Burnley beat Norwich 2-1 to climb to third in the English Championship on Sunday as Watford overcame West Brom by the same scoreline.

Norwich defender Jose Cordoba headed home his first goal in English football in the second minute but Scott Parker's team hit back strongly after the break.

Substitute Zian Flemming's brilliant long-range strike levelled it for the Clarets midway through the second period and an emphatic finish from Josh Brownhill eight minutes later proved to be the winner.

Burnley, seeking an immediate return to the Premier League, are just one point behind second-placed Leeds, with the top two teams gaining automatic promotion.

Sheffield United top the table with 45 points, three clear of Leeds after 21 games.

Earlier, two sweetly taken goals by Vakoun Bayo gave Watford a 2-1 victory over West Brom at Vicarage Road that lifted Tom Cleverley's side back into play-off contention.

The Ivory Coast striker glanced home a first-half header before superb control on his chest ended with a shot on the swivel early in the second period.

Jayson Molumby pulled one back in the 67th minute but Watford held on despite a late scare.

The victory lifted them above their opponents and into seventh place in the Championship, behind Middlesbrough only on goal difference, while West Brom's 12-match unbeaten run came to an end.

"We knew the test we were facing and we've really risen to the challenge," Cleverley told the BBC. "It's two teams with the same objectives and, with everyone around us winning yesterday, the pressure was compounded.

"We really wanted to take the game to them and had so many good pieces of play that led to dangerous moments around the box."

Sheffield United extended their lead at the top of the Championship on Saturday with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Wayne Rooney's struggling Plymouth as Leeds dropped points.

Chris Wilder's side took the lead in the 19th minute via a brilliant volley by Gustavo Hamer and Kieffer Moore converted a late penalty.

"Plymouth were undoubtedly the better side in the first half. They moved us about, pressed us better and had the better chances," said Sheffield United boss Wilder.

"Our quality wasn't very good and we kept giving the ball away cheaply. No excuses, we weren't great in that first half.

"We felt a lot more comfortable in the second half. There wasn't any complacency or arrogance from us – I feel we had the better moments without being totally over the line until we got the penalty."

The Blades are three points clear of Leeds, who had earlier struck a stoppage-time equaliser to draw 1-1 at Preston.

Brad Potts put Preston ahead in the first half but Leeds' pressure eventually told when Mateo Joseph went to turn in a low cross, with the final touch coming off Preston defender Jack Whatmough for an own goal in the 93rd minute.

"To score the goal in added time, also in this way, after we took so much risk and made so many changes in the game feels like a valuable and priceless point, especially in an away game," said Leeds boss Daniel Farke.

"It's a good point on the board in a tough place. I think Preston defended really well."

Sunderland fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Swansea to go third, with Jobe Bellingham completing the turnaround.

Blackburn kept themselves in the play-off chase with a 2-0 win over Luton, who ended the game with 10 men.

Neil Harris's final match as Millwall manager end with a 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough, who are up to sixth after an early goal from Emmanuel Latte Lath.

QPR's recovery continued with a 1-1 draw at Bristol City while Frank Lampard's Coventry side come from behind to beat Hull 2-1.

Stoke drew 2-2 against Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday fought back to win 3-1 at Oxford.

Promotion-chasing Sheffield United climbed to the top of the Championship as Rhian Brewster ended his two-year goal drought to seal a 1-0 victory at Millwall on Wednesday.

Chris Wilder's side, relegated from the top flight last season, had been knocked out of first place by Leeds' 3-1 win against Middlesbrough at Elland Road on Tuesday.

But the Blades -- unbeaten in nine games -- moved one point clear of their Yorkshire rivals in the race to reach the Premier League thanks to Brewster's 42nd-minute strike, his first since October 2022.

Millwall's second successive loss after Saturday's defeat by Coventry made it five games without a win for Neil Harris' side.

Harris was in charge of his penultimate match after the club announced on Tuesday that a "mutual decision" had been taken for the former striker to leave following Saturday's game at Middlesbrough.

