David Prutton’s Championship score predictions have been revealed ahead of the next round of matches for the 2026/27 season.
The ex-Nottingham Forest, Southampton, Leeds, Swindon, Sheffield Wednesday, and England U21 footballer who currently works as a presenter, pundit, and commentator, has given his verdict.
Watch plenty of games live across Sky Sports with highlights of the other EFL matches on Sky Sports News, ITV and YouTube.
It’s set up to be another exciting season, with many soccer scores to keep an eye on across the world.
Sky Sports duo Simeon Gholam and David Prutton, gave a preview heading into the first game of the regular season, predicting the results of just the FOUR games televised this weekend; listen to the podcast below or via any of your regular podcast providers.
Transcribed with the help of TurboScribe!
LINCOLN v PORTSMOUTH
Simeon: Both sides beaten on opening day. Lincoln put up a real fight at Middlesbrough, taking the lead before losing 2-1. Adam Reach scored a banger which is something I feel like we’ve been saying for a long time in this league even when he’s, he just only scores belts as that bloke. Portsmouth also at home to QPR, lost 3-1. It was a more even game on paper but they did fall away after taking the lead. Lincoln have joint managers. Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw who were Michael Skubala’s assistants have now stepped up to the main role. It’s been a decent start for them. They won the Carabao Cup first round and then pushed Middlesbrough a long way last Saturday. It’s a strange move, a delightfully old school one as well. As well something we’ve not seen in football for a long time.
Prutton: Very true and the strength of it will become apparent or the weakness of it will become apparent over the course of the season. I had a chat with Michael Skubala at the League One play-off final chatting about all things Lincoln and what was to come.
Simeon: Was that the one where he announced he was staying at Lincoln City and told us all he was waiting to announce it and then announced it and then moved to Bristol City a week later.
Prutton: You know what football is like. A week’s long time in football and politics. I was chatting about this with our guests over the course of the weekend and as long as everyone’s on that kind of same page good, bad or indifferent as the season goes then you’ll be okay with that. I mean there is an element of democracy when it comes to management and just because someone is inherently labelled the boss or the head coach doesn’t mean they wouldn’t ask for counsel or consideration from someone else. So I don’t think it’ll be anything too mind-blowingly new for Lincoln to deal with. And as for Pompey, we know how good John Mouinsho is. I mean you talk about Adam Reach’s goal. Terry Devlin’s was pretty special as well but it’s got them up and running. So defensively it’ll be gutted about the performance and the goals that they considered against QPR but I think for both of these sides it’s the perfect game to put right the bits and bobs that didn’t quite go right in the opening game of the season.
Simeon: Obviously Lincoln been written off by most in most quarters as well lost the manager, they’ve lost a few key players as well. Obviously Jack Moylan was so good for them last season moved on to Cardiff, done some good business but it’s shrewd business and I say it’s shrewd because they’ve signed a lot of players I’ve never heard of so I have to wait and see how they’re going to transpire, how they’re going to turn out. It’s one to keep an eye on but they’re just going about their business and very convinced that they can prove people wrong and it’ll be great to see second tier football returning to Sincil Bank for the first time in a very long time this weekend as well. But yeah, as we said, early days for both these teams it’s really hard to get a real read on either from what we’ve seen. Obviously Lincoln and Middlesbrough and Middlesbrough expected to be right up there this season, and Portsmouth decent against QPR just kind of really caught out after taking the lead but there’s still some optimism from that despite I think one lad who I think then jokingly said afterwards that he’d ripped up a season ticket but you always get one on the opening day after a loss don’t you but I think that was a joke I think he did just need a real season ticket or a different season ticket
Prutton: Or maybe it’s just for content or everything always is these days now…
Simeon: Lincoln have won just one of the last 14 league games against Portsmouth since 1981 and that was a 1-0 success away from home in January 2021 and I believe that was during COVID so there wouldn’t have been any fans there anyway what is the score going to be in the first game back in the second tier at Cincel Bank Pruts between Lincoln and Portsmouth?
