2026-27 CL Prediction League Week 1 Fixtures - COME AND JOIN OUR MERRY BAND
Not only does the EFL kick off this week, but, of course, the CL Prediction League kicks off as well. Everyone is welcome to join and prove how much you know about football. The rules are simple - just pick three games from the weekly list that is published (usually on a Wednesday but nice and early this week) and use your expert knowledge to predict the final score. It's as easy as that - you will score 3 points for a correct score and 1 point for a correct result. You can also win a bonus point if you are the only person to get the correct score for a particular game, as well as an extra point if you get three correct scores. Each week (usually on Monday), the results and league tables are published with weekly awards for outstanding (or dire) performances. The full rules, if you can be bothered to read them, are on the second post this week.
Are there any prizes? Well, the winners of the League and Cup win Virtual Trophies, and an enormous amount of kudos on Charlton Life, plus the glory of being on the CL Prediction League Honours Board forever (which is also virtual 
).
So, here are the games to choose from for Week 1. There are no Premier League games, so we are stuck with mostly Championship and League One games this week, but there is always a guest fixture or two.
As ever, Lifers will be joined by Hopeful Harriet who picks 2-0 wins for Charlton and 2-0 defeats for Palace and Millwall every week, while Pessimist Pete picks the reverse results. Follower Fred follows the predictions of the previous week's high-scorers - last year's champion, @BR7_addick, for this week, and this year we are joined by Chas GPT, who will use ChatGPT's predictions.
As for whether the league tables are in alphabetical order this year - all will be revealed next week. However, pick your favoured three and good luck.
Note to any newbies: If you pick any cup game that goes to extra time, the score at the end of normal time counts,
And remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
FA Community Shield
Arsenal v Manchester City (Sunday 1500)
Championship
Bolton Wanderers v Preston North End (Saturday 1230)
Bristol City v Millwall (Saturday 1500)
Charlton Athletic v Derby County (Saturday 1500)
Portsmouth v Queens Park Rangers (Saturday 1500)
Stoke City v Swansea City (Saturday 1500)
Sheffield United v Birmingham City (Saturday 1730)
Watford v Southampton (Sunday 1330)
Burnley v West Ham United (Sunday 1600)
League One
Reading v Luton Town (Saturday 1230)
Blackpool v Wycombe Wanderers (Saturday 1500)
Bradford City v Peterborough United (Saturday 1500)
Burton Albion v Stevenage (Saturday 1500)
Cambridge United v Wigan Athletic (Saturday 1500)
Leyton Orient v Sheffield Wednesday (Saturday 1500)
Mansfield Town v Doncaster Rovers (Saturday 1500)
Plymouth Argyle v Stockport County (Saturday 1500)
Guest fixtures
Northampton Town v Swindon Town (League Two Saturday 1500)
Aberdeen v Dundee (Scottish League Cup 2nd Round Saturday 1500)
Chas GPT has chosen: Charlton Athletic 2–1 Derby County, Sheffield United 2–0 Birmingham City, Aberdeen 2–1 Dundee
Comments
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If you've got a spare hour or two, here are the rules....
Prediction League rules
General
Each week, several games will be listed; you must make your selection from this list. You need to choose any three games. If you pick more than three games, only the first three will count unless there are specific instructions to the contrary. If you choose fewer than three games, only the games chosen will count. You must state the teams participating and select your predicted score for each match chosen. The first named team should be the home team and the second named team should be the away team. If the game takes place at a neutral ground, the teams should be listed in the same order as the published list of matches available. Note: Avoid jokes with team names as I have to edit your entries for the scoring system to work automatically – please, nothing like Stripey Wotsits v Blaydon Races mob.
Errors in posting
Regardless of whether a prediction is correct or not, zero points will be awarded in the following circumstances:
• Where the prediction is not in the list of matches available
• Where one or both of the teams are unclear or wrong
• Where a game has already kicked off at the time that the prediction is made
• Where one or both of the goals scored is missing or ambiguous
Scores used
The reported scores on the BBC Football website will be used when checking the predictions. If a game is abandoned, the score at the time of the abandonment will count. If a game goes to extra time, the score at the end of normal time will count in all cases. Where a game is postponed, no points will be scored unless the game was originally scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday is replayed by the Monday following the original date.
Posting errors
All matches on the list indicate the date and time of each game. While every effort will be made to ensure there are no errors, it will be the responsibility of the person making the predictions that the dates and times are correct and/or whether a date/time has been changed after the list being posted.
Postponements
When a game is postponed, a competitor may choose an alternative game for each postponed game. This selection can be made after the scheduled kick-off time of the postponed game but must be before the kick-off time of the alternative choice.
