Image source, PA Media

Not a lot of quality on show in this one so far as a couple of set pieces fail to beat the first man for Derby.

Reading have an optimistic shout for a penalty meanwhile as Lucas Joao goes down in the area after a John Swift free-kick is swung into danger.

Nothing doing there.

QPR have the ball in the net but Rob Dickie's effort from a corner is chalked off for a foul.

Michael Pearlman
BBC Sport Wales at Cardiff City Stadium

This is already my second game of the season after covering Newport v Swansea in the Carabao Cup last week and the experience of being at a ground with no fans continues to be a strange one.

You feel very lucky to be in the ground watching a game live, a true honour and something fans would love to do, but it is just so surreal, even a little hollow, being here without fans.

Cardiff's fans should be welcoming their new signings and demanding they 'do the Ayatollah,' while the Wednesday fans should be showing their side they still believe and singing about an ex-Cardiff manager.

Bottom line, fans make football truly special.

Joshua Owen: Can we restart the season? Kind regards, a Coventry fan.

Not the ideal start to concede in the first minute, is it? Suppose it can only get better from there...

Early chance for Bournemouth as Dominic Solanke is brought down on the edge of the Blackburn area.

Junior Stanislas takes the resulting free-kick and it hits Ben Brereton in the wall.

Steve Cook then glances a header wide from the following corner.

As we've already mentioned, there are no fans present for today's EFL games and there are still plenty of protocols to observe to make sure fixtures can go ahead as safely as possible.

Balls are being regularly cleaned on the sidelines.

At least it's not as bad as the cricket yesterday, where one Australia bowler had to go and retrieve a ball from the car park at Old Trafford after being hit for a boundary in the England innings.

Image source, PA Media

Hull, relegated from the Championship last term, are on the board early against Gillingham with a Keane Lewis-Potter goal.

Like Coventry, Northampton have made a nightmare start to life in a higher division, conceding in the first minute against AFC Wimbledon.

Last season's League Two champions Swindon lead Rochdale, but Sunderland trail to an early Bristol Rovers penalty.

Ian Henderson, goalscorer extraordinaire for Rochdale over the past few seasons, needed just two minutes to open his account for his new club Salford City. They lead Exeter in the fourth tier.

And we're off!

Here we go then for the main action of the afternoon.

Good luck to your respective clubs for another season, only 45 more games to go after today!

Image source, PA Media

And don't forget to keep your views coming in to us throughout the afternoon on social media.

Use #bbcefl to tell us if you're optimistic or pessimistic about a new campaign for your side.

The EFL will be covered extensively on BBC local radio this season.

Sadly rights restrictions prevent us from being able to stream full commentaries online and through the BBC Sport app, but check your local listings and frequencies to find coverage of all the teams as our band of intrepid commentators begin yet another campaign.

Harrogate Town begin their first EFL season in their 106-year history with a trip to Southend United.

Barrow, back in the league after a 48-year absence, will entertain Stevenage while Bolton Wanderers host Forest Green Rovers following the Trotters' relegation from League One.

Cambridge United's game against Carlisle was due to be played in front of 2,000 fans as part of the government's pilot scheme of fans attending sporting fixtures during the coronavirus pandemic, but that has been cancelled after regulations changed.

Here are all of today's fixtures, which all kick off at 15:00 BST:

• Barrow v Stevenage
• Bolton Wanderers v Forest Green Rovers
• Bradford City v Colchester United
• Cambridge United v Carlisle United
• Cheltenham Town v Morecambe
• Mansfield Town v Tranmere Rovers
• Oldham Athletic v Leyton Orient
• Port Vale v Crawley Town
• Salford City v Exeter City
• Scunthorpe United v Newport County
• Southend United v Harrogate Town
• Walsall v Grimsby Town

There are 11 games in the third tier this afternoon.

Last season's beaten play-off finalists Oxford United begin with a trip to Lincoln City.

Relegated Hull City go to Gillingham, League Two champions Swindon host Rochdale and promotion hopefuls Portsmouth and Sunderland both start the campaign at home.

Ipswich Town entertain relegated Wigan, who have been given permission to start the season in administration, tomorrow lunchtime.

Here is a full run-down of today's fixtures, which all kick-off at 15:00 BST.

