Gabriel Sutton's EFL Tips

Bolton took time to get off the beach at the start of the campaign, with the ante-post promotion second favourites winning just one of their opening five, but the 4-0 home loss to Huddersfield seemed to shake them from their early-season siesta.

Since then, not only have Ian Evatt’s side won three on the bounce, they’ve scored a whopping 11 goals in the process.

Sure, those victories have come against Reading, Crawley and Northampton, but with star contributions from key men Josh Sheehan and Dion Charles, they look a lot more like the Wanderers we expected.

They should establish clear superiority, too, over Shrewsbury, who have found goals harder to come by, with the relegation favourites scoring just six of them in their first nine.

The start of the Cold War, Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten’s wedding, and the birth of David Bowie are all more recent than Birmingham’s previous seven-game winning streak had been, with Chris Davies’ side achieving the feat for the first time since December 1946, thanks to a midweek 1-0 victory over Huddersfield.

With their stardust, Blues could be heroes for more than one day this season; they only scored one in midweek, but they had the chances to add even more gloss to the scoreline.

It’s hardly surprising that Jay Stansfield and Alfie May have brought the firepower straight away, but the likes of Christoph Klarer, left-back Alex Cochrane, and midfielder Willum Willumsson have also displayed their quality.

Saturday’s game is an ominous assignment, then, for Charlton, who initially accumulated results through their defensive resolve, but are now suffering from a lack of creativity, with Nathan Jones’ side having lost their last three.

Just as Macaulay Langstaff had benefited from the system at Notts County, when the converted winger hit 28 last season, Alassana Jatta is doing likewise.

If anything, Jatta is more of an orthodox centre-forward by trade, who is more of a physical threat to opposing centre-backs, and the Gambian striker is already on four goals for the campaign.

Jatta will be out to add to his tally against a Port Vale side who are in good form, but aren’t without their defensive challenges, with just one clean sheet in their previous seven league games.

Notts County should create a high volume of chances for Jatta: they have the second-best xG for in League Two at 16.11, so their return of 17 goals in their first nine looks sustainable.

Coventry kickstarted their season in midweek with a 3-0 victory over high-flyers Blackburn.

Fans were anxious after a loss by the same scoreline at Elland Road the previous Saturday compounded a poor start, but Tuesday brought signs of key midfielder Ben Sheaf getting back to full fitness, while Brandon Thomas-Asante led from the front with vigour in a strong pressing performance.

Mark Robins will be hoping to use that showing as a springboard for improved form, in the same way that they’ve recovered from poor starts in previous campaigns, but Sheffield Wednesday look dangerous themselves.

The Owls can create chances through their clear patterns of play, Yan Valery inverting from right-back, Svante Ingelsson pushing wide from midfield and Barry Bannan orchestrating play, whereas their hosts can create chances through aggressive pressing and quick transitions.

One of the advantages Burton Albion have in being one of League One’s smallest clubs, is that it’s easier for them to stick together after a tough start.

If most other teams fail to win in their first nine games, there’s immense pressure, regardless of the level of performance, whereas the Brewers have a patient, understanding fanbase who want to see their team embrace a different style of play after years of firefighting.

After almost all the travelling fans at Reading in midweek stuck around to clap the team off at full-time, even after a 3-1 defeat, Mark Robinson said there’s nothing he’s wanted to do more in his life than bring success to the Pirelli – and performance wise, they’re not too far off.

By contrast, Bristol Rovers have started with 10 points from their first nine, but that’s from a favourable early fixture list – so there’s arguably more pressure on Matt Taylor than there is on Robinson.