BBC Sport's weekly look at the English Football League highlights five storylines as the 2025-26 season enters its second week, contrasting clubs with big ambitions to bounce back with unfancied sides revelling in unexpected success. West Ham United and Leicester City are both aiming for immediate returns to the Premier League after relegation, while newly promoted minnows Lincoln City, Bromley and York City are still adjusting to life at higher levels than many fans thought possible.

– West Ham, aiming for a quick return to the top flight, broke the EFL transfer record by signing Arne Engels from Celtic for £22m and loaned in Joel Piroe, ahead of hosting Charlton in front of a sell-out 62,500 crowd
– Lincoln City host Portsmouth in their first Championship home game in 66 years, having twice dropped into non-league football since their last spell in the second tier
– Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray, who returned for a second spell in June after overcoming bowel cancer, faces Middlesbrough, the club where he made his name as a player and later managed
– Bromley and York City also feature among the clubs adjusting to unexpectedly high-profile campaigns after strong finishes last season