• Accrington Stanley v Peterborough United
• Crewe Alexandra v Charlton Athletic
• Doncaster Rovers v MK Dons
• Fleetwood Town v Burton Albion
• Gillingham v Hull City
• Lincoln City v Oxford United
• Northampton Town v AFC Wimbledon
• Plymouth Argyle v Blackpool
• Portsmouth v Shrewsbury Town
• Sunderland v Bristol Rovers
• Swindon Town v Rochdale

Image source, Rex Features

Ashton Gate sees one club begin a new era under a new manager and another return to the second tier of English football for the first time since 2012.

Bristol City have Dean Holden in charge, who was a former assistant to predecessor Lee Johnson. He'll be hoping the Robins can improve their 12th-place finish last season.

Two Championship veteran Chrises in Messrs Martin and Brunt are among their summer additions.

Coventry City are back in the Championship after an eight-year absence and while issues continue off the field with their ongoing ground dispute, Mark Robins has masterminded two promotions on it in recent seasons with a blend of talented youngsters and seasoned pros.

Will there be more good times ahead for the Sky Blues this season?

Image source, Getty Images

There's never a dull moment at Derby County in the Championship - on or off the pitch.

Wayne Rooney will be the figurehead in Phillip Cocu's squad as the Rams look to get over the disappointment of finishing six points adrift of the play-off places last season.

At Reading meanwhile, once again there's been a change in management during a bizarre sequence of events last month that not only saw the departure of their chief executive Nigel Howe but then manager Mark Bowen after less than a year in the job.

Former Atletico Madrid and Real Mallorca forward Veljko Paunovic was brought in by the owners seemingly out of nowhere.

The Serbian arrives with a management CV that includes previous jobs at MLS side Chicago Fire and Serbia's under-19 side.

But how ready is Paunovic for the unique challenge that is the Championship?

Image source, Rex Features

That balmy July evening when the last regular Championship season came to its dramatic climax was one to remember for both Barnsley and Luton Town.

The Tykes and the Hatters beat Brentford and Blackburn respectively to complete two remarkable escapes from relegation which had looked odds-on for the pair of them when the season resumed post-lockdown.

Gerhard Struber and Nathan Jones were the tacticians to oversee those two revivals, can they use that momentum to ensure their respective sides start quicker out of the blocks this campaign?

A win for either would be a huge psychological boost going forward.

Image source, Getty Images

Cardiff City were one of the two beaten play-off semi-finalists last season along with their south Wales rivals Swansea City.

The Bluebirds put in an impressive run at the back end of the campaign to secure their top-six spot and manager Neil Harris now has some fresh faces to try to better that promotion push.

They include Wales striker Kieffer Moore, but Nathaniel Mandez-Laing is no longer at the club having his contract terminated this week.

For Sheffield Wednesday meanwhile, whatever the result this afternoon, they will remain rooted to the bottom of the table.

The Owls begin the season on -12 points following a punishment handed to them in July for breaching spending rules in the 2017-18 season.

Chipping away at that deficit as quickly as possible will be manager Garry Monk's number one priority.

Image source, Rex Features

Norwich City return to life in the Championship against a club who just managed to avoid the embarassment of back-to-back relegations last season in Huddersfield Town.

Daniel Farke will hope to mastermind a similar campaign to the one which got Norwich promoted two seasons ago with new striking addition Jordan Hugill joining former Championship player of the season Teemu Pukki and the attacking talents of Todd Cantwell and Tottenham loanee Oliver Skipp.

Huddersfield have a new man in charge in Carlos Corberan, the Spaniard who was assistant to Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United last season.

How much tactical and managerial wisdom that has rubbed off on Carlos remains to be seen, but the Terriers will know they need a strong start.

Image source, Rex Features

It's been all change on the south coast this summer at AFC Bournemouth since Premier League relegation was confirmed.

The first departure of note was that of long-serving manager and former player Eddie Howe, who came to a "mutual consent" decision with the club to step aside.

That paved the way for his long-time assistant Jason Tindall to take over, but since that appointment in early August, Tindall has seen a number of big names also depart.

Nathan Ake, Aaron Ramsdale, Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser have also left for pastures new while Joshua King is also on the verge of his own departure.

What will life back in the Championship be like for the club who had a mesmeric rise through the divisions?

For Blackburn, Tony Mowbray will be hoping to build on last season's 11th-place finish where their form at times threatened a break into the play-off places.

They will be without Bradley Dack as he continues his long-term recovery but will look once again to Adam Armstrong as a potential source of regular goals.