EFL Tips | Gab Sutton

Birmingham have dropped just six points all season at St Andrews, with 1-1 draws with Reading and Northampton, as well as a goalless encounter with Blackpool, the only results denying Chris Davies’ side a maximum home return.

The leaders have laudable squad depth and, while they haven’t always put teams right to the sword, typically winning by one or two goals, they have been impeccably consistent.

Paik Seung-Ho and Tomoki Iwata have been very much the star men for Blues in midfield, while Christoph Klarer has been a proverbial Rolls-Royce at the back, demonstrating excellent vision for a central defender.

Visitors Exeter have just lost a centre-back of their own in Tristan Crama, with Brentford recalling the loanee ahead of City’s toughest fixture of the season – luckily, they already have a healthy tally of 31 points on the board.

Notts County are hoping they won’t miss the stunning vision and sublime technique of playmaker Dan Crowley, who left for promotion rivals MK Dons this week.

The Magpies, though, look well-prepared for the departure, with Stuart Maynard’s side adding the likes of Charlie Whitaker and Will Jarvis from Everton and Hull respectively – and, unlike last season, they’re solid enough defensively to tick over points when they’re not at their best with the ball.

County still have the star quality of Jodi Jones, recently returning from injury, David McGoldrick and Alassana Jatta, as they travel to Accrington Stanley in pursuit of a fifth win in sixth.

The Reds come into the contest off the back of successive victories in the league, easing relegation fears for John Doolan’s side, even if they suffered a 4-0 FA Cup humbling at the hands of Premier League leaders Liverpool last time out.

First on Matt Bloomfield’s in-tray, after leaving Wycombe to take the Luton job, is to get the best out of Carlton Morris.

The 6’2” striker had been key to the Hatters’ promotion from this level in 2022-23, when he scored 20 goals en route to Play-Off success, but this year the physical frontman hasn’t quite hit the same heights, albeit with a respectable seven goals in 23 games.

Bloomfield has a record of getting strikers firing, as he did somewhat unexpectedly with Richard Kone for the Chairboys, who had been a significant jump from the lower echelons of non-league – so there’s no reason why he can’t maximize Morris’ aerial prowess and finishing ability.

His first game is relatively favourable, too, a home fixture with Preston North End – who haven’t been in the top half all season.

Headhunted from Brighton’s Development Squad, Iñigo Calderón is a highly-rated coach, hoping to introduce exciting, new ideas to Bristol Rovers – and in the long-run, the Spaniard could prove a great appointment.

There may be teething problems, though, which mean that even if the Gas start creating more chances than they were under Matt Taylor through more cohesive build-up play, they could also be prone to individual errors – something Barnsley will be key to exploit.

Darrell Clarke’s side are in excellent form, too, because since the 4-0 loss to Leyton Orient just before Christmas, when the Reds failed to deal with the conditions, they responded to that no show with four consecutive league wins.

On-loan Kelechi Nwakali has brought a touch of class to Tarn’s midfield, Adam Phillips has brought some composure in a more advanced role, while Davis Keillor-Dunn is in outstanding goalscoring form for the prime Play-Off contenders – five goals in six for the former Mansfield forward.

Separated by just four points, Wigan and Stevenage are two lower midtable sides who have steered themselves well clear of safety through defensive resolve, and having one of the best goalkeepers in the league – Sam Tickle and Murphy Cooper respectively.

On the other hand, both have had their difficulties going in the other direction, with the Latics having just 21 goals to their name from 23 league games, and Boro, as few as 18.

As such, there’s a rizla paper between these sides, even if it’s the Hertfordshire outfit who will be happier with their season to date – merely because their pre-season expectations were more modest.

With that in mind, it seems surprising that Shaun Maloney’s side are considered huge underdogs, especially given that they’d taken seven points from three games around the Christmas period, before losing to two of the best teams in the league – Wrexham and Birmingham.

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