EFL Tips | Gab Sutton

Promotion contenders Sheffield United have been dominant at home this season, amassing 25 points from a possible 27 at Bramall Lane as Chris Wilder’s side target an instant return.

The likes of Alfie Gilchrist, Vinicius Souza and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi have stood out this season for the Blades, who boast the best goalkeeper in the Championship in Michael Cooper, the talents of whom visitors Plymouth Argyle know all too well.

Cooper’s exit is one of the reasons the Pilgrims find themselves embroiled in the thick of a relegation dogfight, and they have looked to troubleshoot their issues by bringing in assistant manager Mike Phelan, somebody boss Wayne Rooney worked with at Manchester United.

Nonetheless, Argyle’s performance levels, especially away from home, have been nowhere near the level at which there can be any sort of confidence that they can get something at Bramall Lane – where the strugglers head with a fleet of injuries.

When the Wycombe team bus hitches up in Shropshire, it’ll be greeted by a familiar face: Gareth Ainsworth. He can take enormous pride from the league leaders’ excellent form under his long-term captain, and successor, Matt Bloomfield.

The two will have a good catch-up at noon, but come 3pm, it’ll be business as usual, with two sides needing the points for different reasons: Wycombe intend to stay top, most likely on goal difference, with Birmingham and Wrexham having favourable home fixtures.

Shrewsbury, meanwhile, have lost two of their first three league games under Ainsworth, meaning they return to the foot of the table, but they’ve shown they can defy the odds in his first game in charge, when they defeated Galacticos Birmingham 3-2.

Nonetheless, Wycombe have accrued a whopping 40 points from the last 48 available, and the opposing manager is wise to the Chairboys culture he himself largely assembled.

Andy Cook shares top goalscorer status in League Two with Bromley’s Michael Cheek and AFC Wimbledon’s Matt Stevens, with each of the strikers on 10.

Having top scored in the National League for Tranmere in 2017-18 and with Bradford in 2022-23, Cook is familiar with hogging top honours for himself, something he’ll be keen to achieve with the Bantams again in this campaign.

Just like they have in the previous three seasons, the West Yorkshire outfit rely on Cook heavily: no other player has scored more than twice in the league for the Play-Off chasers.

So, this might be the right time of year for a bit of Cheek & Stevens, but Cook looks ready to feed the world (or at least Valley Parade).

Peterborough’s games have seen both teams find the net in 13 of their 18 encounters, which speaks to a team that can create chances at will but can also be fragile defensively.

The Posh lost 2-1 at rivals Northampton on Monday, but they created plenty of chances and on another day could have scored three or even more, which they’ve done on five occasions this season.

Visitors Crawley can leave themselves open, too, because of how they play, with a level of quality that’s arguably inferior to everyone else on paper, but they’ve shown in recent away games that they can create chances themselves.

So, there’s a good chance Rob Elliott’s side can get themselves on the scoresheet, even if the hosts ultimately prove a notch ahead.

Mansfield travel to South London off the back of five consecutive league defeats, but Nigel Clough’s side didn’t play badly in any of them.

So, just like the strong early season form was down to clinical finishing and favourable opponents, the recent decline in form is down to wasteful finishing and unfavourable opponents.

The Stags are neither the Play-Off contender autumn results suggested, nor are they in danger of plummeting into relegation dogfight. Truth is more in between those two extremes: they’re a midtable side.

Nigel Clough’s men do look underrated, though, for the trip to Charlton, who have won just one of their previous eight league games.

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