Our Completely Honest EFL Championship MW17 Analysis | Wednesday’s Football in Review

The Championship’s midweek action continued at full speed last night, with 10 teams scrapping it out for improved table position, bragging rights, and a modicum of comfort if you’re Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday.

Here's how the table looks tonight! #EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/t2jzsylviX

— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) November 26, 2025

There was no shortage of drama - Millwall continued their surprise play-off push despite their negative goal difference, Wrexham continued to fight back from a rough start to the season, and Sheffield United managed to look convincing for just the second time this season.

With plenty of action to catch up on, here is Football Park’s completely honest review of Wednesday night’s Championship action.

Sheffield’s Contrasting Fortunes

After the weekend’s Steel City derby, which saw Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United walk all over their city rivals, the two sides came into their midweek fixtures with differing mindsets: Sheffield United wanted to build on the momentum their derby win had afforded them, while for Wednesday, three points was a must, as they looked to edge closer to a positive points tally once again.

The Blades faced a Portsmouth side sitting just four points above them in 20th, while Wednesday faced high-flyers Millwall. With Coventry and Stoke winning on Tuesday night, and Middlesbrough dropping off the pace, Millwall had a chance to make fourth place their own with a win despite being the only side in the top 11 with a negative goal difference.

Both games took a while to get off the mark - both games failed to deliver a goal for the first 40 minutes, but eventually, United found the breakthrough against Pompey. Tanganga rose for a corner, and his powerful header was deliberately stopped on the line by Terry Devlin, resulting in a red card and a penalty, which Sydie Peck coolly slotted into the bottom corner.

Half time came and went, and while Wednesday and Millwall were still tied at 0-0, United made the man advantage count - nine minutes into the second period, Patrick Bamford netted his first Blades goal on full debut after bundling home on the line after a header had crashed off the bar, before 20 minutes later, Gustavo Hamer showed why he was named the Championship Player of the Year last season with a rocket from 25 yards.

Patrick Bamford 🫡

1⃣ Start 📊
1⃣ Goal ⚽️#FantasyEFL | @SheffieldUnited pic.twitter.com/KE1eQjWAsH

— Fantasy EFL (@FEFLOfficial) November 26, 2025

Hamer’s strike hit the net just two minutes after the deadlock at Sheffield Wednesday had finally been broken, but unfortunately for the Owls, it came for their opposition. Up to the 70th minute, the game had been end to end, with both sides forcing important saves from their respective keepers, a disallowed Millwall goal and Wednesday rattling the bar.

However, Millwall were the far superior team, and eventually it told, as a looped cross following a corner found the head of Femi Azeez, who nodded in the game's only goal on return from a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury.

61’ Femi Azeez returns from injury and is subsistuted on ➡️

71’ Femi Azeez scores the winner to get his fifth goal in six games 🔥 #FantasyEFL | @MillwallFC pic.twitter.com/v0d8wG8TY3

— Fantasy EFL (@FEFLOfficial) November 26, 2025

The result secured fourth place for Millwall, who only just missed out on the play-offs last season, while Sheffield Wednesday remain rooted to the bottom on -4 points. Meanwhile, Sheffield United moved to within a point of Portsmouth, notching consecutive wins for the first time this season, managing to move outside of the relegation zone for the first time this campaign.

Wrexham Regaining Resiliency?

While both Sheffield sides were in search of some positivity, the mood around Wrexham couldn’t be more positive right now. Coming into their clash with play-off-placed Bristol City, the Red Dragons were undefeated in their last four games, and looking further back, had lost one of their last seven.

After an overwhelmingly negative start to the season, the Hollywood-owned side had done well to finally build some momentum, and were looking to put it into practice against the Robins.

And it didn’t take long either; with virtually the first opening of the game 15 minutes in, it opened up for Nathan Broadhead, who, despite not scoring for the club since October, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to curl a beauty into the far corner via the post.

This goal from Nathan Broadhead was NAUGHTY.

