Good football down the right-hand side from Coventry and a ball hangs to the back post for Ephron Mason-Clark to attack.

However the winger gets his effort wrong as the ball hits him on the shoulder when attempting to head.

Peter Rhoades-Brown
Former Oxford and Chelsea winger on BBC Radio Oxford

Jones and Lankshear are going to have a battle this afternoon.

They've had good possession Charlton but they've not gone anywhere with it so far, we're going a little bit direct at the moment.

It's a big game today.

It's a beautiful sunny day in Oxfordshire for an intriguing match between the two sides with the lowest average possession stats in the Championship.

Charlton are seeing a lot of the early ball, suggesting it's they who might be the ones to shift those statistics a bit today.

Both teams in good form - three wins on the bounce for the U's and two straight 1-0 wins for the Addicks.

Something will have to give today.

The atmosphere inside the CBS Arena is absolutely bouncing as the home faithful pay tribute to their head coach Frank Lampard.

It wasn't an easy task replacing Mark Robins by any means but he's not done a bad job at it so far.

Almost the perfect start for Southampton.

A beautiful first-time ball from Ryan Manning after 30 seconds gets Cyle Larin in behind but his first touch is batted out by on-rushing Coventry keeper Carl Rushworth.

The flag is up though. That one looked tight.

Away we go in our three huge matches in the second tier this lunchtime.

Good luck to those of you who have affiliations to one of the six Championship sides which are now under way.

BBC Local Radio

Because of EFL broadcast regulations we are unable to bring you audio commentary of today's games online.

Your can access commentary via your local BBC radio station and we will also bring you a flavour of their coverage with some snippets of punditry as part of our live text service right here.

Image source, BBC Sport / Opta

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard makes two changes from the side that swept aside Preston 3-0 in midweek.

Haji Wright returns to lead the line, replacing Josh Simms who drops to the bench, and Josh Eccles is back in the starting line-up in place of Brandon Thomas-Asante.

Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert makes three changes from the starters that drew with West Brom.

Cyle Larin, Cameron Bragg and Casper Jander all start in place of Ross Stewart, Leo Scienza and Shea Charles.

Stewart and Scienza miss out entirely from the 20 due to injury.

Image source, BBC Sport / Opta

Image source, Opta

Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg makes a couple of changes to the side that lost against Charlton.

Jeremy Sarmiento gets the nod replace David Strelec who drops to the bench and Alan Browne starts while Morgan Whittaker is named among the substitutes.

Tommy Conway leads the line against his former club.

Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber make four changes to the side that lost at Leicester.

Mark Sykes, Cameron Pring, Adam Randell and Sinclair Armstrong all return to the starting line-up with Tomi Horvat named on the bench alongside youngsters Dan Ezendu, Louie Derrick and Marley Thelwell.

Boro loanees Neto Borges and Delano Burgzorg are both ineligible to play against their parent club while George Tanner misses out having sustained an ankle injury this week.

The absence of Tanner and Borges means Struber is left with two recognised senior defenders in his entire squad - Noah Eile and Cam Pring - hence why Sam Morsy could line up in defence.

Image source, Opta

Image source, Opta

Aidomo Emakhu comes in for Myles Peart-Harris in Oxford United boss Matt Bloomfield's only change from their midweek victory over Blackburn.

Nathan Jones makes five changes to the Charlton Athletic side who beat Middlesbrough on Wednesday.

Kayne Ramsay, Lloyd Jones, Amari'i Bell, Tyreece Campbell and Lyndon Dykes all return in place of Keenan Gough, Conor Coady, Macaulay Gillesphey, Miles Leaburn and Charlie Kelman.

Image source, Opta

Southampton held Coventry to a 1-1 draw earlier in the season...

Image source, Shutterstock

It is starting to feel very real for Coventry City.

Following a difficult January, the Sky Blues have accumulated six wins in a row and are now just another six victories from guaranteeing a return to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years.

Today they take on an in-form Southampton side at lunchtime with the chance to go 12 points clear of third-placed Millwall before the Lions' clash with Blackburn Rovers later.

Intriguingly, the Sky Blues are without a win against Saints in their last six matches, a run which stems for over 17 years.

