How do Cardiff City's first 5 fixtures of 2024/25 compare to Swansea City and Bristol City | OneFootball

We compared the difficulty of the rivals' first five Championship fixtures

The 2024/25 Championship fixtures have been released, and clubs up and down the division will be starting to get excited about the season ahead.

Cardiff City, Swansea City and Bristol City all enjoyed solid but not spectacular seasons last time out, finishing 12th, 14th and 11th in the Championship table, and they'll all be looking for more successful campaigns this time around.

Luke Williams and Liam Manning are set for their first full seasons in charge of Swansea and Bristol City respectively, while Erol Bulut is set for his second season in charge of the Bluebirds.

It seems like the three rivals are all well-placed to kick-on this season, and fans will be counting down the days until the 10th August when the Championship campaign gets underway.

Cardiff City's first five fixtures

The Bluebirds are set for a pretty tough opening five fixtures, but a good start could give them a huge boost as Bulut's side look to make the top six.

They begin with a home game against Sunderland, as Regis Le Bris' side face the long journey to south Wales in what will be the Frenchman's first league game, before traveling to Burnley the following week to face the relegated Clarets at Turf Moor, arguably one of the most difficult games of the season.

A short trip down the M4 to face bitter rivals Swansea City follows, a tough game for the Bluebirds, having beaten their south Wales rivals just twice since November 2013. Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough side are in town the week after, in what's sure to be a tough game, and Cardiff know all about Boro having lost 4-1 to them in the Welsh capital back in April.

The Bluebirds' fifth fixture sees them travel to Pride Park to play Derby, a difficult fixture despite the Rams being a newly-promoted outfit.

Swansea City's first five fixtures

Swansea City face the long journey to Middlesbrough to open their Championship season, not an ideal way to start their season, particularly with the early 12:30pm kick-off.

It's back to south Wales the following week as the Swans host Preston North End, before another home game the following week, this time against bitter rivals Cardiff City - an unusually early derby.

Williams' side face another tough game the following week as they travel to The Hawthorns to face a West Brom side who reached the play-offs last season, before hosting Norwich City, another side who reached the play-offs, at home after the international break on the 14th September.

A pretty difficult start on paper, but Swansea will be hoping to capitalise on having three early home games.

Bristol City's first five league fixtures

It's by no means an easy start for Liam Manning's side, but the Robins will be confident of making a decent start to the season.

Their first game of the season sees them travel to Humberside to face a Hull City side that just missed out on the play-offs last year, before they welcome Millwall to Ashton Gate the following week.

The Robins have another home game the following week as they host Coventry City in what's bound to be a difficult fixture, before traveling to Pride Park to face Derby County at the end of August.

Their first fixture after the international break sees them travel to Ewood Park to face Blackburn Rovers. Not an easy start, but Manning should be aiming to pick up points in all of his side's first five fixtures.

Bristol City have the most favourable start

Compared to their rivals across the border, it's fair to say that Bristol City have the more favourable start.

In their opening fixtures, the Robins aren't playing any sides relegated from the Premier League, or any sides who reached the play-offs last season, so they have a chance to make a good start and put themselves towards the upper echelons of the league table.

Out of the three sides, Cardiff City have the toughest start, with a trip to Burnley and a dreaded trip to rivals Swansea potentially giving Bulut some sleepless nights as the season approaches. However, if the Bluebirds make a good start to the season, they'll be in a good place to compete for the play-offs.

The first derby clash is just around the corner

Quite unusually, the first South Wales Derby will take place on the 24th August, when Swansea City welcome Cardiff City to the Swansea.com Stadium, with the reverse fixture taking place on January 18th at the Cardiff City Stadium.

As for the Severnside Derby, the Bluebirds will make the short trip across the border at the beginning of October, with their away game against Bristol City scheduled for Saturday 5th October, with the reverse fixture taking place in south Wales on Saturday 15th February.

Finally, Swansea will be looking to avenge Bristol City doing the league double over them last season, and won't have to wait too long with the fixture at the Swansea.com Stadium scheduled for the 28th September. The Robins will then host the Swans on Saturday 8th February, a week before they're due to travel to the Cardiff City Stadium.