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Sky Bet EFL 2017/18: Ten big games for your diary

After the 2017/18 Sky Bet EFL fixtures were announced, we pick out 10 mouth-watering games to pencil into your diary.

Sky Bet Championship fixtures 2017/18
Sky Bet Championship fixtures 2017/18

See all the fixtures ahead of the 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship season here...

Sunderland v Derby, August 4

Two heavyweights of the division clash on the opening evening of the season at the Stadium of Light. For Sunderland, it's a first second-tier game in 10 years and a chance to lay down an early marker for promotion, while Derby will be hoping to make a statement of intent after a full pre-season under Gary Rowett.

Last season's curtain-raiser threw up a real shock as then-unfancied Fulham beat title favourites (and eventual winners) Newcastle, to prove anything can happen on any given day in the Sky Bet Championship.

Forest Green Rovers v Barnet, August 5 - League Two

Forest Green Rovers have existed for 128 years but 2017/18 will be their first season in the Football League after they won promotion through the National League play-offs.

The town's population is less than 6,000 and their stadium The New Lawn has a capacity of just over 5,000 (with only 2,000 of them seated).

Awaiting them on opening day are Barnet, founded a year earlier but positively gargantuan in comparison, with all but seven of the seasons since 1990 spent in the Football League. An historic day awaits.

Kaiyne Woolery celebrates
Image: Forest Green Rovers won promotion to Sky Bet League Two

Aston Villa v Middlesbrough, September 12

An early clash between the two favourites for promotion could set the tone for the rest of the season. Villa are expected to put up far more of a challenge than they did last season while Middlesbrough will be hoping for an immediate response to relegation.

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It's been eight years since Villa and Boro last met in the Premier League, while Steve Bruce's connections to Hull and Sunderland are unlikely to be forgotten by the away fans.

Sheffield Wednesday v Sheffield United - September 23

More than five years have passed since the Steel City rivals last met, making this the most eagerly-anticipated derby of the upcoming Championship season.

It was Wednesday who came out on top with a 1-0 win at Hillsborough in February 2012, when the two sides met in League One, and it was a win that proved vital as they went on to come second and achieve promotion, finishing three points clear of Sheffield United in third - who went on to lose in the play-off final.

It took five long years from then for United to get back into the second tier, and old scores will be settled again as the Owls host the Blades in late September.

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 26:  Michael Doyle of Sheffield United and Chris O'Grady of Sheffield Wednesday challenge for the ball during the npower Leag
Image: The two Sheffield sides last met in 2012 in League One

Wigan v Blackburn, October 28 - League One

It hasn't been too long since these two Lancashire clubs were plying their trade and facing each other in the Premier League. In fact, it was a Wigan win at Ewood Park in May 2012 which relegated Blackburn to the Championship.

The Latics then followed a year later and, with both sides relegated again last season, the pair are the two favourites for promotion and meet for the first time at the end of October.

Sky Bet League One fixtures
Sky Bet League One fixtures

Click here to see all of next season's Sky Bet League One fixtures

Birmingham v Aston Villa, October 28

Barring no early sackings, the first Second City derby of the season should also throw up the first encounter between two of the most experienced English managers in the game in Harry Redknapp and Steve Bruce.

Both managers know their way out of the Championship, and both clubs are expected to invest heavily between now and the start of the season in a bid to secure a spot back in the Premier League, which should set up a tasty affair at St Andrew's.

Aston Villa's Mile Jedinak (right) is challenged by Birmingham City's David Davis
Image: Birmingham will face Aston Villa in the Championship again this season

Middlesbrough v Sunderland, November 4

In the space of a few months, the Tees-Wear derby should transform from an underwhelming relegation clash to a fierce battle for promotion - if the pre-season odds are to be believed.

Middlesbrough did the double over their rivals in the Premier League (making up two of their five wins all season), but it helped little in the end as the two sides finished in the bottom two.

Fulham v QPR, March 17

The pre-season odds would suggest that this clash at Craven Cottage will see a side pushing for promotion hosting another floundering in the lower depths, but such is the unpredictability of the Championship that you wouldn't be too surprised if it ended up being the other way around by March.

Either way, this west London derby often produces one of the most entertaining games of the season.

Joel Lynch of QPR and Fulham's Chris Martin confront each other
Image: Joel Lynch of QPR and Fulham's Chris Martin confront each other during last season's west London derby

Aston Villa v Leeds, April 14

Arguably the Championship's heavyweight clash, Aston Villa and Leeds will meet at Villa Park in mid-April with both hoping to still be in contention for at least a top-six spot.

Leeds drifted away badly in the final couple of months last season under Garry Monk, winning just one game in April and May to finish outside the play-offs, and this fixture could prove crucial if they are to avoid making the same mistake twice.

League Two fixtures
League Two fixtures

See all of next season's Sky Bet League Two fixtures here...

Sheffield Wednesday v Norwich, May 6

The top six was already decided before the final game of last season, but the upcoming edition of the Sky Bet Championship looks set to be a far more unpredictable affair.

Sky Bet back 14 sides in the division at less than 10/1 to win promotion, and two of the favourites in Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich meet on the final day at Hillsborough in a match that could play a huge role in the race for a Premier League place.

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