Since relegation, all the relegated sides have been through changes though for Hull City and Portsmouth, the changes have been drastic. Both sides have not only had on-field problems but more worrying for fans is that they have had even bigger off-field problems. For the Tigers, it has meant moving on almost all of the club's big earners and the building of an almost totally different team from the one that was relegated. New manger Nigel Pearson has had to blend young players like Tom Cairney and Mark Cullen who have come through the club's academy with older heads like long term players Andy Dawson and Ian Ashbee who have played in every division with the Tigers.

Likewise, Pompey have had to restructure their side and now have one of the smallest squads in the division to go with one of the largest debts; somewhere in the region of £134m. They too have had to ship out players that have over-blown wages in an attempt to manage the books. For Burnley, the transition has been much easier. With only a few exceptions, they have kept the majority of the side, constructed by Owen Coyle, that won promotion to the Premier league the season before last. The chances of Burnley winning promotion will be more to do with Brian Laws. Can Laws get the best out of his players or will one of the Championship's biggest under-achievers fail again?

Billy Davies was under increasing amounts of pressure due to Forest's poor start to the club's Championship campaign but with seven points from a possible nine, Davies has put a stop to the early fears. Davies will have to wait on striker Nathan Tyson who has yet to recover from a virus. However, Rob Earnshaw has a thigh injury and with the international break on the horizon it is unlikely that he will start against the Blades.





Gary Speed will have been unhappy at his sides loss to Leeds at the weekend but he will be more upset at the loss of striker Jamie Ward. Ward will miss the next three matches through suspension for getting earning a red card in the game against Leeds. Speed will also have to do without the services of club skipper Chris Morgan who is suffering from a hamstring injury which may give Belgian loanee Ritchie de Lait his full debut for the Blades


Portsmouth's manager Steve Cotterill will be hoping that the confidence his side gained from their super win against Leicester City can carried forward for the visit of Bristol City. Pompey's six-one demolition of the Foxes was their first win this season and they did it in emphatic style. Cotterill will be hoping that he can field an unchanged side from the weekend but he will have to give a late fitness test to Hayden Mullins who hobbled off through injury. If he is unsuccessful it is likely that Nadir Ciftci, who replaced Mullins, would be promoted to the starting line up. However, he will still have to do without defender Hermann Hreidarsson, striker Danny Webber, Tom Kilbey and Billy Goddard who are still on the long term disabled list.





Keith Millen will be hoping to keep the same starting eleven that held promotion hopefuls Burnley at the weekend but he could give a debut to defender Steven Caulker. The England Under-19 international has just signed from Tottenham Hotspur on a season long loan.


Iain Baraclough will be hoping that he can kick-start the Iron's fortunes again. Since his appointment as full time manager his side have struggled to move on from the superb four-nil victory over Sheffield United three weeks ago. The Iron will have to make do without Garry Thompson who has a groin strain and Jim McNulty who still has an ankle injury. However, Baraclough will be buoyed by the news that defender Rob Jones has made a full recovery for the visit of local rivals Barnsley.





Mark Robins Tykes have been inconsistent this season gaining four points from the last nine with their dramatic five-two victory over Leeds United a seemingly distant memory. Robins will be pleased that defender Jay McEverley did not suffer a fractured foot against Reading, only severely bruising it, though he will still miss the trip to Glanford Park. The Tykes boss will hope that Garry O'Connor can return from his groin injury but is increasingly unlikely that he will be fit enough for the midweek tie.


Third placed Watford welcome Swansea to Vicarage Road for the Tuesday evening tie and Malky McKay will be hoping to field the same side that totally out played Middlesbrough at the weekend. The Hornets' boss was unable to pick Andrew Taylor who is on loan from Boro for their visit due to a clause in his contract but the defender may make a return for Swansea's visit.





Brendon Rodgers, who left the Hornets under a cloud after seven months in charge, told the BBC, "In hindsight it proved to be the wrong move for me to leave but I went with my gut feeling at the time, that's all you can do as a human being. [Watford] is a place I'll never forget and I obviously don't expect to get a good reception from the fans. I'm sure it will be frosty."





Rodgers has had an indifferent start to the current campaign with the Swans on twelve point from a possible twenty four, sitting in ninth position. He will be overjoyed that Scott Sinclair and Stephen Dobbie can make a return after both key players pulled up injured during the pre-game warm up at eh weekend. The Swans could also give a late fitness to Darren Pratley who has a shoulder injury but David Cotterill went off at the weekend with a groin strain.


Brian Laws' Burnley side after a good start have seen results slip of late - gaining only one point from a possible nine in the last three games. In contrast Nigel Pearson's Tigers have had a bit of a purple patch with seven point from nine and go into the tie on the back of the clubs first away win since March 2009. Pearson is likely to stick with the same team that defeated Norwich at the weekend but may give out-of-form strikers Craig Fagan and summer signing Jay Simpson a break. The Tigers will be hoping that a stomach bug infecting both Kevin Kilbane and Richard Garcia will go no further and the club's quarantine measures nip the problem in the bud.





Laws has Chris McCann out with a knee injury and will be hopeful that Ross Wallace has come through the weekends game against Bristol City were he was a substitute. Laws will know that it is important to get a good result but with the Clarets unbeaten home record, Laws will feel comfortable with his team's chances.



Paul Lambert was left bemused by his sides home defeat to Hull City at the weekend. The Canaries managed to lose despite controlling heavy passages of play against the ex-Premier league club. The Norfolk side have managed to carry on their great form from last season's promotion winning campaign though Lambert is having to deal with a number of key injury concerns. However, he will still be without the services of Andrew Surman and Michael Nelson, while Steven Smith and Zak Whitbread have returned to full training but it will be too soon for them to return to first team football.





Paulo Sousa has some major concerns going into the clash with Norwich, not least is his position in charge of the Foxes. His major concern is the demoralizing defeat that his team suffered at the hands of bottom placed Portsmouth at the weekend. It is expected that Sousa will make some much needed changes in the wake of the devastating six-one defeat that saw defender Miguel Vitor sent off. Vitor will be suspended for the next three game after the debacle at Fratton Park.



Dave Jones Cardiff City team have been on the back foot since they loss Craig Bellamy and Seyi Olofinjana to injury. The two influential players have been the bedrock on which the team has been built. However, it is the loss of the under rated Nigerian Olofinjana has meant that there has been no true defensive midfielder in the heart of the Bluebirds defence. The Bluebirds have been like a hot knife through butter for much of the early part of the season but with the absence of Olofinjana, the Cardiff defense has been shown wanting and Jones will be praying that both his highly priced striker and his highly prized midfielder will be back from injury sooner rather than later.





George Burley has greater worries than Jones, with his side having the Championship's worst away record. The Eagles have been shorn of three of it's best players. New recruit James Vaughan will be sitting out the next three game after getting a red card in the heavy defeat to Derby at the weekend. Loanee Anthony Gardner from Hull City has pulled up with another ankle injury and last season's top scorer Darren Ambrose are all out for the trip to Cardiff's Liberty Stadium due to a leg problem.


Simon Grayson won out in the battle of the ex-Leeds United apprentices at the weekend when his Leeds side beat Gary Speed's Sheffield United one-nil. The two had signed as apprentices on the same day in 1984, but it was Grayson who got the last laugh in the Yorkshire derby match. Grayson will give late fitness tests to Leigh Bromby and Aidy White before naming his first team though there will be no place for Fede Bessone, Kasper Schmeichal and Paul Connelly who are still out injured and Robert Snodgrass is suspended for the next three games after getting a red card at the weekend against Sheffield United.





Darren Ferguson still has a game left of his touchline ban so he will be marshaling his troops from the stands at Elland Road. Ferguson's men did manage a victory at the weekend as they beat Coventry City two-one and Ferguson will want to see more of the same sort of passion from his side. However, he will have to assess his vastly experienced center back Wayne Brown before picking his starting line up. Brown has been suffering from a hamstring injury and may not be fully fit for the trip to Leeds. However, the journey across the Pennines is too soon for the club's two Manchester United loanees Josh King and Matthew James who are both carrying ankle injures.


The Sky Blues are expected to call up Marlon King to the first team for the visit of Doncaster Rovers. The disgraced striker made his first appearance for Aidy Boothroyd's side at the weekend as a second half substitute, and was involved in Coventry's goal. Boothroyd won't have the services of all of his squad as Danny Ward, Gary McSheffrey, David Bell and Michael McIndoe could all make the starting line-up; Freddy Eastwood, James McPake and Gary Deegan will all miss the game.





Donny's Sean O'Driscoll will have to get his Vikings confidence levels back up to par after a crushing three-nil defeat to league leader QPR at the weekend. O'Driscoll's men played fantastically well for the first 45 minutes, yet despite a valiant effort they still could only come out on the end of a heavy defeat. On the plus side, O'Driscoll may be able to pick his skipper Brian Stock who is expected to undergo a late fitness test, along with defender Byron Webster. The Viking's boss is expected to recall James Hytner to the starting line up. Hytner was a second half substitute against QPR and is set to start against the Sky Blues.


Nigel Clough's Derby County side welcome Middlesbrough to Pride Park with their confidence levels sky high after a fine five-nil victory over Crystal Palace at the weekend. Spanish striker Alberto Beuno, who bagged a brace against the Eagles, is expected to team up with young teenager Ryan Noble. Noble has just joined the Midland's side from Sunderland on a month long emergency loan. Unfortunately for Clough, influential defender Dean Leacock suffered a serious hamstring injury on Saturday and is not expected back anytime soon for the Rams.





The Smoggies boss Gordon Strachan is coming under increasing pressure as his under performing side have struggled for any kind of consistency so far this season. His sensational signing of Kris Boyd from Rangers in the summer has turned into a nightmare for Boyd. Scottish footballs' highest ever goal scorer has been left out of the Scotland squad for the upcoming internationals after his lack of form with his new club. His form has been so hit and miss that Strachan dropped him to the bench two weeks ago but recalled him at the weekend for Boro's loss to Watford. Strachan will have the advantage of recalling Tony McMahon and Seb Hines who are both back to full fitness and he will be hoping that Scottish midfeilder Kevin Thomson will be ready to make his long awaited return from a fractured tibia in the coming weeks.



Brian McDermott's Royals welcome the Tractor Boys to the Madejski Stadium and will be hoping to continue the weekends great form after their three-nil victory over Barnsley. Reading have the ability to overtake Ipswich if they can beat them. McDermott will have to do without Brian Howard and Zurab Khizanishvili who are both suspended for the important tie. He will not be able to call on Jay Tabb who still has an ankle injury, though he could give late fitness tests to Andy Griffin and Julian Kelly who both have had hamstring injuries.





Roy Keane will be hoping that his Ipswich Town side can turn around their poor starting form with Keane bemoaning that his side's starts are "shocking". The Irishman may recall Jaime Peters to the starting eleven after he came off the bench against Scunthorpe at the weekend to earn the Tractor Boys a well deserved draw.



Kenny Jackett's Millwall side won't be looking forward to their visit to highflying Queens Park Rangers' Loftus Road. The Lions have struggled of late and have not won in their last five matches. However, they have met the division's second, third and fourth placed sides and now have to face the league leaders. Jackett will be without Liam Trotter who is still suspended for the cross London journey. He will not be able to call on Darren Carter, the Preston loanee who has an ankle injury or Tony Craig who is still recovering from a broken metatarsal, and it's still too soon for long term injured Andy Frampton, Shaun Batt and John Marquis.





Neil Warnock will be doing everything he can to keep his players grounded. The Hoops are the only team in the division who are still unbeaten and have so far only drawn one game, and have a 100% home record. Warnock has been lucky with injuries but the visit of Millwall could be too soon for Bradley Orr and Alejandro Faurlin who are close to making a return to first team football, that is if they can break back into Warnocks' side.