Third-placed Burnley had been held to a 0-0 draw by Derby on Tuesday, while fourth-placed Sunderland were also frustrated in a 1-1 draw against Bristol City.

Frank Lampard suffered his first defeat as Coventry boss after a 2-0 loss at West Brom.

Alex Mowatt netted in the 11th minute with a deflected drive before Karlan Grant struck after 74 minutes to take the Baggies up to sixth place.

Rocco Vata's late equaliser gave Watford a 1-1 draw at Hull, denying new Tigers boss Ruben Selles a victory in his first game.

Vata fired home in the 88th minute, shortly after Chris Bedia's effort appeared to have given former Reading manager Selles a winning start.

Hull halted a six-game losing run in the league, but they remain bottom of the table and without a win since October 1.

Sam Field's second-half double extended QPR's revival as they defeated Oxford 2-0 at Loftus Road.

Field's first Championship goals of the season made it five games unbeaten for QPR, who edged further away from the relegation zone while fellow strugglers Oxford dropped to 19th place.

Preston finally picked up their first away league win this season at the 10th attempt with a 2-0 victory at Cardiff.

Connor Roberts earned Burnley a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough on Friday to leave the home side one point off English Championship leaders Sheffield United.

The Welshman bent in a shot from 25 yards in the 37th minute, but Burnley needed that to cancel out Anfernee Dijksteel's 13th-minute opener on a night when Turf Moor was battered by wind and rain.

Sheffield United have a chance to extend their lead when they travel to West Brom on Sunday.

Middlesbrough stayed fifth.

The points are shared at Turf Moor 🤝#BURMID #UTB pic.twitter.com/AjlytDXT4B

— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) December 6, 2024

Burnley came into the match on the back of five straight clean sheets but, given Boro's record of 13 goals in their last three away games, it was perhaps no surprise that run did not last.

What was surprising was how easy it appeared to breach Burnley's defence for the first time in 501 minutes.

Dijksteel burst down the right to start the move and was there to end it as he latched on to Dan Barlaser's pass, breaking into the box and prodding the ball over James Trafford for his first Championship goal.

With swirling winds, the precursor to Storm Darragh, blowing spare balls on to the pitch, Burnley deservedly levelled eight minutes before halftime, perhaps with help from the conditions.

Roberts played three one-twos, the last with Josh Brownhill, before hitting a shot from 25 yards which caught out a flat-footed Seny Dieng as it looped into the net. It was Roberts' first Burnley goal since April 2023 after he spent the second half of last season with Leeds.

Frank Lampard's first game as Coventry manager ended in a 2-2 draw as Victor Torp's late penalty rescued the former England star from a debut defeat against Cardiff on Saturday.

Lampard has taken charge of Championship side Coventry on a two-and-a-half year contract after his long-serving predecessor Mark Robins was surprisingly sacked on 7 November.

The 46-year-old, who was hired by the Sky Blues on Thursday, is back in management for the first time since his second spell as Chelsea boss ended in May 2023.

Lampard is hoping to rehabilitate his managerial reputation after his first stint with Chelsea concluded with the sack in January 2021.

The former Chelsea midfielder – the club's record scorer – returned to the Premier League a year later as Everton manager.

He saved Everton from relegation in the 2022, but was axed after less than 12 months in charge following a troubled run the following season.

Lampard returned to Chelsea as interim boss but won only once in 11 games and was allowed to leave at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

Back in the Championship after starting his managerial career with a season in charge of Derby in 2018-19, Lampard watched as Coventry made a nightmare start when Yakou Meite headed a fourth minute opener for Cardiff.

Both teams were looking to end a run of four games without a win and Ephron Mason-Clark hit a quick equaliser for Coventry.

Alex Robertson's superb strike just after the break looked set to seal the three points for Cardiff until Torp converted from the spot in the 89th minute.

Coventry edged three points clear of the relegation zone, with Cardiff remaining only one point further back.

LEEDS ROCKED

Lampard's ex-England teammate Wayne Rooney is under mounting pressure at Plymouth after their poor run hit a new low with a 4-0 defeat at Bristol City.