£7.5m well spent 🔥pic.twitter.com/fqhw5qaYDK

— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) November 27, 2025

Wrexham led, and looked good to build on that lead, but the majority of the rest of the game was a story of missed chances, with both sides failing to hit the target when they really should more often than not. Mehmeti and McRorio were guilty for Bristol, while Moore and Dobson missed huge chances to grow their lead.

Bristol at one stage did have the ball in the net, after Wrexham keeper Arthur Okonkwo fumbled the ball into McRorie’s path, but Wrexham escaped with their clean sheet intact, after Haydon Roberts was adjudged to have fouled the keeper in the contest for the loose ball.

Eventually, Wrexham would double their tally, and in remarkable fashion. Awarded a corner, George Thomason’s whipping, swerving delivery flew over everyone and hit the inside of the post. The midfielder was unfortunate not to claim the ‘Olimpico’ goal as his own, but the ball went into the net via the backside of Bristol keeper Radek Vitek, and was credited as an own goal.

Direct from a corner! 😲#SkyBetChampionship | @Wrexham_AFC pic.twitter.com/1f49OHjvtu

— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) November 26, 2025

Okonkwo was forced into a late save by Mehmeti, but outside of that, Wrexham’s lead was rarely tested, and the Welsh side picked up yet another vital three points in their resurgent run of form.

The result propels them up to 10th place, just two points off the play-off spots, and with the players at their disposal, and the momentum on their side from three consecutive promotions and their current winning run, hopes will now once again be high of a record-extending fourth promotion in a row.

Birmingham and QPR Leave it Late

The final two Wednesday night fixtures were set to be played by QPR with Blackburn Rovers and West Brom with Birmingham City.

With Blackburn and West Brom hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone, both games were must-wins against two tough opponents. Birmingham, like Wrexham, were putting pressure on the play-off spots, while QPR was comfortably mid-table, after picking up a 3-2 win over Hull at the weekend.

QPR and Blackburn played out a competitive affair, and had the score ended up at 3-3, not many would have been surprised given the chances at both ends. Andri Gudjohnsen missed a sitter and forced a brilliant save from Paul Nardi, who had to be brought on just 19 minutes in after an injury to Ben Hamer, while QPR could have had a whole host down the other end through Dembele, Saito and Burrell.

In the 71st minute, Paul Smyth was brought on as a Ranger’s substitute, and it was his introduction that changed the game - 12 minutes from time, he nodded home a delicious Ilias Chair cross, and just minutes after, he could’ve doubled his side’s tally, seeing a superbly hit volley well saved.

A Paul Smyth header was enough to give QPR the points away at Blackburn Rovers 🔥 pic.twitter.com/aKEmDcIVDu

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 26, 2025

In the other game, West Brom made a much more positive step towards three points, taking the lead through a deflected Alex Mowatt half volley, and for much of the match seemed primed to build on that lead, with Karlan Grant and Aune Hegebo seeing good chances denied, as well as penalty claims waved away.

However, their wasteful finishing was punished in the same minute as QPR’s eventual winner, as Marvin Ducksch’s flick on from a free kick found its way into the corner, sparking wild scenes of jubilation in the away end.

Feed the Ducksch and he will score… 🎶 pic.twitter.com/3bYFqksrNS

— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) November 26, 2025

Both sides could have won it - Johnson dragged a good chance wide at the end of normal time, while Jay Stansfield and then Tomoki Iwata forced Josh Griffiths into a smart double save in order to prevent any late heartbreak. However, neither could find the net again, and went away with a share of the points.

A point for West Brom was enough to keep them seven points clear of the drop, but for a side used to being at the sharp end of the table, their performances up to now have not been good enough. Birmingham City will also see it as two points dropped as they saw themselves lose ground on the play-off spots. They now sit above Wrexham on goal difference, with both sides accumulating 25 points thus far.

QPR’s win launched them into the very same chasing pack - their victory at Blackburn saw them also move onto 25 points, meaning that the gap between 7th and 12th is now just one point. Blackburn would’ve loved to put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three, but their point was only enough to move them three clear of 22nd-placed Oxford United.