Watch the Championship in the UK from £15 with Now
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Watch the Championship in Canada from CA$30 a month
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Southampton return to life in the Championship on Saturday, as they take on newly promoted Wrexham in this intriguing opening-weekend clash at St Mary’s.
Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game as it happens, wherever you are in the world, and how to use a VPN if the match isn’t available where you are.
The Saints endured a torrid campaign last season, finishing rock bottom of the English Premier League after working their way through three different managers — Russell Martin, Simon Rusk and Ivan Jurić — all unable to prevent their slide toward the drop. The close-season has seen highly rated young English manager Will Still tasked with guiding the Hampshire club to an immediate return to the top flight.
With celebrity backers Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham, meanwhile, has pulled off an unprecedented three consecutive promotions to reach the Championship. Manager Phil Parkinson is now eyeing the ultimate prize — a place in the Premier League — and has brought in a number of big-name additions to his squad, including former England defender Conor Coady and Wales striker Kieffer Moore.
Southampton take on Wrexham on Saturday, Aug. 9, at St. Mary’s, with kickoff set for 12:30 p.m. BST local time. That makes it a 7:30 a.m. ET or 4:30 a.m. PT start in the US and Canada, and a 9:30 p.m. AEST kickoff in Australia.
Young forward Jay Robinson looks set to be a player to watch out for in the Championship this term, having been a standout performer for Southampton in preseason.
How to watch Southampton vs. Wrexham in the US without cable
American soccer fans can stream this fixture on CBS Sports Golazo via Paramount Plus, which has exclusive live English-language broadcast rights in the US for the EFL Championship this season.
Paramount Plus has two main subscription plans in the US: Essential for $8 a month and Premium for $13 a month. Both offer coverage of the Championship.
The cheaper Essential option has ads for on-demand streaming and lacks live CBS feeds, as well as the ability to download shows to watch offline later. Newcomers to the service can take advantage of a 30-day free trial, while students may qualify for a 25% discount.
Read our Paramount Plus review.
How to watch the EFL Championship from anywhere with a VPN
If you’re traveling abroad and want to keep up with all the EFL Championship action while away from home, a VPN can help enhance your privacy and security when streaming.
It encrypts your traffic and prevents your internet service provider from throttling your speeds, and can also be helpful when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks while traveling, adding an extra layer of protection for your devices and logins. VPNs are legal in many countries, including the US and Canada, and can be used for legitimate purposes such as improving online privacy and security.
However, some streaming services may have policies restricting VPN usage to access region-specific content. If you’re considering a VPN for streaming, check the platform’s terms of service to ensure compliance.
If you choose to use a VPN, follow the provider’s installation instructions, ensuring you’re connected securely and in compliance with applicable laws and service agreements. Some streaming platforms may block access when a VPN is detected, so verifying if your streaming subscription allows VPN usage is crucial.
Price $13 per month, $100 for the first 15 months (then $117 per year) or $140 for the first 28 months (then $150 per year)Latest Tests No DNS leaks detected, 18% speed loss in 2025 testsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you’ll get three months free and save 49%. That’s the equivalent of $6.67 a month.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Livestream Southampton vs. Wrexham in the UK
This Championship fixture is exclusive to Sky Sports, showing on its Sky Sports Main Event, Premier League and UHD channels. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the game via its Sky Go app, but cord-cutters will want to get set up with a Now account and a Now Sports membership to stream the game.
Sky subsidiary Now offers streaming access to Sky Sports channels with a Now Sports membership. You can get 24 hours of access for £15, or sign up to a monthly plan from £35 per month right now.
Livestream Southampton vs. Wrexham in Canada
If you want to stream the Championship live in Canada, you’ll need to subscribe to DAZN Canada. The service has exclusive broadcast rights to the English Football League this season.
A DAZN subscription currently costs CA$30 a month or CA$200 a year and will also give you access to Champions League and Europa League soccer, Six Nations rugby and WTA tennis.
As well as dedicated apps for iOS and Android, there’s a wide range of support for set-top boxes and smart TVs.
Livestream Southampton vs. Wrexham in Australia
Footy fans down under can watch the Championship on BeIn Sports, which holds the live broadcast rights in Australia for the EFL. This match is set to be shown on BeIn Sports Connect.
BeIn Sports is available in Australia for AU$15 a month or a yearly commitment of AU$130.
Quick tips for streaming the playoffs using a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming EFL matches may vary.
- If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
- If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
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