Leeds squandered the chance to return to the top of the table as they crashed to a 1-0 defeat at Blackburn.

Todd Cantwell's 22nd-minute penalty proved enough seal Blackburn's third successive win as a determined defensive effort frustrated Daniel Farke's visitors.

Burnley moved above Leeds into second place as the Clarets beat Stoke 2-0 at the Bet365 Stadium to make it four wins in a row thanks to Jay Rodriguez's opener and a 78th-minute penalty from Josh Brownhill.

Managerless Hull are stuck in the relegation zone after their first game since sacking Tim Walter in midweek ended in a 3-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.

Late goals from Emiliano Marcondes and Borja Sainz saw Norwich build on their midweek thrashing of Plymouth with a 4-2 win over Luton at Carrow Road.

West Brom's Karlan Grant saw his early effort cancelled out by an Emil Riis equaliser for Preston in a 1-1 draw at Deepdale.

Bottom club Portsmouth surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Swansea in south Wales.

Tyler Goodrham's late goal salvaged a 1-1 draw against Millwall after Japhet Tanganga headed a 45th-minute opener for the Lions.

Watford were forced to settle for a goalless draw against second-bottom QPR at Vicarage Road.

Former Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard has been appointed manager of Coventry City on a two-and-a-half-year contract, the second-tier Championship club said on Thursday.

Lampard replaces Mark Robins, who was sacked earlier this month. Coventry are 17th in the Championship standings after 17 games and are winless in their last four matches.

"I am delighted that Frank Lampard has agreed to join our club as head coach. Frank cut his teeth in the Championship and knows what is needed in this league to be successful," club owner Doug King said in a statement.

As a player, Lampard scored 211 goals for Chelsea in all competitions during a trophy-laden 13 years.

He has previously managed Chelsea and Everton in the Premier League, as well as Derby County in the Championship.

His last job in management saw him return to Stamford Bridge for a short stint as Chelsea's caretaker manager in the 2022-23 season.

Lampard will take charge of Coventry for the first time this Saturday against Cardiff City at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

The 46-year-old has big shoes to fill in replacing the much-loved Robins, who led Coventry from League Two to the Championship and was the English Football League's longest-serving manager with seven years' service when he was fired.

Robins took Coventry to the Championship playoff final in 2023 and the FA Cup semifinals last year, when they were beaten by Manchester United.

Leeds climbed back to the top of the English Championship with a comfortable 3-0 win over Luton at Elland Road on Wednesday.

Sam Byram gave the home side an early lead when he reacted quickest to volley into the far corner.

Joel Piroe made it 2-0 from close range in first-half injury time, with Dan James completing the scoring in the 81st minute by lobbing Thomas Kaminski.

The win takes Leeds above Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United in the table on goal difference.

"To show such a dominant performance, to create many chances, to score three goals and score more or less in the perfect moments, I'm pretty happy with our performance," Leeds manager Daniel Farke told the BBC.

"At the moment we're showing great consistency in performances and also results."

Blackburn climbed to within two points of opponents Middlesbrough in the play-off places with a 1-0 win at the Riverside, courtesy of a Dominic Hyam goal.

Queens Park Rangers moved off the bottom of the table after a 2-0 win at Cardiff, their first victory in 13 league games.

Zan Celar scored his first goal for the club with a superb turn and finish shortly before halftime and sealed the win on the counter-attack in injury time.

A thumping finish inside the first two minutes from Zan Vipotnik set Swansea on their way to a 2-1 win at Derby.

Ronald doubled Swansea's lead with a smart finish in the 14th minute and the visitors held on for the win after Nathaniel Mendez-Laing converted a 65th-minute penalty.

Portsmouth's game with Millwall was called off following a power failure shortly before kick-off at Fratton Park.

Coventry City on Thursday sacked manager Mark Robins after a poor start to their season in the English Championship.

The former Manchester United forward led the team to the FA Cup semifinals last season but Coventry have won just four of their 14 games in the second tier in the current campaign and are 17th in the table.

"Coventry City Football Club has made the difficult decision to terminate the contract of Mark Robins as manager with immediate effect," the club said in a statement.

"Since 2017, Mark has overseen the resurrection of Coventry City Football Club from the depths of League Two, to champions of League One and to a hair's breadth away from both the Premier League and a second FA Cup final, while competing in the Championship for a fifth consecutive season."

Coventry, who described 54-year-old Robins as one of the club's "greatest-ever managers", said performances had not been good enough over an extended period.

Robins led Coventry to the Championship play-off final in 2023 but they were beaten on penalties by Luton.

In the 2023/24 season they lost to Manchester United on penalties in the FA Cup semifinal after fighting back from 3-0 down.

Millwall dented Leeds' bid for promotion to the Premier League as Japhet Tanganga sealed a 1-0 win that lifted the Lions into the Championship play-off places on Wednesday.

Former Tottenham defender Tanganga struck late in the first half at The Den with a clinical finish from Jake Cooper's header.

Neil Harris's side were camped in their own half for much of the match, but they defended superbly to condemn Leeds to just their second defeat of the season and their first on the road.

Having fallen out of favour at Tottenham, Tanganga swapped north London to head south of the River Thames in January.

The centre-back was instrumental in Millwall avoiding relegation last season and now he has helped secure a fourth consecutive 1-0 win for a team that was fourth bottom before beating Plymouth just two weeks ago.

Since Harris returned for a second spell in charge in February, Millwall have taken more points than any other team in the Championship – with this victory seeing them overtake Leeds' tally from the same period.

Elsewhere, struggling Preston held leaders Sunderland to a 0-0 draw at Deepdale.

Paul Heckingbottom's team missed a series of good chances to hand Sunderland only their third defeat in 14 league games.

Sunderland sit two points ahead of second-placed Sheffield United, who won 2-1 at Bristol City on Tuesday.

Goalkeeper Viktor Johansson starred for Stoke as they beat Blackburn 2-0.

Million Manhoef broke the deadlock after the break for the Potters and Johansson made a series of superb saves before Tom Cannon's 85th-minute penalty made the game safe.

Derby earned their first away win this season as Jerry Yates laid the foundations for a 2-1 victory at Coventry.

Yates scored the opener after 11 minutes and his strike after the break deflected in off Bobby Thomas.

The Rams withstood a potential late comeback after Coventry pulled one back through Tatsuhiro Sakamoto.

Luton moved out of the relegation zone after Jacob Brown's goal earned a 1-0 win over Cardiff.

Harrison Burrows struck in the final seconds as promotion-chasing Sheffield United came from behind to snatch a 2-1 win at Bristol City on Tuesday.

City took a 75th-minute lead through Anis Mehmeti's penalty after Sinclair Armstrong raced onto Max Bird's pass and was tripped by goalkeeper Michael Cooper.

But Ryan One bagged the Blades' 86th-minute leveller with a header from a corner.

And seven minutes into stoppage time, Burrows blasted past Max O'Leary from inside the area.

The result ended City's eight-match unbeaten run and their misery was compounded by a red card for Rob Dickie for denying a goalscoring opportunity just before Burrows' winner.

The Blades climbed into second place as they aim for an immediate return to the Premier League after last season's relegation.

Seventh-placed Middlesbrough got back on track with a 4-1 thrashing of lowly QPR at Loftus Road.

After last weekend's 3-0 loss to Coventry, Michael Carrick's team bounced back with first-half goals from Riley McGree and Tommy Conway.

After Middlesbrough's Anfernee Dijksteel scored an own goal in the second half, Emmanuel Latte Lath killed the game off in the 87th minute and Dan Barlaser added a fourth in added time.

Sheffield Wednesday bounced back from their hammering against Watford with a 2-0 win against Norwich.

The Owls shipped five second-half goals in Saturday's 6-2 home defeat, but two before the break from Josh Windass and Dominic Iorfa at Hillsborough were enough to hand the Canaries a second successive defeat.

