Burnley in Trouble, Stoke Run Riot & Norwich Click Into Gear | Championship Review

Gameweek 5 of the 2026/27 EFL Championship season is complete — and there is plenty to unpack as Burnley’s problems deepen, Stoke City suddenly click into gear and Birmingham City and Wolves serve up a chaotic West Midlands derby. Tom is joined by Jonathan and Kelan to break down all 12 Championship matches from the weekend, starting at St Andrew’s as Birmingham City and Wolves play out a brilliant 2-2 draw. Fer López strikes again, Jay Stansfield produces a much-needed moment of quality and Wolves’ attacking threat is once again accompanied by questions over their defensive stability. The pressure is rising rapidly at Burnley after Bristol City come from behind to win 2-1 at Turf Moor. Despite the individual quality in Nicky Hayen’s squad, the Clarets create almost nothing and are punished late on by a Bristol City side beginning to flourish under Michael Skubala. Is this still a team experiencing teething problems, or is there something fundamentally wrong with Burnley’s squad construction and style? There is a very different mood at Stoke City. Mark Robins’ switch to a back three produces another victory as the Potters demolish previously unbeaten Charlton Athletic 4-0. Justin Devenny marks his debut with two goals, Ethan Galbraith and George Hirst also score, and we discuss whether Stoke have finally found a shape which actually suits the squad they have assembled. Norwich City also produce one of their best performances of the season, winning 3-1 at Sheffield United. Anthony Musaba continues his impressive start, Norwich’s attacking players are given the freedom to combine and Philippe Clement’s side finally turn some of their promising football into a convincing result. Then it is derby time at Deepdale. Preston North End finally get their first Championship victory of the season by beating Blackburn Rovers 2-1, with Callum Lang scoring twice. Blackburn have plenty of the ball and create pressure, but Preston dig in for a hugely important Lancashire derby victory. Is it the springboard Paul Heckingbottom needed — or did the performance still expose some significant problems? Portsmouth pick up their first home league win with a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City. Pompey look far more comfortable attacking quickly without dominating possession, while Cardiff’s lack of cutting edge continues to expose the shortcomings of their summer recruitment. We also discuss the Christian Bielik incident and the growing pressure surrounding Brian Barry-Murphy’s winless side. Elsewhere, West Ham United make it back-to-back league victories with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Derby County, Middlesbrough edge QPR 1-0 as Will Lankshear scores again, and newly-promoted Lincoln City earn an excellent 1-1 draw against Southampton at Sincil Bank. Swansea City remain top of the Championship despite being frustrated in a 0-0 draw with Wrexham, while Jimmy-Jay Morgan continues his outstanding start to the season by scoring the winner as West Bromwich Albion beat Watford 1-0. #EFLChampionship #Championship #EFL #ChampionshipLowdown #FootballLowdown #BurnleyFC #BristolCity #StokeCity #CharltonAthletic #NorwichCity #SheffieldUnited #BirminghamCity #Wolves #PrestonNorthEnd #BlackburnRovers #Millwall #CardiffCity #PortsmouthFC ⏱️ *Timestamps* 00:00 – Intro & Championship Gameweek 5 Review 00:09 – Birmingham City 2-2 Wolves 05:42 – Burnley 1-2 Bristol City 13:41 – Stoke City 4-0 Charlton Athletic 20:28 – Sheffield United 1-3 Norwich City 25:27 – Preston North End 2-1 Blackburn Rovers 31:02 – Millwall 4-0 Bolton Wanderers 36:53 – Portsmouth 2-0 Cardiff City 43:39 – West Ham United 3-0 Derby County 45:29 – QPR 0-1 Middlesbrough 47:19 – Lincoln City 1-1 Southampton 49:08 – Swansea City 0-0 Wrexham 50:59 – West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Watford 53:02 – Championship Team of the Week 54:19 – Outro ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part of the Football Lowdown Network, https://footballlowdown.com Visit our other channels; Premier League Lowdown, League One Lowdown, League Two Lowdown, National League Lowdown, What is the Football Lowdown Football Lowdown is a fan created independent media platform. Our company, created by Ryan Whelan, Gary Hutchinson, Jamie Ward, Sam Griffin, Callum Moseley and Chris O'Brien alongside a dedicated group of football fans. The entire business is created for fans, by fans who know their clubs best. What is the Championship Lowdown? The Championship Lowdown is a podcast and YouTube channel built to focus solely on the EFL Championship including the latest transfers, news and all the results across the season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices