Throughout Friday we were building up to the new Football League season in Sportsday, with readers voting for who they think will win the Championship, League One and League Two.

Derby were backed to win the Championship, with Sheffield United fancied for the League One title and Portsmouth predicted to finish top of the pile in League Two.

Vote results in full:

Championship: 16.8% Derby 14.3% Fulham 9.1% Cardiff 8.5% Wigan 6.6% Norwich

League One: 22.2% Sheffield United 9.5% Leyton Orient 8.8% Preston 7.1% Bristol City 7% Peterborough

League Two: 16.8% Portsmouth 9.8% Luton 8.3% AFC Wimbledon 6% Bury 5.7% Southend

You can read more from Sportsday, which includes stats and team previews here

Image source, Getty Images

Footballers, more often than not, seem to play a blinder against their old sides, don't they? Cardiff fans will be hoping that will not be the case tonight, with Craig Conway and Rudy Gestede lining up against their former employer for Blackburn.

The pair were allowed to leave the Bluebirds in January and quickly became key players for Rovers, with winger Conway providing the ammunition for both Gestede, who scored 12 goals in 21 appearances last season, and Jordan Rhodes.

"As far as I'm concerned they haven't got anything to prove because they are not Cardiff City players any more," says Rovers boss Gary Bowyer. "They are Blackburn Rovers players and they proved last season what massive assets they are to the football club."

Former Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel on Twitter:, external "Good luck to Blackburn tonight...hope this season is the one to get back in Prem!!!"

The players are out on the pitch going through their warm-up routines while the stands are slowly starting to fill as a bit of Arctic Monkeys is blasted out around Ewood Park. There is some cloud in the sky, but it looks a decent evening for a spot of football.

Just under 20 minutes until the new Football League season kicks off...

Andrew in Cardiff: We've lost some important players but we've replaced the majority and have much more depth in attack. Feeling good about this season! Ah Football League I've missed you!

Image source, Getty Images

You'd fancy anyone who can handle the pressure of playing, and scoring, in a Champions League final to be able to cope with a trip to Ewood Park on a Friday night, but Cardiff boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows he can ill afford a bad start to the season.

Solskjaer was given his first chance in English football by Cardiff at the start of this year, but failed to keep them in the Premier League, and you would expect promotion at the first attempt will be his minimum requirement.

"There are probably five or six other managers in the Championship that have the same pressure and if you can't handle that you're in the wrong job," says Solskjaer. "I'm very confident and I trust the lads that we've got something really good going on."

Former Wigan winger Kevin Kilbane on BBC Radio 5 live

"It will have been a long summer for these players, having to watch the World Cup at home. They will be itching to get back and both of these sides are desperate to get back in the Premier League.

"I think both of these sides will be in the top six, top eight this season."

BBC Sport's Andy Cryer at Ewood Park: "Twenty years ago Blackburn were starting their Premier League winning campaign - and the trophy is in the club shop to bring back the memories. Still plenty of smiles around and lots of fans in the new club kit - despite the somewhat odd kit launch (see 18:40 entry)!"

Matthew Ashley:, external Can't wait to see the attacking football tonight from OGS! #GoalFest

So this is it. The start of a new season. Apart from some fine tuning, most teams should have in place the squad they hope will be capable of achieving their respective goals for the coming campaign - be it promotion, play-offs or simply survival.

Tonight may be about two teams but I want to hear from all fans of Football League clubs about their side's prospects for the season ahead.

I want to know who your team is, how you expect them to do this season and which player will be key. If you are off to a game tomorrow then let us know which one it is and what you are expecting.

Tweet us via #bbcfootball,, external text us on 81111 (UK only) or even jot down your thoughts on the BBC Sport Facebook, external and Google+, external pages.

Cardiff striker Adam Le Fondre on Twitter:, external "After a long hard pre season!! First game of the season against Blackburn!! Can't wait for it! Missed ⚽️ so much ❤️ come on you."

Blackburn: Robinson, Lowe, Hanley, Kilgallon, Baptiste, Olsson, Evans, Cairney, Conway, Rhodes, Gestede. Subs: King, Dunn, Marshall, Varney, Williamson, Taylor, Kean.

Cardiff: Marshall, Da Silva, Connolly, Hudson, Brayford, Gunnarsson, Whittingham, Daehli, Maynard, Le Fondre, Jones. Subs: John, Kim, Eikrem, Adeyemi, Theophile-Catherine, Burgstaller, Moore.

Referee: Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire)

Not many new signings on show for either side tonight with Alex Baptiste in the side for Blackburn. Luke Varney is on the bench while Chris Brown misses out as he recovers from a knee niggle.

For Cardiff, Adam Le Fondre starts as part of a front three which includes Kenwyne Jones and Nicky Maynard. New signing Tom Adeyemi has to be content with a place on the bench.

Blackburn have been a little less active in the transfer market over the summer.

Former Doncaster striker Chris Brown and veteran forward Luke Varney, who had a loan spell at the club earlier in the year, have both joined on free transfers, while defender Alex Baptiste has arrived on loan from Bolton.

The key man once again for Rovers will surely be Jordan Rhodes. The Scotland striker, in his second season at Blackburn, bagged 25 goals last term.

Image source, Getty Images

It is not all doom and gloom for Cardiff, though, with boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appearing to have strengthened wisely over the summer.

Striker Adam Le Fondre, who banged in 15 goals for Reading in the Championship last season, was snapped up in May, with former Manchester United striker Federico Macheda also arriving at the Welsh club.

Midfielder Tom Adeyemi is the most recent arrival, with the 22-year-old joining from Cardiff's Championship rivals Birmingham on Thursday as a direct replacement for the departed Jordon Mutch.

BBC Radio 5 live

BBC Radio 5 live will begin build-up to the game in little under 10 minutes, with live commentary from Steve Bower and Kevin Kilbane getting under way at 19:45.

You can listen on the radio and online by clicking the 'live coverage' tab at the top of this page.

BBC Sport's Andy Cryer at Ewood Park: "There is less of a settled feel amongst Cardiff fans. Talks of protests against owner Vincent Tan are still rumbling on due to the change of colour to 'lucky red'. They have seen a number of stars leave, a number of new faces join. Fans outside the ground this evening say they have no clue what the season has in store."

Image source, Getty Images

While fans of Blackburn Rovers, who fell just short of the play-offs last season, will likely be heading to tonight's game with a spring in their step and a sense of optimism for the season ahead, the same perhaps cannot be said for Cardiff City supporters.

Their side is back in the Championship after a brief sojourn in the Premier League, a largely tumultuous campaign in which owner Vincent Tan made a number of unpopular decisions, not least the public fallout and subsequent dismissal of former boss Malky Mackay.

A number of key players have left since their relegation, with the spine of their side having been picked apart. Striker Fraizer Campbell left for Crystal Palace, while QPR snapped up midfielder Jordon Mutch and defender Steven Caulker.

BBC Sport's Andy Cryer at Ewood Park: "The new season is upon is and there is a strange feeling around Ewood park. Optimism. For the first time since the arrival of owners Venkys, it has been a quiet summer - one of stability. With pictures put up around the round of the good old days - there is a sense of a feel good factor. How long that lasts remains to be seen."