The 2026/27 League One season opens with Burton Albion hosting Stevenage at the Pirelli Stadium on 15 August. Burton scraped survival in 17th last season while Stevenage went considerably further, reaching the play off semi finals before Stockport ended their run. Opening day caution has a habit of flattening that kind of gap and on a warm August afternoon at the Pirelli the difference in pedigree may count for less than the table suggests.
Gary Bowyer has been in charge at Burton since December 2024, working alongside assistant Pat Lyons until 2027 and has built something deliberately unglamorous along the way. Alex Revell took charge of Stevenage in April 2024 with first team coach Scott Cuthbert and goalkeeping coach Marlon Beresford beside him and the two managers have never faced each other as opposing head coaches, so this is a first look at how their approaches hold up under competitive conditions.
Burton come in having lost 2-1 to Blackburn in the Carabao Cup on 8 August, following a pre season of draws and narrow margins against Leyton Orient, Exeter, Peterborough and AFC Wimbledon. Stevenage beat Wycombe 2-1 in their own cup opener and edged Millwall 1-0 in a friendly, though those bright spots sit alongside a 5-0 pre season hammering from West Ham and a play off exit at the hands of Stockport, losing 2-0 and 1-0 on aggregate. Three goals between them across six pre season and cup outings is the most honest summary of where both attacks are.
No significant suspensions are reported on either side and injury news is thin heading into the opener. Burton are expected to set up in a 3-4-1-2 with Jake Beesley leading the line, while Stevenage should line up in a 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 built around Marschall in goal, a back four of Wildin, Piergianni, Vancooten and Pattenden and a midfield of Thompson, Kemp and Phillips behind Roberts, Reid and Patterson. Jamie Reid and Josh Magennis are the likeliest sources of a goal for the visitors and the battle between Burton's double pivot and Stevenage's holding midfielder will probably dictate how much either attack ever gets going.
Bowyer's system is compact and set piece obsessed in the best possible way: screens, late arrivals into the box, zonal marking, the works. Revell's 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 defends its shape first and the most interesting individual match up on paper is Beesley against Piergianni, with Stevenage's experienced centre back needing to stay tight while Reid looks to exploit any space left in behind.
Stevenage have the better of this fixture historically with six wins to Burton's two and three draws across the last ten meetings. Burton will be banking on home advantage and their own first day crowd to change the pattern.
Set pieces are central to what Burton do under Bowyer and they will use every dead ball opportunity to cause problems. Stevenage are organised enough to deal with it but prefer to hit on the counter rather than absorb pressure indefinitely. With three goals scored between the two sides across six pre season and cup fixtures, 0-0 is the call and how Beesley and Piergianni handle each other is likely to be the closest thing to a turning point the afternoon produces.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
