EFL 14/5 Acca | Gab Sutton

Burnley conceded their first goal of 2025 – yes, in March! – in midweek, ending James Trafford’s astonishing run of 12 games without being beaten, and Scott Parker’s side were still victorious, enjoying a 3-1 victory at Cardiff.

It’s not just Trafford and his phenomenal shot-stopping, though, because the former Manchester City academy product is ably protected by two more talents in Maxime Esteve and CJ Egan-Riley, while Connor Roberts is ever reliable at right-back, and Josh Cullen covers plenty of ground from the base of midfield.

The Clarets are hoping their phenomenal defensive record, which stands at just 10 goals conceded in 35 league games, can help them surpass Sheffield United in the race for automatic promotion, with Leeds somewhat out of view.

Luton urgently need the points themselves, with Matt Bloomfield’s side five points adrift of safety – but they did achieve a crucial 2-0 victory over Portsmouth last time out.

Birmingham suffered their first defeat since November on Tuesday night, losing 3-1 at play-off contenders Bolton, with wins for Wrexham and Wycombe that evening closing the gap to nine and 11 points, to second and third respectively.

Chris Davies’ men are without goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, who has grown from a shaky start to become a figure of reliability this season, while stand-in Bailey Peacock-Farrell has struggled with the lack of match sharpness, which was evident in the north-west in midweek.

Peacock-Farrell’s possible low confidence is one thing, but Lincoln being able to frequently test him is another, given that the hosts have faced the second-fewest shots in League One – 7.7 per game – and they manage games so well with Paik Seung-Ho and Tomoki Iwata looking after the ball superbly.

The Imps had finished October as high as fifth, but they’ve since dropped down the table, taking just 22 points from as many games, with performances lending to a sense of stagnation at Sincil Bank.

Doncaster haven’t always set pulses racing this season, but they have gained points: 61 of them in 35 league games for Grant McCann’s side, thanks to the individual magic often provided by Luke Molyneux.

Rovers are an aggressive, energetic, front-foot side, modelled somewhat as a lower league equivalent of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, and they have a real efficiency about them that’s enabled them to tick off points.

That’s what they’re hoping to do against Swindon, who have climbed the table: since losing 4-0 at Colchester on third December, Ian Holloway’s side have achieved a better PPG return than everyone in the league bar Bradford.

Only one of their victories, however, has come against top seven opposition. The promotion-contending are in greater need of the points – and have defensive class in Joseph Olowu and Jay McGrath.

* Odds correct at the time of writing. 18+ only. GambleAware.