EFL preview: Lions roar and a show of Steel
Chris Wilder has Sheffield United fans looking up
- Published
They say a week is a long time in politics, but my goodness it’s not as long as three days in the EFL.
It’s been a pretty extraordinary midweek, even by Championship standards, with shock scorelines, surprise sackings and historic records broken.
We have one more full programme of EFL fixtures this weekend before the final international break of 2024 pops up next week.
Let’s have a look at what’s in store...
The Championship weekend begins with Watford welcoming Oxford United to Vicarage Road on Friday evening.
Sheffield United were the only top-six side (and one of two clubs in the top 10) to win in midweek, which has given the table an incredibly tight look when coupled with the fact that six of the bottom 11 sides picked up three points.
It all means just seven points separate fifth-placed West Brom, who have drawn a club record six in a row, from Plymouth Argyle, sat in 22nd and in the relegation zone.
Des Buckingham’s Oxford could end the weekend anywhere from third-bottom to ninth while the Hornets, by contrast, could sit anywhere from 4th to 11th.
With a further eight games to follow on Saturday, the action is set to build to a crescendo in Sheffield on Sunday afternoon as Wednesday visit United for the first Steel City derby in nearly six years at 12:30 GMT.
The Blades might potentially be in position to go top of the table with a win while three points for Wednesday might well haul them to the fringes of the play-off pack.
West Brom head to Hull City and Burnley host Swansea the same afternoon to bring the curtain down on a potentially huge round of games.
Millwall boss Neil Harris likes what he sees from the Lions
Harris pride at Lions' discipline
Saturday lunchtime has thrown up some eye-catching fixtures in the second tier with Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers seeking to bounce back from midweek losses, Middlesbrough and Luton Town seeking to build on midweek wins and Stoke City hosting Millwall, who have won four straight games by the same 1-0 scoreline to leap into the top six.
Lions boss Neil Harris says the defensive structure of his team is a big part of their rise up the table, telling BBC Radio London: “For us, it's about discipline, being as organised and structured as we can be and then finding a way to score at the other end. I'm very proud of the players."
Millwall are six unbeaten and seeking a fifth straight win as they head to the Bet365 Stadium and Harris added: "It just shows what momentum can give you, what a top culture can give you and identifying what our strengths are as a team and a club."
The intrigue doesn’t end at lunchtime. At 15:00 GMT Leeds will seek to bounce back from their defeat at The Den at home to lowly QPR and leaders Sunderland will host Coventry City, who sacked Mark Robins, the EFL’s longest serving manager, on Thursday hours after their home defeat by Derby, whose manager Paul Warne is now the longest tenured in the division.
The Rams return home having ended their away hoodoo and will host former manager Wayne Rooney, whose Plymouth side are the worst travellers in the whole EFL with one point and one goal across their seven games away from Home Park.
Portsmouth host Preston North End at Fratton Park in a clash between bottom and fifth-bottom.
Pompey have not won at home, taking three points from six matches, while North End haven’t won away, also taking three points from their half-dozen away games.
Nailed on draw or has something got to give?
Borja Sainz has nine goals in his past nine league games for Norwich
Sainz and unavailability: A tale of two Cities
The other 15:00 GMT game is a fascinating one as injury-plagued Norwich host equally physically hamstrung Bristol City at Carrow Road.
Donald Trump isn’t the only high-profile American waiting anxiously to be welcomed back to familiar surroundings in January: Canaries forward Josh Sargent is sidelined until the new year after surgery on a groin problem – the USA international is one of 11 players currently not available to boss Johannes Hoff Thorup.
"It's a crazy situation that we're in but we'll deal with it and we'll each other, but of course we'll look at it and see if we can make any changes - are we doing something wrong here">