Myles Peart-Harris bagged his first goal for Swansea as the Brentford loanee sealed a 1-0 home win over fifth-placed Watford.

It was the fourth time in seven home league games that the Swans had kept a clean sheet as they moved up to 10th in the table.

Wayne Rooney's Plymouth claimed their first win in five leagues matches after beating bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth 1-0.

Substitute Michael Obafemi scored the 82nd-minute winner at Home Park.

Dutch defender Hidde ter Avest scored on his debut to earn Oxford a first win in nine games, 1-0 against Hull at the Kassam Stadium.

Millwall dented Burnley's push for promotion to the Premier League as Jake Cooper sealed a 1-0 win at The Den on Sunday.

Scott Parker's side would have gone second in the Championship with a victory.

Instead, they left South London empty-handed after Millwall captain Cooper headed the second-half winner.

Millwall's third successive victory lifted them into seventh place, while Burnley are fourth following the end of their nine-match unbeaten run.

A lack of goals has cost Burnley this season and when Luca Koleosho crashed an angled drive against the near post after only five minutes, it was the closest Parker's team came to scoring all match.

Burnley striker Andreas Hountondji threatened with a shot that fizzed narrowly past the post from 20 yards.

Millwall grew into the game but Cooper could not direct his header from Femi Azeez's cross inside the far post and Macaulay Langstaff volleyed over.

A cross from Casper De Norre was headed goalwards by Longstaff, forcing a fine save from Clarets keeper James Trafford.

From the corner, Azeez volleyed over when he should have hit the target.

Neil Harris's men carried that momentum into the second half and got their reward in the 52nd minute.

Azeez teased Josh Brownhill down the right flank before lofting a cross into the Burnley area, where Cooper rose highest to power a towering header into the top corner.

West Brom's winless run was extended to seven Championship matches after Tahith Chong's superb equaliser gave Luton a 1-1 draw on Friday, lifting them out of the relegation zone.Albion's Josh Maja opened the scoring with his eighth goal of the season just before the break.

Chong's surging run and finish may have bought Luton boss Rob Edwards more time after a difficult return to the second tier.

Luton dominated the ball in the early stages as their intensity and physicality prevented Albion from getting a foothold in the game but they struggled to unlock the visitors' defence.

Former Manchester United academy graduate Chong impressed for the home side but West Brom scored a stoppage-time goal against the run of play.

A speculative long pass into Luton's territory was controlled by Maja, who passed the ball on to Karlan Grant in space.

Grant returned the favour with a low cross that was deftly back-heeled into the bottom right-hand corner by the in-form Maja.

Luton needed a response and they got it through the quality of Chong, who grabbed a magnificent solo goal on the hour.

The left-sided midfield player countered with pace, forcing West Brom's defence to back-pedal before he delivered a drilled finish with his left foot into the bottom-right corner.

Daiki Hashioka came closest in the second half for Luton but the post denied the defender after a headed effort from a corner.

Leeds climbed into second place in the Championship as a pair of blunders by Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann paved the way for a 2-1 win at Elland Road on Tuesday.

Bachmann was at fault for both Leeds' goals as they raced into a 2-0 lead inside the opening seven minutes at Elland Road.

Largie Ramazani and Brenden Aaronson were the Leeds goal-scorers and although Kwadwo Baah pulled one back for Watford, the hosts held on for consecutive home wins in the space of five days.

Daniel Farke's side extended their unbeaten league run to six matches and have lost only one of their first 11 games.

🤩 THREE POINTS IN THE BAG!! pic.twitter.com/FlGoKeKAE5

— Leeds United (@LUFC) October 22, 2024

Watford slipped to a fifth successive away league defeat on the back of their 3-0 loss to arch rivals Luton last weekend.

Shane Duffy ensured Norwich made it six matches without defeat as they fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Preston.

Sam Greenwood's sixth-minute penalty put Preston in front and Duane Holmes grabbed a second for the home side six minutes later.

