Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
Relegated Southampton host newly promoted Wrexham on the Championship opening weekend on Saturday afternoon.
Southampton will host Wrexham in a 12:30pm kick-off on Saturday afternoon in the curtain-raiser for both sides’ 2025/26 Championship campaign.
Experience meets youth in the dugout, with Will Still leading Southampton in his first season in English football against EFL veteran manager Phil Parkinson.
After Southampton suffered relegation from the Premier League last season and Wrexham finishing runners-up in League One, both sides have ambitions for promotion this term.
Ahead of the eagerly anticipated clash, Still has revealed his thoughts on what he is expecting from the Red Dragons in his first match in charge.
- READ MORE: Fresh Tyler Dibling update may indicate Southampton’s position amid Everton transfer saga
What Southampton boss Will Still is expecting from Wrexham clash
Southampton and Wrexham’s head-to-head record makes the St Mary’s clash impossible to predict given that the two sides have not faced each other in 46 years.
In EFL Analysis’ Championship score predictions for game week 1, we have backed the Saints for a 2-0 victory over the Red Dragons.
Evidently, Wrexham will be no slouches given the plethora of stellar signings added to Parkinson’s squad this summer, namely Kieffer Moore and Josh Windass.
With the visit of Wrexham fast approaching, Saints boss Still has revealed that his side must be at their “very best” on Saturday afternoon.
Still told his pre-Wrexham press conference: “I think they are a really efficient team, they’ve got quite a clear identity in what they do and how they go about things.
- Southampton vs Wrexham – St Mary’s – 12:30pm – Saturday, August 9
“They’ve obviously been incredibly successful, so fair play to them and congratulations to them.
“And we’re expecting a lot of intensity, a lot of 50-50s, challenges and quite a high intensity game because that’s the way they play, that’s the way we want to play.
“They’ve obviously got this sort of momentum going, through the team and through the club, so we expect the very best version of Wrexham, and we’ll have to be at our very best as well.”
Following that, Still also revealed some important team news for the fixture regarding an in-demand Southampton star.
- READ MORE: EFL expert makes worrying Wrexham prediction for 2025/26 ahead of upcoming clash at Southampton
Southampton ace Mateus Fernandes ‘is involved’ against Wrexham
Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes has been the subject of vast transfer interest throughout the summer window.
Recently, it emerged that La Liga giants Atletico Madrid are tracking Fernandes alongside West Ham and Leeds United.
Crystal Palace were linked with Fernandes, but their £20m offer fell below Southampton’s £30m valuation.
Alfie House, Southampton reporter for the Daily Echo, revealed on X that “Mateus Fernandes is involved against Wrexham.”
As per House, Still added on Fernandes: “We have given him a bit of space to think about what he wants and he missed some training last week (illness) but he’s here and he wants to be involved.”
Southampton fans will be delighted to hear of Fernandes’ imminent involvement in the clash, which is available to watch on Sky Sports Football on Saturday afternoon.