Michael Blighe: Apparently Newcastle are odds-on favourites to win the Championship. That just makes me more nervous as a Magpie than anything else!

Emma Gregory: Can't remember feeling so excited about starting a new season. And we're in the Championship. That's the #Rafalution, external for you!

Adrijan Mirsad: Challengers are Newcastle, Norwich, Brighton and Derby. Surprise package will be Fulham. Villa will be nowhere.

Send us your thoughts on this season's Championship using #bbcefl on Twitter.

BBC Sport has the English Football League covered in 2016-17.

BBC local radio stations across the country will have all 72 teams covered, with selected radio commentaries broadcast on BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra.

We have enhanced our offering on the BBC Sport website and app this season - as well as match reports of every single match in the Championship, League One and League Two, we will be providing a dedicated live text service covering just those three divisions every Saturday between now and the final weekend of the campaign in May.

Image source, Rex Features

Dwight Gayle, bestowed with Newcastle's famous number nine shirt for the 2016-17 season, is one of five debutants in the starting XI tonight.

Matz Sels is between the sticks, Grant Hanley comes in at centre-half, while Isaac Hayden and Matt Ritchie line up in midfield.

Jesus Gamez, another newcomer, is on the bench.

Slavisa Jokanovic has made a fair few additions to the Fulham squad this summer, and the majority are involved tonight.

David Button is in goal, while Denis Odoi, Tomas Kalas, Michael Madl and Scott Malone have all come into the back four.

Kevin McDonald in midfield is another new arrival, while Floyd Ayite and Sone Aluko also get debuts.

Image source, Getty Images

A reminder of tonight's two starting line-ups...

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Empics

Former Newcastle United boss Steve McClaren is at the Cottage on media duties...

Here midfielder Jack Colback shows there are no hard feelings between the ex-Magpies boss and his former charges.

Some people have been getting in touch about tonight's game already...

John McGuirk: Newcastle looking much stronger on paper than Fulham. Need to do it on the field though.

Philip Stothers: For people who are seemingly surprised at Newcastle's strong squad for Championship, let's not forget it was a great squad for the Premier League too.

To give me a five-minute break at half-time, I'd quite like to know who you think are going to be the challengers in 2016-17.

There are some big candidates out there, such as Newcastle and Aston Villa, and a whole host of teams that might feel they have a right to be in the top tier.

Let me know by using the #bbcefl hashtag.

Jermaine Jenas
Former Newcastle midfielder on Radio 5 live

The most important bit of business Newcastle did was keep hold of Rafael Benitez.

He reinvigorated the club - everything was so negative for a large portion of last season, but for those last eight to 10 games fans were chanting his name.

There was pressure on to keep him and they managed to do it. In doing that, a lot of the players have looked at it and thought Newcastle's squad is by far the best and they should definitely be looking to bounce straight back up.

Image source, Getty Images

Newcastle United are out to make a statement in tonight's Championship opener against Fulham, says skipper Jamaal Lascelles.

"It's a massive stage for us, we're going to go and show everyone what we're about," Lascelles told BBC Newcastle.

"We want to show everyone we shouldn't be in this league, why we should be back in the Premier League.

"We've got some great players, we're not here for a good time we're coming to get back to where we belong and we've got Rafa leading us."

Image source, Rex Features

Speaking before the loss of McCormack on Thursday, Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic had stressed that he wanted to strengthen his squad.

Jokanovic, a promotion winner with Watford in 2014, told BBC Radio London: "I didn't come here to be fighting relegation.

"I arrived at this club because I want to be successful. It is a big club like many in the Premier League and the Championship.

"In my opinion we need four or five experienced players who can help us in this competition to try and fight for different things.

"I am not selfish. I am sure if we are thinking about more important things we need to sign more people."

Jermaine Jenas
Former Newcastle midfielder on Radio 5 live

Fulham have sold Ross McCormack and Moussa Dembele - that's 40 goals they've lost. They hung on for large portions of last season but they were losing a lot of games.

This Fulham side have got a lot of work to do in this tough Championship to have a chance.

In the two seasons since they were relegated from the Premier League, Fulham have finished 17th and 20th in the Championship.

This man's goals helped stave off the threat of relegation...

Image source, PA

So where does the sale of Ross McCormack to Aston Villa for £12m leave Fulham now?

Form in this fixture definitely favours the hosts, with the past seven games going against the away side.

Four of those have been racked up by Fulham, at the Cottage.

Image source, Getty Images

Starting XI: Sels; Janmaat, Hanley, Lascelles (c), Dummett; Anita, Hayden, Colback, Ritchie; Perez; Gayle.

Subs: Darlow, Sterry, Gamez, Mbemba, Shelvey, Aarons, Armstrong.

Starting XI: Button; Odoi, Kalas, Madl, Malone; Cairney, Tunnicliffe; McDonald, Ayite, Aluko; Smith.

Subs: Joronen, Stearman, Ream, Christensen, Edun, Woodrow, Parker.

There are few more pleasant places for a game of football than by the Thames at Craven Cottage, especially in the mid-summer evening sunshine.

Without further ado, let's have a look at some team news.

Image source, Rex Features

Good summer? Well it's not quite over yet but there's something about the return of the football season that says - back to business.

Fulham, desperately avoiding relegation by a couple of places last season, open up the campaign with the visit of relegated Newcastle United.

It has all the ingredients to be a cracker.

Image source, Getty Images

Sixty-seven days after AFC Wimbledon won the League Two play-off final at Wembley to bring the curtain down on the 2015-16 Football League season, a new era of English football is about to begin.

The beautiful game is back, with the re-branded EFL 2016-17 campaign kicking things off tonight -  which means no more thumb-twiddling, no more empty weekends trudging around DIY stores at packed-out retail parks and no more Saturday afternoon 'light entertainment' TV programming...

Craven Cottage is the setting, two grand old Championship clubs in Fulham and Newcastle United are the attraction and BBC Sport is of course the perfect accompaniment to the action.