The feisty 1-1 draw just before Christmas between the two sides will still be in the back of the minds of both sets of players, but full focus will be on today's clash with so much at stake.

Southampton have a real crack at the top six, and will have seen that Wrexham went six points clear of them in the hunt for the final play-off spot last night with a 2-0 win over Swansea City.

But they arrive in full confidence while on a run of 11 unbeaten in all competitions - which includes eight wins - as head coach Tonda Eckert picked up the Championship manager of the month award for February.

This one feels huge.

Image source, Getty Images

Middlesbrough go into this looking to get their promotion hopes back on track after their surprise home defeat at the hands of Charlton on Wednesday.

Despite registering 34 shots on goal Kim Hellberg's side missed their opportunity to keep the pressure on leaders Coventry and sit eight points adrift. They are now also only a point ahead of Millwall in third place, so this is a big game for Boro at the Riverside.

It's not great reading for the home side, though, having lost their past five league games against Bristol City and are winless in eight (D2 L6) against the Robins since a 2-1 win in August 2021.

Bristol City's chances of keeping that going today could be tough given they have lost three on the bounce.

The Robins sit middle of the table, with their hopes of challenging for a spot in the play-offs taking a major hit when they lost 2-0 at Leicester in midweek.

Intriguingly, City striker Emil Riis has eight goals in nine Championship appearances against Middlesbrough. That is the most goals any player has netted against them in the division since 2004-05.

Image source, Getty Images

Sixteen days ago, Oxford United's two-year stay in the Championship look destined to be coming to an end.

But three wins on the trot have lifted Matt Bloomfield's side to 38 points and level with Leicester City.

All that separates them from the Foxes above the parapet is goal difference, meaning victory today against Charlton would lift them out of the relegation zone for only the second time since 29 December.

But the Addicks are in good form themselves, off the back of successive 1-0 wins against Birmingham City and promotion-chasing Middlesbrough.

Nathan Jones's side have climbed to 17th in the table, nine points clear of the U's, and a win at Kassam Stadium would get the Addicks to the 50-point mark.

Image source, Getty Images

There is plenty to keep across in the EFL today.

Here are five things you may want to look out for today, alongside the fortunes of your own side.

Image source, Opta/Shutterstock

Wrexham's win over Swansea City last night moves the Red Dragons six points clear of Southampton in the race for a play-off spot.

Saints visit league leaders Coventry City while Middlesbrough host Bristol City in two of the day's early games.

Boro can put the pressure on Millwall, who play Blackburn Rovers at The Den, by pulling four points clear of the Lions ahead of their 15:00 GMT kick-off.

Oxford United's resurgence has tightened things right up at the bottom, with Portsmouth in 19th and West Bromwich Albion in 23rd separated by just three points.

Image source, Shutterstock

Wrexham strengthened their hold on a place in the Championship's top six last night with victory over fellow Welsh side Swansea City at Stok Cae Ras.

Nathan Broadhead fired the hosts ahead midway through the first half with his eighth goal of the season across all competitions.

The Swans dominated possession for long periods and had seen Arthur Okonkwo deny Championship top scorer Zan Vipotnik from a one-on-one earlier on.

But they failed to capitalise, and Callum Doyle's header went in off Liam Cullen late on to ensure the Red Dragons sealed the bragging rights in the principality.

The dream of a fourth consecutive promotion is on - are Wrexham Premier League bound?

Image source, PA Media

We've got 10 matches in the Championship today, starting with three games kicking off at 12:30 GMT which involve the league's top two sides.

Here's what's to come:

• Coventry City v Southampton (12:30 GMT)
• Middlesbrough v Bristol City (12:30 GMT)
• Oxford United v Charlton Athletic (12:30 GMT)
• Birmingham City v Sheffield United
• Leicester City v Queens Park Rangers
• Millwall v Blackburn Rovers
• Norwich City v Preston North End
• Sheffield Wednesday v Ipswich Town
• Stoke City v Watford
• West Bromwich Albion v Hull City

Image source, PA Media

Hello and welcome to our coverage of another packed Saturday of action in the Championship.

Stay with us throughout the afternoon as we bring you all the build-up and team news before today's three early kick-offs at 12:30 GMT, plus seven more games to come at 15:00 GMT.