The Canaries rallied as the terrific Borja Sainz pulled a goal back in first-half stoppage time and Duffy bagged the equaliser after 61 minutes.

Dane Scarlett scored for the second successive game as Oxford rescued a 1-1 draw with Derby at the Kassam Stadium.

Nahki Wells bagged a quick-fire double as Bristol City hit back to draw 2-2 at Stoke.

Lewis Koumas and Andrew Moran put Stoke two goals ahead inside the opening 15 minutes.

But a brace from Wells early in the second half hauled the Robins level.

The draw extended Bristol City's unbeaten run to six matches as they continue without boss Liam Manning following the death of this son Theo earlier this month.

Cardiff climbed out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 home win against Portsmouth.

A Regan Poole own goal and Callum Robinson's close-range effort put Cardiff in command after just 13 minutes.

Swansea's winless run extended to five matches after a 0-0 draw at Sheffield Wednesday, while Coventry drew 1-1 with fellow strugglers QPR at Loftus Road.

Wilson Isidor fired Sunderland back to the top of the English Championship as his third goal in four matches clinched a 1-0 victory against Hull on Sunday.

Isidor, on loan from Zenit St Petersburg, sprinted away from the Hull defence to plant a cool finish past Ivor Pandur in the 63rd minute at MKM Stadium.

The game's decisive moment was tinged with controversy as Hull's Marvin Mehlem seemed to be obstructed by referee Robert Madley before losing the ball, which led to the opener.

HUGE THREE POINTS! 🩵#HULSUN pic.twitter.com/PCcDw4YzSI

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) October 20, 2024

However, as Madley did not touch the ball, play was allowed to continue, with Dan Neil winning possession on the edge of Sunderland's area and setting Isidor free, as the goal stood.

Hull's sense of injustice had earlier been piqued by a couple of first-half decisions going against them, but they were unable to find a leveller as the Black Cats moved back above second-placed Burnley.

Sunderland might have fallen behind when Chris Bedia rattled the bar in the second half but they did just enough to take maximum points.

Leeds downed Sheffield United 2-0 on Friday to jump up to second in the English Championship on goal difference.

Second-half goals from defender Pascal Struijk and substitute Mateo Joseph produced a deserved win for Leeds at Elland Road.

The result ended Sheffield United's unbeaten record this season and extended Leeds' unbeaten league run to five matches.

Leeds moved up from fifth to second on 19 points with leaders Sunderland, in action at Hull on Sunday, and Sheffield United, who dropped from second to third.

🔥 YORKSHIRE DERBY VICTORS!! pic.twitter.com/KFcokLWybb

— Leeds United (@LUFC) October 18, 2024

Captain Struijk broke 69 minutes of deadlock when his fine left-footed finish off Joe Rothwell's bouncing corner flew past keeper Michael Cooper and into the top corner.

That was the first goal the Blades had conceded since August 24.

Leeds doubled up in the 90th minute when Joseph ran onto Joe Piroe's artful assist to beat his marker and slide the ball past Cooper.

"It's massive. Tonight we always knew that was going to be a tough game," said Struijk.

The defender, who joined Leeds in 2018, added: "Six clean sheets in a row, you don't do that if you're not solid defensively so I'm glad we broke them down today.

"It's way too early to look at the table. Hopefully we win as much as we can - the only way from here is up."

Tributes were paid before kick-off to former Blades defender George Baldock, who died at his home in Greece last week aged 31.

A minute's silence was spontaneously turned into a minute's applause by both home and away fans, while the players wore black armbands.

🤍 Ahead of tonight’s game, both sides came together to pay our respects to former Sheffield United player George Baldock, who sadly passed away recently.

Rest in peace, George. #FootballFamily pic.twitter.com/zZIYQBsBdY

— Leeds United (@LUFC) October 18, 2024

A late howler by Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier gifted English Championship leaders Sunderland a point in a 2-2 draw on Friday.

Sunderland took an early lead at the Stadium of Light through teenager Chris Rigg but Leeds levelled with Joel Piroe's header.

The visitors took the lead shortly after halftime through Junior Firpo's low strike.

That looked to have sealed victory until Meslier allowed Alan Browne's deflected cross to bounce past him and spin into the net in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

"I thought the boys would be fuming (after his seemingly harmless ball into the penalty area) but the keeper chucked it in the net. I am almost embarrassed but I'll still claim it," said Browne.

"In the end we got the lucky break, whether we deserved it or not I am not sure. To be fair Leeds came at us. We didn't really open them up and create the chance we needed."

The result kept Sunderland on top of the table with a two-point lead over Burnley while Leeds moved into third, a point further back.

Tom Cannon's four-goal blast fired Stoke's 6-1 rout of Portsmouth as new boss Narcis Pelach savoured his first Championship win on Wednesday.

On-loan Leicester striker Cannon had not scored in the league since netting for his parent club on New Year's Day.

But he ended that drought with his first two goals for Stoke, while Sam Gallagher also opened his account for the club before half-time.

Stoke scored five times in a frenzied 10-minute spell either side of the break, with Cannon adding two more, including a contentious 48th-minute penalty.

The Potters, who hired Pelach to replace the sacked Steven Schumacher in September, had only scored four goals in their previous seven Championship games.

But Brighton loanee Andrew Moran got in the act with Stoke's sixth goal to seal the demolition.

Mark O'Mahoney had equalised for John Mousinho's side after 29 minutes.

But promoted Portsmouth's defeat set an unwanted post-war record of eight league games without a win at the start of a new campaign.

Troubled Milutin Osmajic scored twice as Preston moved out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 win over Watford at Deepdale.

Osmajic was charged by the Football Association with biting Blackburn defender Owen Beck during a goalless draw in September.

The 25-year-old Montenegro forward responded to being brought into the starting line-up by putting the hosts ahead eight minutes after the break and added his second in the 65th minute.

A superb Ali McCann strike extended the advantage with 15 minutes remaining as Preston registered only their second win of the campaign and moved up a place to 21st in the table.

Sheffield United extended their unbeaten start to the league season, climbing to third place with a 1-0 win against Swansea at Bramall Lane.

Swansea defender Josh Tymon scored a first-half own goal as the Blades secured their fifth league win since last season's relegation from the Premier League.

Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday shared a goalless draw at Ashton Gate.

Sunderland took advantage of defeats for West Brom and Blackburn to climb to the top of the Championship with a 2-0 win over Derby on Tuesday.

Goals either side of halftime from Jobe Bellingham, brother of Real Madrid star Jude, and Wilson Isidor made it four home wins from four matches for the Black Cats.

"It's another win at home. I would like to be more dominant in possession because we have the quality to do that, so we will work on it," said Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris.

West Brom, who began the evening at the summit, went down 1-0 at home to Middlesbrough thanks to Hayden Hackney's 73rd-minute strike.

Blackburn's unbeaten start to the season was ended by a 3-0 defeat at Coventry.

Jake Bidwell and Haji Wright put the Sky Blues in control and Brandon Thomas-Asante secured the three points when he fired home from the edge of the area with six minutes left.

 

4-0, 1-0, 1-0, 2-0.

The first time in our history we've won our opening four home games to nil 📈👏 https://t.co/YbAaLG9G0E

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) October 1, 2024

 

Scott Parker got the better of former England teammate Wayne Rooney as Burnley beat Plymouth 1-0 to climb to second, courtesy of Josh Brownhill's first-half penalty.

Largie Ramazani's equaliser on the hour earned Daniel Farke's Leeds a point from their trip to his old club Norwich.

Josh Sargent put the Canaries ahead with a 13th-minute penalty after he was brought down by Joe Rodon.

At the bottom, Cardiff finally broke their win duck by beating Millwall 1-0.

Oxford came from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw at Luton.

Hull moved up to ninth with a 3-1 win at QPR.

 

A rocket from Jobe! 🚀❤️ pic.twitter.com/6LGhSUEvvh

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) October 1, 2024

 

Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion crashed to a 3-2 defeat at lowly Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

Wednesday substitute Anthony Musaba bagged the 86th-minute winner at Hillsborough as Albion's second half fightback went to waste.

