Happy Friday and happy Championship opening day to all who celebrate! England's second division begins a new season on Friday, essentially ushering in the start of the European club season and offering a new edition of the always intriguing promotion race. I'm Pardeep Cattry with a primer on what's ahead as the action gets underway.

???? Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Friday, Aug. 8
???????? Friendly: Chelsea vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 2 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
???????????????????????????? EFL: Birmingham City vs. Ipswich Town, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
???????? NWSL: Houston Dash vs. North Carolina Courage, 8 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network

Saturday, Aug. 9
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? EFL: Southampton vs. Wrexham. 7:30 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
???????????????????????????? EFL: Norwich City vs. Millwall. 10 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+
???????????????????????????? EFL: Stoke City vs. Derby County. 10 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+
???????? Friendly: Leeds vs. AC Milan, 10 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
???????? Friendly: Palermo vs. Man City, 3 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network

Sunday, Aug. 10
???????? Friendly: Borussia Dortmund vs. Juventus, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
???????????????????????????? Community Shield: Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool, 10 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
???????????????????????????? EFL: Leicester vs. Sheffield Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+
???????? NWSL: Chicago Red Stars vs. Bay FC, 2 p.m. ➡️ CBS, Paramount+
???????? NWSL: Portland Thorns vs. Seattle Reign, 4 p.m. ➡️ CBS, Paramount+

⚽ The Forward Line

???????????????????????????? Another Premier League promotion race begins

In the Championship, the race to the top is also a race for soccer's most lucrative prize – a berth in next season's edition of the Premier League, worth at least $295 million in prize money for the three lucky teams that earn promotion. This season's edition of the promotion chase takes center stage as soon as the Championship season gets underway on Friday, with Birmingham City hosting second division newcomers Wrexham in a battle between contenders and pretenders.

Fresh off their third successive promotion and spotlighted by their Hollywood owners, many will be keeping an eye on Wrexham to see if they can add a fourth promotion in a row to their record and land in the Premier League in record time. How realistic that is, though, is a different question – a team that reaches the promotion playoff places usually averages 78.625 points per season while a newly promoted team averages 53.17 points in a season, and only three promoted sides have ever reached the playoffs.

That reality is also true for Birmingham City, who are back in the Championship after one season in League One. There's reason to be optimistic about their chances, though, of duking it out with the latest teams to be relegated from the Premier League – Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City – for a trip to England's top flight. As James Benge writes, Friday offers a first chance for them to showcase their ambition and the players who have the caliber to book their Premier League season since 2010-11.

• Benge: "Birmingham City do not want for ambition. Their response to missing out on Chuba Akpom, bound for Ipswich? Sign German international Marvin Ducksch, a man with 55 Bundesliga goal involvements over the last three seasons. Tommy Doyle was one of the best players in the Championship in 2022-23 while Premier League title winner Demarai Gray is back where it began a decade later. All that added to a side that pulverized records in League One? That is an outfit to be taken seriously."

Wrexham's EFL Championship debut

????  Midfield Link Play

???????? Americans to watch in the Championship

This season, the Championship is also a unique testing ground for a handful of American forwards who have their sights set on a spot on the U.S. men's national team roster for next year's World Cup on home soil. The American contingent is plentiful and is made up of Norwich City's Josh Sargent, Coventry City's Haji Wright, Southampton newcomer Damion Downs and new Derby County recruit Patrick Agyemang. The opportunity is ripe – but the squad spots are not innumerable.

The USMNT are currently without a go-to No. 9, in large part because Monaco's Folarin Balogun and PSV's Ricardo Pepi have dealt with injury for much of Pochettino's tenure. That's where the Championship, and its American quartet, comes in, especially since the players who have filled in have not cemented their name in stone. Wright has also dealt with injury while Sargent may just be out of favor with head coach Mauricio Pochettino, putting the pressure on Sargent to prove his worth after a 15 goal season with Norwich – and after a transfer to Wolfsburg failed to materialize.

Downs and Agyemang, meanwhile, are talents on the rise after taking part in the USMNT's run to the Gold Cup final. Neither truly made their case over the summer, though, with Downs likely on the outside looking in barring a strong season with Southampton. Agyemang is perhaps the player to keep an eye on. He did the hard work of breaking into the group after January's MLS-player focused camp and scoring the USMNT's Concacaf Nations League Finals run in March. He has the attributes to help Derby County, as manager John Eustace noted, especially after they risked relegation last season, but turning that into a successful move from MLS is a different story.

• Eustace: "He is at an age where if he comes over and trains in this environment, works with the coaches and works with good players like Carlton Morris [another new signing] and players like that, he will improve and get better. There will be no rush for him to come in and score goals straight away. The club has invested a good bit of money on him, and it's important that in the next two or three seasons we really see him turn into a top striker at this level. He is quick, strong and powerful. With some good work into him, I think he can be a real threat at this level. He is a really good asset to the club, and I feel we can develop him and turn him into a Premier League striker."

????  Top Stories

???????????????????????????? Wrexham? Swansea City? Somebody else? Who's going to be the next Welsh club in the Premier League?

???? Laura Harvey has the Seattle Reign ahead of schedule for their rebuild, and there are many reasons why.

???? After selling Son Heung-Min to LAFC, Tottenham have lost key piece James Maddison to a serious knee injury. Our Chuck Booth looks at how Spurs can replace him.

⁉ The North Carolina Courage fired coach Sean Nahas, but they weren't very transparent as to exactly why.

???? Manchester United are set to land star striker Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.

???? The Ballon d'Or nominees are finally out with expected names like Lamine Yamal and Mohamed Salah on the men's side, and Aitana Bonmati and Alessia Russo on the women's side, but here is who we would have voted for.

????  The Back Line

???? Best bets

• English Championship: Birmingham City vs. Ipswich Town (3 p.m. ET)
  ???? The pick: Both teams to score (-116) - As the Championship kicks off, it's time for a battle between two new Championship sides, each arriving in the league from different directions. Birmingham City are coming off a record points haul in League One to win the division, while Ipswich Town just got relegated from the Premier League. With both having high ambitions, it's a match that neither team will want to lose, with it turning into an open affair where both teams find the back of the net. - Chuck Booth

For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don't miss out on CBSSports.com's betting home page.

???? NWSL is back on CBS and Paramount+

 What's on CBS Sports Golazo Network

☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Join Golazo Network as it helps fans get their day started on the right foot on the network's flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you'll never have to miss an episode.

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⚽  Call it What You Want (Tuesday and Thursday): Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies, and Tony Meola cover all things USMNT and the state of the game in the United States as the country prepares to co-host the 2026 World Cup. Catch new episodes live on the Golazo America YouTube channel every Tuesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. ET.

???? Scoreline (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can't-miss goals from the day's action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week.

???? How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+.