At last, the most compelling soap opera of all is nearly back with us. Championship football starts again in a little over 24 hours again, and again the biggest prize in European football will be at stake.

If you like to watch it all unfold on the TV, then you're in for a treat on this first weekend. We get underway on Friday night with Blackburn hosting Cardiff at Ewood. I think these two sides have decent play-off credentials, and with goal machine Jordan Rhodes signing a contract extension Rovers will be looking for a flying start here.

Saturday evening sees an intriguing game as Ipswich welcome Fulham. I view the Tractor Boys as a bit of a dark horse this year ; not many pundits tip them but they have a decent manager and could go close. I'm less impressed by Fulham ; big money purchases are all very well, but to me they have been a side that lacked inner steel for years. Watching them adapt to life below stairs will be interesting.

The Sunday afternoon game sees Wolves at home to Norwich. The home side have - at last - a feel good factor behind them and whilst Norwich are a decent side I think they might get swept away in this one.

My tip for the title this season are Plucky Little Wigan, but they could have been handed an easier start than a home game with Reading, who are perennial play-off hopefuls. On paper, my other tip for automatic promotion (Derby) have an easier time of it with a home game against Rotherham. But promoted sides often surprise, and the Millers will probably make a lot of friends this season if they continue with the brand of attacking football that saw them promoted. They blew away PNE in the play-off semi-finals, in case you'd forgotten.

Brighton have been the bridesmaids for a while now, and will be strong favourites to start with a home win over the Massive Sheffield Wednesday - a club so big that they can be seen from space, apparently. I'm also taken with the London derby between Brentford and Charlton ; some will see this as the earliest of relegation six pointers, but I think the Bees will be OK. I'm not quite so sure about the Addicks.

Huddersfield versus Bournemouth looks an interesting game ; to my mind, the home side are a possible bottom six side this year, while the Cherries would be a very unlikely, but very popular play-off contender if they could replicate the form that the showed at the beginning and end of last season. Away win for me.

Middlesbrough v Birmingham is one of those games that feels like nasty medicine. Someone has to take an interest in it, but you find yourself hoping it isn't you. If I had to stake serious money on a goalless draw, I'd put it here. So go out and have a plunge on 4-3 either way.

Watford v Bolton is one of those games that makes my loathing-ometer twitch quite hard (that sounds vaguely rude, but hopefully you'll know what I mean). Hopefully the home team will do the decent thing and hammer the visitors. And the loathing-ometer goes into overdrive when I look at the final fixture of the weekend.

Millwall v Leeds is one of those matches that would, at one time, have been played at 3 a.m. on a Monday morning on one of the Solomon Islands. That it takes place at 3 o'clock on a Saturday seem to reflect the waning significance of both sides. Many people would love this to be a relegation tussle, and for once, I think there is a good chance it might be. I'll go for a draw here.

Lots to look forward to then. It's a great time of year.

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