Prutton: Lincoln 1-1 Pompey
BIRMINGHAM v BRISTOL CITY
Simeon: Birmingham played out a drab draw with Sheffield United on opening day, we didn’t learn a huge amount there apart from the fact it was a terrible game, Bristol City beaten at home by Millwall done by an early red card, not the best start for Michael Skubala it’s been having exited the Carabao Cup in the first round
Prutton: Let’s take into account of course Millwall very good on the road Millwall side, they got to the playoffs, Bristol City side that we have seen in recent seasons mix it with the playoff places however Michael coming in off the back of an extremely good job at Lincoln City but completely hamstrung when you get a player that quite deservedly gets two yellow cards in the first half, so there’s a reaction needed to that, I thought Birmingham City controlled parts of the game against Sheffield United, I would say that Sheff U had the best chance of the game with Patrick Bamford, it’s just how they utilised Jay Stansfield I think, he was playing more out wide left rather than down the middle which does a lot of very good work for this side but they didn’t really offer too much going forward so I’m intrigued to see what their reaction to that will be. I just get the feeling right now that Birmingham City will have too much for Bristol City
Simeon: It’s been a quiet summer for Birmingham I know they’ve obviously got Tom Wagner’s had his health issues and best wishes for him to recover as quickly as possible because he’s been a real positive force at that club, but in general it feels like the atmosphere did kind of tail off towards the end of last season and you feel like they do need a real real positive start this season if they’re going to build any kind of momentum before the kind of you know the the negativity builds around the club again
Prutton: Well it goes back to what we said about the top eight, Birmingham City fans have been looking at that as will I’d say at least 10 teams in the Championship saying why not us? I think if you look at yes obviously they’ve dropped into the Championship and bounced back up in the most stylistically pleasurable of ways, smashing all that came before them, but as ever when you look at the season that’s gone before, and I say this with all due respect to the teams that I mentioned, Luton Town going up, Huddersfield Town going up, Hull City going up, Wrexham, Birmingham City, Sheffield United… I can list many many many teams that are in wanting to at least be in the top half of the table, that if in fact it’s a prerequisite, they’ve got to be looking at a team like Hull and think well if they can do it we can do it and I say like I said with all due respect to what Sergei did with that amazing squad of players but like for like there’s a lot of comparatively similar squads, so Birmingham City you feel with all the people that are behind them with all that they want to do both on and off the pitch with the new stadium etc, they’re in a bit of a hurry to get somewhere and part of that hurry is to get into the Premier League.
Simeon: Bristol City as well I know it’s it’s absurdly early days but it’s Skubala needs to get the ball rolling sooner rather than later as well after what’s been an underwhelming start I mean that’s I guess that’s the problem starting the Carabao Cup before before the start of the season when you lose at home and then they were undone by that red card against Millwall at the weekend, we don’t know what would happen if they’d stayed with 11 men, but again he’s been brought into a club which has been dwindling for the last couple of years and it really really needs a bit of impetus having said that they were in the playoffs the season before last but in general it’s a club that needs some momentum some excitement behind it for the fan base.
Prutton: But then you look at yes and it was Liam [Manning] that did that and bless him he moves on and things don’t quite work out and it becomes an example of them I thought in that sense getting to the playoffs overachieving not because you look at the Sheffield United scoreline I think they got well and truly put to bed over two legs, but because they finished so far away from those other teams in the playoffs, so yeah I don’t know why there wouldn’t be the ambition from the ownership I absolutely believe there is for Bristol City, and again they fall into the same bracket I would say as Birmingham City where you look at those extra two playoff places and think why not?
Simeon: It really has changed the whole dynamic hasn’t it the top eight because the top eight is, everyone thinks again at the top eight so yeah there’s not much point talking about the playoff race until April then is there if everyone thinks again so let’s let’s move on Bristol City have lost eight of the last 13 away league games against Birmingham City losing this exact fixture 2-1 last season at St Andrews, so Bristol City do not have a good record in this part of the second city What’s the score going to be at St Andrews?
Prutton: I’m going to go again with the same score Birmingham City 2-2 Bristol City.
MILLWALL v NORWICH
Simeon: Millwall got off to a great start with that win at Bristol City we just talked about Josh Coburn among the goals he scored too he was top of the Sky Sports Championship power rankings after game week one. They did lose Femi Azeez to an early injury we still don’t know the status of that as we record they’ll be hoping that’s not too serious although maybe they also think it wouldn’t be the worst thing if they kept him out until the 3rd of September we’ll have to see, Norwich obviously they’d never wish an injury on one of their players maybe just a little knock for a couple of weeks to keep him at the club until at least January. Norwich lost 2-1 home to West Brom, done by that handball opener, but first Millwall, a really really good opening win
Prutton: They’re amazing, got a really good manager they came very close at the end of last season they’re very good away obviously got to make sure that that away form is replicated back at The Den and I think very tough one for Norwich because they’ve obviously got to react to what they did at the weekend yes they had some very very good chances on another day they’re 3-0 up at half time at home against West Brom but I think Millwall yes you get a bit of a leg up from the opposition with two silly yellow cards and then you’ve got to take control of the game which is exactly what they did do so I think it’s business as usual seemingly from Alex Neil and what you’re going to get off Millwall I think very much talk about them in the discussion for very much the upper reaches of the division and I think they’ll show that once again this weekend
Simeon: With Millwall as we said obviously last season ended in heartache for them but they can take a lot from what they did last season and they have gone a bit under the radar again this season just because obviously there’s been so much talk about the teams that have come down as they usually is and obviously the amount of money the Middlesbrough have spent and obviously everything’s going on with Southampton, but do you feel like Millwall again we can’t say we’d expect them to be in and around the top eight regardless but but can they push on towards that top two again this season do you think?