Josh Maja and Alex Mowatt cancelled out Darnell Furlong's own goal and a Josh Windass header, but Musaba's late strike ended Albion's unbeaten start to the campaign.

The victory was Wednesday's first in the league since the opening weekend of the season.

Second placed Sunderland had looked set to replace West Brom at the top before a late Tom Dele-Bashiru penalty condemned them to a 2-1 defeat at Watford.

The Hornets drew first blood through Festy Ebosele in the 28th minute before Wilson Isidor pulled Sunderland level just after the interval.

Lewis Travis scored on his 200th career league start as third placed Blackburn beat 10-man QPR 2-0 at Ewood Park to maintain their unbeaten league start.

QPR's Jonathan Varane was dismissed for a reckless tackle and Travis' deflected strike came seven minutes after the restart set before Danny Batth's first goal for the club just after the hour.

Borja Sainz's hat-trick earned Norwich a 3-2 win at Derby.

Norwich went ahead in the third minute of first-half stoppage time via a brilliant finish from Sainz as he performed an acrobatic mid-air backheel to convert from close range from Josh Sargent's cross.

Sargent had seen an initial effort blocked and the rebound appeared to have gone well out of play before he crossed for Sainz.

Craig Forsyth equalised on the hour before two second-half goals from Sainz saw him complete his hat-trick, with Corey Blackett-Taylor pulling one back.

Managerless Cardiff remain rock bottom after slumping to a 4-1 defeat at Hull despite taking the lead.

Millwall were 3-1 winners against Preston at The Den, with Macaulay Langstaff's effort two minutes after the break adding to first-half goals from George Honeyman and Romain Esse before Jordan Storey got a late consolation for Preston.

Leeds beat Coventry 3-0 courtesy of goals from Wilfried Gnonto, Jayden Bogle and Joel Piroe, while Middlesbrough saw off Stoke 2-0.

Fourth-placed Burnley drew 0-0 at Oxford, while Portsmouth's home clash with unbeaten Sheffield United also finished goalless.

Burnley FC's South African star Lyle Foster faces a late fitness test for Saturday's Sky Bet Championship match against struggling Portsmouth United.

SP on Lyle Foster & Connor Roberts

💬: "Both are close, they have been on the training pitch this week but we will have to make late calls with regards to them." pic.twitter.com/nYUcqs1sHV

— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) September 20, 2024

The former Orlando Pirates forward returned to England in time after representing his country in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers last week.

Foster scored in the hard-fought home two-all draw for Bafana Bafana against Uganda then featured in the 3-2 win over South Sudan on the road in Group K qualifiers.

Lyle Foster's header in the East Lancashire Derby has been voted as the @Rapidz_io Goal of the Month for August 🚀

Thank you to all those who voted 🗳️ pic.twitter.com/mClX7ZgLpX

— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) September 10, 2024

However, the Clarets coach Scott Parker still left out the former Amajita starlet from Burnley's starting line-up after he had flown back to his second- tier club.

In a post-match interview with Burnley Express newspaper, Parker said Foster missed last weekend's match against Leeds United due to an Illness. The Clarets won the away game 1-0.

"Both are close, both have been on the training ground this week,” Parker told the newspaper.

“We’ll make late calls on both of them regarding tomorrow’s game.”

The Clarets will on Saturday also be without Bashir Humphreys, who was shown two yellow cards at Elland Road last week.

Burnley also have injury absentees such as Jordan Beyer, Hjalmar Ekdal, Hannes Delcroix, Aaron Ramsey, Manuel Benson, Nathan Redmond and Mike Tresor.

Parker confirned the absentees saying; “Probably not, no. Not in the next couple of weeks, they’re still a little bit off."

Foster is a man front man for

Burnley who sit in fourth place in the standings, three points behind the Championship leaders West Brom.

He won the Clarets fans' Goal of the Month award last month for an absolute stunner he authored in the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers.