Wolves Open the Season Under Friday Night Lights as Peixoto Era Begins
The English football season started on 14 August 2026, and it began in the Championship — not the Premier League — with Wolves hosting Blackburn Rovers under the Molineux floodlights at 8pm BST.
It was a fixture that carried plenty of storylines. Wolves, relegated from the Premier League and starting life in the second tier, gave a first league match in charge to new manager César Peixoto, appointed after the club sacked Rob Edwards in the summer. Blackburn, managed by Tony Mowbray, travelled to the Black Country unbeaten in three matches coming in, while Wolves had warmed up with a 3-0 home win over League Two opposition in front of more than 21,000 supporters (SportsMole).
The match was broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports, with coverage on Sky Sports Football, as the opening fixture of the EFL's 2026-27 season — a weekend of action running from 14 to 16 August (EFL). The EFL described the curtain-raiser as a Friday night match in the Black Country, framing Wolves as Championship newcomers for the campaign (EFL.com).
Wolves were without Hwang Hee-Chan, Sasa Kalajdzic, Santiago Bueno and Ladislav Krejci for a variety of reasons, leaving Peixoto to field a starting lineup of Bentley; Trippier, Mosquera, T.Gomes; R.Gomes, André, Munetsi, Möller Wolfe; Lopez, Mané; Armstrong, with Sá, Bueno, Jiménez, Lima, Doyle, Chirewa, Djiga, Tchatchoua and Edozie on the bench (The Guardian).
Kieran Trippier's presence in that starting eleven was one of the night's talking points. The experienced full-back, who has played for Atlético Madrid and Newcastle United in the Champions League, dropped down to the Championship to join Wolves, saying he was not ashamed to play in the second tier and wanted to be close to his children (The Guardian). For a club marking its 150th anniversary — Wolves released the first commemorative matchday programme of the season for this fixture — having a player of Trippier's pedigree set the tone for a campaign they hope ends back in the top flight (Wolves.co.uk).
Blackburn's lineup told its own story. Not a single new summer signing started the match. Sam Morsy and Jayden Fevrier, both brought in during the transfer window, began on the bench. The only other summer addition, Moussa Baradji, was out injured. Mowbray's starting eleven read: Toth; Alebiosu, Atcheson, McLoughlin, Pickering; Forshaw, Montgomery; Afolayan, Cantwell, Morishita; Gudjohnsson — with Pears, Ribeiro, Tavares, Morsy, Fevrier, Carter, Henriksson, Ohashi and Garrett among the substitutes (The Guardian).
For fans of both clubs, the night carried a familiar weight. Molineux on a Friday evening, the season's first whistle, the stands full of optimism that has not yet been tested by results — it is the part of the football calendar that feels like a fresh start for everyone, regardless of which division you find yourself in. Wolves will look ahead to an away trip to Preston North End at Deepdale on 22 August, while Blackburn will hope their new arrivals can make an impact once they are fit and available (Wolves.co.uk).
What makes this opener resonate beyond the result is the contrast between the two clubs. Wolves, a Premier League side until recently, are rebuilding with a new manager, an experienced full-back chasing something personal, and the weight of a 150-year history behind them. Blackburn, a club with their own proud past, are trusting largely in what they already have. The Championship is long, relentless, and famously unpredictable — one Friday night in August only begins to tell the story.