Prutton: Yeah I do think so I think defensively what we saw from them they were really really good, Alex is always quite keen to get the point across and it’s a very old cliche which I don’t remotely think exists, especially under what Alex has got from the side, it’s a team that can play in transition it’s a team that’s very high on energy there’s no form of inherent directness about them which I’m not saying if you are a ‘direct team’, you play football how you see fit with the players that you’ve got they’ve got so many different ways to attack the opposition and the real fortitude that comes with knowing that they can stay in games that they should be very very confident it was a moment of magic for Hull City that really unlocked the game wasn’t it in the playoffs so that’s how close they got to being just a game away from the Premier League, so yes you look at the personnel, I think he’s got a good squad together, as ever with a team such as that when they do overachieve people look at the players that they’ve got and try and come and cherry pick them, so as long as he’s provided the ammunition and stays with the players and the standard of squad that he’s got they’ve got every chance of challenging again
Simeon: With Norwich again a team that a lot was expected from the season of how rampantly brilliantly they ended at the back end of last season again too soon to read into anything after one game but they would have wanted a more positive start wouldn’t they than the one they got particularly with such a tough trip coming up in this one
Prutton: Yeah and I think the again it’s the squad that you look at I mean the front four going forward at the weekend Brooks, Spence, Slimane, Maghoma, Toure with McLean and Mattsson behind them they caused some real problems in the early parts of the game down the right hand down their right hand side and like I said on another day they’re 3-0 up at half time and West Brom are getting booed off by the travelling fans so it just goes to show that it’s about taking your chances as you said the case in part when we talked about Will Lancashire that shows what he’s done so far for Boro, but Philippe Clement came in off the back of Liam being there and did a tremendous job it felt like a different approach not just stylistically but from a mental point of view that got a real tune out of Norwich and we were all kind in agreement that they just ran out of games really rather than anything else that stopped them and get anywhere near the playoffs so they’ll know that they can react to that but they’ll know yeah as you say very very tough trip against the Millwall side more than capable of beating them
Simeon: Millwall have won three of the last five league games against Norwich which was as many victories across their prior 22 attempts combined and what does that tell you?
Prutton: That they have got the ability to beat them?
Simeon: Yes and what is the score going to be at the Den?
Prutton: I’m going to go for Millwall to win 2-1
WEST BROM v BURNLEY
Simeon: West Brom as we just discussed got that win at Norwich last week really positive start for them under James Morrison, Burnley battled back to hold West Ham 2-2 draw, still again can’t read a huge amount into that because of the way they got it back into that game through the penalty, but still a good battling performance from them, but West Brom obviously that was a really really strong win for them to get a good start under James Morrison after what was a really poor season for them last season, they’ll want to not be anywhere near the end of the table there at last time out
Prutton: Even James said when we spoke to him at the end of the season he was relieved that they didn’t find themselves in League One but it was a steeliness to his relief that a team and a club such as West Brom should not be messing around at that part of the table, so I’ve got the feeling that he’ll be extremely determined to make sure that they get themselves very much in contention once again one of those teams that now it’s been broadened out to eight teams that they should be looking at least the playoffs as a prerequisite. I thought Jimmy-Jay Morgan was great I think he’s a great addition almost an assist and a goal Heggebo just yeah I mean the good thing if you’re going to do something like that as in whack the ball into the net with your arm at least have the audacity to run off like you’ve scored a proper goal which is exactly what he did s
Simeon: Burnley as we said obviously got that comeback point against West Ham
Prutton: But they were the better side in the first half against West Ham, so West Ham had chances and they scored them as we saw with Zian Flemming, he had a bucket load of chances to make sure that they were back in the game a ridiculous challenge that gave away a penalty that allowed them back into it and then a finish at the end which I thought capped off a slightly chaotic but entertaining draw with two of the big hitters in the Championship so plenty to like about it as you say whether there’s any concrete conclusions you can take from either Burnley or West Ham off the back of that possibly not but I think it’s a really good test this one because James Morrison and his coaching staff as I said will want to make sure that last season was as an aberration and this season’s about an assault on the playoffs.
Simeon: It’s always worth looking back at previous seasons to see what title winners have done in their opening couple games and to see how much of a marker they laid down. I mean Coventry started pretty slowly last season a couple 0-0 draws in the first few games it took them a while to really get motoring and turn into the dominant team in the league so we’ll have to really just wait and see. West Brom are winless across each of the last seven league games against Burnley since a 1-0 away win on match day two of the 2017-18 Premier League campaign, what’s the score going to be at the Hawthorns?
Prutton: At the Hawthorns I’m going to go West Brom to win 1-0