Reposting
A competitor can repost predictions at any time provided the above rules are followed. Where predictions are reposted, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the latest post will in all cases replace any earlier posts.
Points awarded
Subject to the conditions above, 3 points will be awarded for a correct score, 1 point for a correct result and no points for an incorrect result. A bonus point will be added for three correct scores. A bonus point will be added for a correct score if no one else has predicted the correct score.
Forgetting to post/not posting your predictions
You are allowed to miss three weeks over the season. If you make no post, you will score the week’s average, rounded to the nearest whole number for that week. For the final week, you will score zero points if you fail to make any predictions.
Disputes
Where there are any disputes, the organiser will try to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. If a resolution cannot be reached, a vote between the organiser and a moderator will rule on the dispute.3 -
Leyton Orient v Sheffield Wednesday 2-1
Reading v Luton Town 3-2
Portsmouth v Queens Park Rangers 0-1
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Excellent..one of my favourite things on CL. Thanks for running, Thai!
A burning question though: what does Follower Fred do for the first week given there is nothing to follow?1 -
Bradford City v Peterborough United 3 - 1
Cambridge United v Wigan Athletic 1 - 2
Aberdeen v Dundee 2 - 10 -
He follows last season’s champion, BR7_addick.WHAddick said:Excellent..one of my favourite things on CL. Thanks for running, Thai!
A burning question though: what does Follower Fred do for the first week given there is nothing to follow?0 -
Charlton Athletic v Derby County 0-2
Watford v Southampton 1-3
Burnley v West Ham United 1-2
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Charlton Athletic v Derby County 2-1
Burnley v West Ham United 0-2
Stoke City v Swansea City 2-10 -
Sorry, misread your initial post..makes sense now!thai malaysia addick said:
He follows last season’s champion, BR7_addick.WHAddick said:Excellent..one of my favourite things on CL. Thanks for running, Thai!
A burning question though: what does Follower Fred do for the first week given there is nothing to follow?0 -
Charlton Athletic v Derby County 2-2Watford v Southampton 1-3Burnley v West Ham United 1-20
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Stoke City v Swansea City 1-0
Sheffield United v Birmingham City 1-0
Bradford City v Peterborough United 2-00 -
Sponsored links:
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Watford v Southampton 0-3Blackpool v Wycombe Wanderers 2-0Plymouth Argyle v Stockport County 2-00
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Sheffield United v Birmingham 1-1
Bradford v Peterborough 2-1
Blackpool v Wycombe 3-10 -
Stoke City v Swansea City 2-1
Blackpool v Wycombe Wanderers 2-1
Plymouth Argyle v Stockport County 2-10 -
Blackpool v Wycombe Wanderers 1-0
Plymouth Argyle v Stockport County 2-1
Aberdeen v Dundee 1-0
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Charlton Athletic v Derby County 2-1
Bolton Wanderers v Preston North End 1-1
Plymouth Argyle v Stockport County 3-10 -
Stoke City v Swansea City 1-1
Sheffield United v Birmingham City 1-2
Bradford City v Peterborough United 0-2
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Watford v Southampton 1-2
Reading v Luton Town 1-1
Leyton Orient v Sheffield Wednesday 0-2
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Bolton Wanderers v Preston North End 1-0
Stoke City v Swansea City 1-0
Watford v Southampton 1-2
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Bolton Wanderers v Preston North End 1-0
Burnley v West Ham United 0-2
Leyton Orient v Sheffield Wednesday 0-2
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Bolton Wanderers v Preston North End 2-1Stoke City v Swansea City 2-0Leyton Orient v Sheffield Wednesday 0-1
Thanks for organising this, Thai - always enjoyable.1 -
Sponsored links:
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Bristol City v Millwall 1-2
Charlton Athletic v Derby County 1-2
Burnley v West Ham United 1-20 -
Stoke City v Swansea City 1-3
Burnley v West Ham United 1-1
Bradford City v Peterborough United 2-0
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Plymouth v Stockport 2-1
Bradford v Peterborough 2-1
Aberdeen v Dundee 2-10 -
Bristol City v Millwall 1-1
Burnley v West Ham United 0-1
Bradford City v Peterborough United 2-10 -
Portsmouth v Queens Park Rangers 1-0
Watford v Southampton 0-2
Blackpool v Wycombe 2-10 -
Charlton v Derby 2-1
Watford v Southampton 1-2
Leyton Orient v Sheff Weds 0-20 -
Bolton Wanderers v Preston North End 2-0
Portsmouth v Queens Park Rangers 2-1
Bradford City v Peterborough United 2-0
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