Championship highlights: Birmingham upset, Sheffield United lose again and Stoke get a dose of reality

Sky Sports Football's commentators analyse the action in the Championship over the weekend as Birmingham's lack of sharpness affected their performance against Leicester on Friday night, Stoke suffered a defeat after starting three wins in a row and Sheffield United suffered a fourth defeat in a row.

Pictured: Sheffield United suffered a fourth successive defeat at Middlesbrough.

Birmingham's lack of cutting-edge solutions frustrates Leicester

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.

Highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Leicester City and Birmingham City.

Result: Leicester 2-0 Birmingham

Chris Davies summed things up pretty well after Birmingham's defeat to Leicester on Friday night. “I thought we played the lion's share of the game, were strong and dominant throughout,” he said. “I thought we disrupted Leicester's play and had good possession until the end when we couldn't create any clear-cut chances.”

Even last season, despite their dominance of League One, Birmingham were not the most prolific of players, averaging fewer than two goals per game, and without Jay Stansfield at the King Power, they seemed unlikely to pose a serious threat.

Ultimately, it was the quality that decided the match. Abdul Fatawu's killer strike early on and Ricardo Pereira's similar brutality late on. Leicester had just two shots on target in the match.

Kyogo Furuhashi looks likely but he has not scored in the league in four games. Birmingham have had 27 shots on target in their last two games, with just two on target.

Perhaps it is the lack of cutting-edge solutions that is preventing Birmingham from realising their true potential this season.
Simeon Golam

Watch all the weekend's highlights from the championship here
Real Time Championship Table
All results and schedule of the championship

Back to reality for Stoke City

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.

Highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion.

Result: Stoke 0-1 West Bromwich

After seven unsuccessful years in the Championship, it was an incredible start under Mark Robins, with the team winning their first three games out of three.

But reality returned on Saturday as West Brom suffered a 1-0 home defeat, all undone by a rare miss from the usually reliable Viktor Johansson, whose wide corner allowed Nat Phillips to score the winner.

The first four games are still full of positivity. The level-headed Robins won't let them get too carried away after a great start, and he won't let them get too downbeat before the international break.

“We have players of all different levels and quality and you can see during today's game that people are starting to get tired,” Robins said after the game, acknowledging that fatigue could be a factor after such an intense start to the season.

“They have to work hard, and there is a fourth game ahead. At the end of the month, some of them will have to go away and work for the national team, and some will rest and train.”
Simeon Golam

Selles' blades are still alarmingly dull.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.

Highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Sheffield United.

Result: Middlesbrough 1-0 Sheffield United

Who would have predicted that Sheffield United would be bottom of the Championship heading into the first international break of the season? Who would have guessed that last season's play-off finalists would end up below their arch-rivals Sheffield Wednesday, especially given their ongoing off-field problems?

This is indeed worrying and the pressure is mounting on Ruben Selles.

On Saturday they faced Middlesbrough and lost 1-0 at the Riverside. Of course, that result in itself is not bad, given that Boro had already started with four wins from four. But the bigger picture is that the Blades have lost all four of their games.

Got Sky? Watch your EFL team on the Sky Sports app.
Don't have a Sky subscription? Watch your EFL team without a contract.

Moreover, in two of those four matches they failed to make a single shot on target and scored just one goal, which is the lowest figure of any team not only in the Championship, but also in the First and Second Leagues.

They currently have an expected goals average of 4.6, but it has been 388 minutes since they last scored a league goal.

The best-case scenario for Selles is that his team recovers from the two-week break and bounces back as if the first month never happened. The worst-case scenario is that this run of form and the post-playoff hangover will drag on for too long.
Dan Long

First wins on the horizon for Ipswich and Derby

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.

Highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Ipswich Town and Derby County.

Result: Ipswich 2-2 Derby

Ipswich and Derby will both rue going into the international break without a single win in the Championship.

However, all signs indicate that after the summer of perestroika, both sides will enter this campaign.

Kieran McKenna has teamed Jens Cajuste and Azor Matusiwa in midfield for the first time. The pairing has real potential. The Swedish midfielder glides with the ball at his feet, and is a natural on the ball. Bringing the Napoli man back for the second period could be a stroke of genius.

The Traktorists announced four signings ahead of the match. Once the new team has played and settled in, they will be fighting for an immediate return to the Premier League. McKenna was able to bring on Sammy Szmodics, Chuba Akpom and Jack Clarke late in the game. Few Championship teams can boast such quality players.

The goal conceded in the 16th minute of added time was a tragedy for the 2,000 Derby fans who travelled to see the game, but what they saw from John Eustace may be encouraging.

The Derby manager assembles a team of players you would want in your own. Carlton Morris has scored four goals in four Championship games. He is a terrible man to play against. Dara O'Shea and Jacob Greaves know they have played in the same game. Lewis Travis has slotted seamlessly into midfield alongside Ebou Adams. It is easy to see why Eustace would want to work with him again.

It was vital for Rhian Brewster to get off to a quick start at County after scoring eight goals in five years at Sheffield United and his second-half strike will give him a confidence boost as he starts his career.

There are no victories, but there is no reason for either club to panic.
James Savundra

Key Weekend Stats

The 1-0 win meant Middlesbrough won all of their first four league games for the first time since the 1994-95 season (also in the Second Division).
Sheffield United have started a league season outside the top flight with four straight defeats for only the second time since 1995-96 (also in the Second Division).
Queens Park Rangers ended a seven-game winless run at Loftus Road in the Championship (D4 L3) with a 3-1 win at Charlton Athletic. The R's are now unbeaten in their last seven home league games against the Addicks (W5 D2).
Josh Sargent became only the second Norwich player in Opta records (since 2004-05) to score on each of the first four matchdays of a Championship season after Jonathan Rowe in 2023/24.
Since returning to the English Football League in the 2023/24 season , Wrexham are unbeaten in five away league games against London clubs (W2 D3).