The Championship is always enthralling, and there is no reason why the 2024-25 season should be any different.
Since its rebranding in 2004, there have been 14 different winners in the second tier. Half of those former champions will be competing in the latest edition.
Thirty-eight different teams have finished in the top six of the Championship. In that same period, the Premier League has only had 15, showing just how competitive this division is.
But of equal interest, the fight to remain in the second tier is always intriguing.
Here, we use Opta data to pick out the key storylines.
Leeds out to rectify play-off woes
Leeds, who lost to Southampton in the play-off final, became the only team to accumulate 90 points in a season yet fail to secure promotion, with Leicester City and Ipswich Town finishing on 97 and 96 respectively.
While the significant losses of Crysencio Summerville and Archie Gray will prove to be a bitter blow, Daniel Farke still has an abundance of talent at his disposal.
Georginio Rutter remains a Leeds player, and was a crucial part in their (ultimately doomed) promotion push, ranking eighth for the most goals and assists in the division last year (22).
But, relegated trio Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton Town will pose a significant threat to Leeds' title ambitions, as they hope to return to the Premier League at the first attempt.
All three clubs have managed to keep the majority of their squads from last season intact, with the only significant change coming in the dugout at Turf Moor.
Scott Parker returns to management following Vincent Kompany's departure to Bayern Munich, and boasts an impressive pedigree from his time in the second tier.
Parker has won two promotions from the Championship with Fulham and Bournemouth, triumphing in 48 of the 92 games he has managed in the division (D25 L19).
Norwich City also look strong contenders, having finished as the Championship's fifth-highest scorers last year with 79 goals, but the loss of Gabriel Sara is significant.
Sara's creative flair saw him produce 121 chances, only bettered by Sorba Thomas (123) and Leif Davies (125), as he finished the campaign with 13 goals and 12 assists.
Mark Robins and Coventry City will also be right in the mix after finishing in the top 10 in the last two seasons, including a memorable FA Cup run last term.
Rooney to keep the Pilgrims afloat?
At the opposite end of the table, all eyes will be on Wayne Rooney as he embarks on his latest managerial venture, this time with Plymouth Argyle.
Rooney endured a disastrous tenure with Birmingham City last season, winning two of his 15 games in charge (D4 L9), surviving just 83 days in the St. Andrew's dugout.
The 38-year-old has performed well in the Championship previously, though, almost keeping Derby County up during the 2021-22 season despite a 21-point deduction.
But arriving at a side that won the second-fewest number of away games (three) and also shipped 70 goals last term, Rooney's task at Home Park is a tough one.
Rooney's former club Derby, along with Portsmouth and Oxford United, are the new boys, and they have been welcomed into the Championship with a difficult opening round of fixtures.
While the Rams' start is slightly kinder, with an away trip to Blackburn Rovers followed by a home game against Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and Oxford were not so lucky.
Pompey travel to Leeds for their opening encounter, and they face the three relegated Premier League sides in their opening seven fixtures.
Oxford's 25-year wait for second-tier football sees them start at beaten play-off semi-finalists Norwich, with games against Burnley and Luton following soon after.
Blackburn's upcoming season largely hinges on whether top scorer Sammie Szmodics remains at Ewood Park following his stellar performances in the division last year.
Szmodics scooped the Golden Boot last season with 27 goals in 44 appearances, outperforming his expected goals (xG) by 4.6 while also creating 49 chances.
The 28-year-old has been linked with a move away from the club and should Rovers lose his goals, it could prove to be a difficult nine months.
Tyrhys Dolan and Arnor Sigurdsson offer a different kind of attacking threat, but the pair managed just 10 goals between them in the division last campaign.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Alfie Doughty - Luton
One of the standout performers for Luton last season was full-back Alfie Doughty, and he will be key again for the Hatters this season.
Doughty registered two goals and eight assists and was one of many players expected to depart Kenilworth Road this transfer window, though for now he has stayed put.
The 24-year-old attempted the most crosses (340) in the Premier League, 89 of which were completed, which was the joint-highest alongside Pascal Gross.
Joe Rodon - Leeds
While Leeds have sold Summerville, Gray and Glen Kamara, they have strengthened with the arrival of one of last year's standout performers.
Joe Rodon made a loan switch from Tottenham permanent after helping Leeds keep 19 clean sheets in his 46 appearances.
The Welsh international won more aerial duels (132) than anyone in the Leeds squad last year, while 3,050 completed passes was a total only bettered by fellow defensive partner, Ethan Ampadu (3,138).
Matt Grimes - Swansea
Matt Grimes has become a mainstay in the Swansea side after three consecutive loan spells and, under the guidance of Luke Williams, the midfielder perfectly fits the former Notts County manager's possession-based style of play.
Grimes attempted the fifth most passes in the Championship last year (3,714), completing 3,291 of those for a pass accuracy of 88.61%.
He also made 535 passes into the final third, a total only bettered by new Stoke City goalkeeper Viktor Johansson (641) during his time with Rotherham.
Macaulay Langstaff - Millwall
One player that will be looking to make his mark in the Championship this season is new Millwall striker, Macaulay Langstaff.
Signed from Notts County, Langstaff scored 28 times last season, claiming his third Golden Boot in as many years while averaging a goal every 143 minutes.
Despite underperforming his xG by 4.33 and missing the most big chances in League Two last year (29), should he be given the service, he should tally up the goals.
Jack Clarke - Sunderland
After being tipped for a move to the Premier League for much of last year, Jack Clarke could be the difference between a good season, or a great season for Sunderland.
Clarke netted 15 goals in 33 league appearances before an ankle injury halted his scoring streak, missing six games and failing to find the back of the net upon his return.
The 23-year-old created the seventh-highest number of chances (91) in the division last season, while also completing the most dribbles (148 from 267 attempted), 47 more than Player of the Season Summerville (101).
Rangers 2-1 Motherwell: Cerny scores winner as Gers up and running at Hampden
Vaclav Cerny struck the winner as Rangers ground out a 2-1 win over Motherwell at Hampden Park on Saturday to pick up their first victory of the Scottish Premiership campaign.
The Gers, held 0-0 by Hearts in their opening match of the season last week, survived an early scare when Lennon Miller fired wide from a glorious position in the opening minutes.
However, after Scott Wright had an effort stopped on the line, Cyriel Dessers - who rescued a late European draw against Dynamo Kyiv in midweek - found the net from close range with 13 minutes on the clock.
Motherwell responded instantly as John Souttar failed to cut out a deep delivery and Robin Propper turned into his own net, but fellow new signing Cerny cut inside and curled in a delightful goal seven minutes later.
Aston Oxborough made some smart stops to frustrate Rangers, while Jack Butland was equal to a Zach Robinson effort in the second half as the hosts - playing at Hampden due to ongoing renovation work at Ibrox - saw out a rather flat win.
Data Debrief: 'Home' comforts for Rangers at Hampden
Rangers have now won their opening home league game in each of the past seven seasons by an aggregate score of 22-2, albeit this match was at Hampden rather than Ibrox.
Last week's draw with Hearts was underwhelming, but the Light Blues avoided going back-to-back league games without a win to begin a season for the first time since 1989-90 with this victory.
Solanke targets trophies after sealing £65m Spurs move
Dominic Solanke is desperate to help Tottenham end their trophy drought after joining from Bournemouth in a blockbuster £65million move.
Solanke enjoyed the best season of his career in 2023-24, scoring 19 Premier League goals as the Cherries finished 12th in their first campaign under Andoni Iraola.
Only Erling Haaland (27), Cole Palmer (22) and Alexander Isak (21) outscored Solanke, who had previously netted just 10 times in the top flight for Liverpool and the Cherries.
Having sealed his move to North London, Solanke has set his sights on helping Spurs win their first major trophy since 2008, when they captured the EFL Cup under Juande Ramos.
"I feel delighted. Obviously it's a magnificent club, a huge club with ambitions that match mine, so I'm delighted to start, to meet all the boys and I can't wait to get started," he told the club's website.
"It's a huge club with great ambitions that I want to be part of, with a great manager, great players and I feel like it definitely suits my style of play so I can't wait to get started and do my stuff on the pitch.
"I work hard for the team, score goals, I leave it all out there and I love winning so hopefully we can win a few things together. That's what I'm going to bring, that fighting spirit.
"I've had quite a journey in football, everyone's journey is different, but I wouldn't change it as I've had a lot of ups and downs and I think that's made me who I am today on and off the pitch.
"I'm at that point in my career where it's all starting to come together and I think that was the start of last season."
Mousinho 'gutted' as Portsmouth denied by late Leeds leveller
John Mousinho was "gutted" his Portsmouth side were unable to see out the final stages as they played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Leeds United in their first game back in the Championship.
Pompey, back in the second tier after a 12-year exile, took a 92nd-minute lead in Saturday's contest at Elland Road through a Callum Lang penalty, only for Brenden Aaronson to strike two minutes later.
The newly promoted side had earlier recovered from a Pascal Struijk penalty to take a 2-1 lead into half-time through goals from Elias Sorensen and Lang, before Willy Gnonto levelled early in the second half.
A point away at one of the promotion favourites can still be considered a hugely encouraging result, but the dramatic conclusion to the contest left Mousinho with bittersweet emotions.
"It's very difficult to sum up," he said in his post-match press conference. "It's a brilliant point, particularly where we were this time last week after a really poor week of football.
"The lads gave everything and Leeds know they've been in a game. But we are gutted not to win the game. On balance, it was a really good point.
"They're an outstanding side and have got some outstanding individuals. To feel we could have won here is an amazing feeling."
Leeds controlled much of the match yet twice trailed after a bright start in which they struck the frame of the goal three times in 10 minutes before Struijk's opener.
Farke's decision to take off goalscorer Gnonto and lively winger Daniel James with the scoreline at 2-2 raised eyebrows, and the German accepts his side lost their flow after that point.
"Our game was not great after the changes," he said. "Every player wanted to show their worth and were maybe over-motivated in the final 25 minutes. There were mistakes across the whole squad."
Portsmouth, who scored three goals from their five shots, are the first side to lead in the 90th minute or later in a Championship match and not win since Nottingham Forest against Hull City in May 2022.
Incredibly, Aaronson had an opportunity to win the match with one of the final kicks of the game, but he slotted wide when through on goal.
Mousinho admits his side were fortunate not to throw away their point, but felt the referee should have pulled play back before Aaronson got the shot away.
"I'd lost my head with the ref at that point," he said. "I thought it was a foul in front of the Portsmouth fans. Our player was dragged down with both hands.
"I thought the ball was going to nestle in the back of the net. I was really relieved. Having said that, if we had lost it wouldn't have changed the performance. I was grateful it went wide. We got away with one there."
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