the campaign, picking up only one win from their final 15 games (D7 L7) to avoid the drop by just one point.
West Bromwich Albion endured a disappointing season - for a club which always harbours ambitions of plying its trade in the top flight - with an 11-point drop off.
Albion's final points tally of 64 was their worst in the Championship since 1999-2000.
Plymouth may have only been five points worse off than they were in 2023-24 but having survived on the final day that season, there were to be no such heroics this time around and their two-year stint in the second tier is over.
Image source, Getty Images*All data based only on teams who were in the Championship in 2023-24 and 2024-25
Andy Bayes
BBC Radio Lancashire Sport Editor
Image source, Rex FeaturesThe 2024/25 Championship season won't be looked back on in years to come with great affection by Preston North End fans.
They spent last summer preparing for another year under Ryan Lowe. He left after one match; his interim successor, Mike Marsh, was in charge for one league match with Paul Heckingbottom in charge of the remaining 44. Considerable upheaval that simply wasn't expected.
Just after the turn of the year, it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility that they could mount a play-off challenge. The reality was that they avoided one of the most unlikely relegations to League One by just a point.
Surrendering a two-goal lead at Bristol City on the final day to settle for a draw was pretty typical of how the season panned out.
Twenty draws is just far too many in any season. But it's the same number as they recorded in the second tier in 2005/06, which saw them finish the season in fourth spot. It's fair to say that the Championship is a much different animal, 19 years on.
Since that final day fixture, the retained list threw up very few surprises, if any. It had been long since assumed that Ryan Ledson, Freddie Woodman, Emil Riis and Patrick Bauer would be leaving on frees. Ched Evans will join that list if it's mutually decided that he'll leave the coaching staff and wishes to carry on playing elsewhere.
CEO Peter Ridsdale is optimistic about rebuilding a squad which could be argued is long overdue.
He told me: "There's a number of vacancies that Paul [Heckingbottom] is excited about being able to fill."
The expectancy is that summer incomings could total 10 or more. Despite the remaining members of the squad being under contract, departures could still take place. Danish midfielder Jeppe Okkels, who has been on loan at Aberdeen since the winter transfer window, is one who can look for pastures new.
His arrival came between permanent managers last summer. It's a deal that could potentially have been stopped by North End, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Had he hit the ground running, his signing wouldn't have come under any real scrutiny.
The fact is, it's not worked out, and it's one that they're highly likely to take a substantial financial hit on.
So, it's over to Paul Heckingbottom's judgement, along with the recruitment team headed by James Wallace to find the new pieces of the jigsaw.
The return of goalkeeper Daniel Iversen has been "doing the rounds" for some time. It's a signing that makes great sense. A terrific shot stopper who has the fanbase on his side from day one.
Then come the other areas in need of addressing. Full-backs, or wing-backs as referred to by Peter Ridsdale are required on both sides. A right-sided centre-back to rival Jordan Storey.
Left-footed midfielders, with former Stoke and Blackpool man Jordan Thompson an imminent arrival and replacements for Riis, Evans and Layton Stewart in the front line. In total, there is a lot to do, but it is something the club should relish.
The area that screams out as needed to me is a maverick-type player, someone who can get the crowd on their feet. The likes of Liam Millar, Paul Gallagher and Aiden McGeady have all provided that spark over the last decade of second-tier football.
It promises to be an interesting close season at the Euxton training ground.
