League One

Huw Davies

League One featured five matches and zero goals for the away teams, prompting hundreds of travelling supporters to question why they do this.

Burton Albion fans would’ve been happy to see no goals at all, because CJ Hamilton’s stoppage-time winner for Blackpool had huge significance. At 0-0, Blackpool were in the relegation zone. The 1-0 final score moved them up and out and to within a point of their opponents, who seem unable to pull themselves fully clear. Gary Bowyer’s Brewers took just a single shot against his old side on the windy Lancashire coast.

Replacing Blackpool in the bottom four was Exeter, who’ll be visiting them on Good Friday. Tantalising! A goalless draw with Leyton Orient put an end to their run of five straight defeats, which followed a point at home to Burton on the day of Matt Taylor’s reappointment, but draws aren’t enough for the Grecians, winless since January.

This was a lively 0-0, at least, featuring Jayden Wareham hitting the post with a header by leaping about 18 feet. There’s flea DNA in that boy. Orient’s Dom Ballard missed the game’s best chance, however.

Further up the table, Stockport beat Wimbledon 3-0. Goalscorer Adama Sidibeh had to be replaced during the first half by Kyle Wootton, who scored himself – just 20 seconds after Corey Addai had denied Junior Nkeng at the other end. Addai, arguably man of the match, also saved superbly from Ryan Johnson and smartly from Zack Nelson, before Oli Norwood wrapped up the points by wrapping his left foot around a bouncing ball.

Oddly, these two teams will meet again at Plough Lane in a couple of weeks. That’ll be the true test for Stockport, who’ve taken 22 points from their last 8 home games but just one from their last five on the road. Eek.

Reading v Wigan also finished 3-0, thanks to Will Aimson’s day from hell.

Having been bodied by Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan for Reading’s first goal, Aimson started and finished the move for their second by misplacing his defensive header and then (after some great work by Kamari Doyle) flat-footedly turning Charlie Savage’s cross into his own net. Nor did the Wigan defender cover himself in glory for the third goal, Ehibhatiomhan’s second, but then neither did his team-mates. For an encore, Aimson obstructed Reading’s goalkeeper from an offside position so Caylan Vickers’ strike was disallowed.

What a day. Daniel Kyerewaa, care to rub it in?

Wycombe beat Port Vale 4-0, although Mike Duff wasn’t especially happy with their performance. Vale did hit the post at 1-0, after Cauley Woodrow had punished a defensive mix-up to score in his 400th career appearance, and there was a hint of fortune in three of Wycombe’s goals taking deflections and the other, from Fred Onyedinma, possibly being offside. No need to be churlish, though: they fully deserved three points and now have the joint-best goal difference outside the top two, which could prove useful…

League Two

Matt Watts

The greatest fourth tier in the world returned to its unpredictable best. Only four top-half teams won while three of the bottom four claimed maximum points.

In terms of unpredictability, very little can trump the 24th-placed team beating the league leaders to end their 21-match unbeaten run. But that’s exactly what happened as Barrow came from behind to beat Bromley 2-1.

A stunning Ashley Charles free-kick put the Ravens in front, but second-half strikes from Josh Gordon and Danny Rose gave Sam Foley’s side a deserved victory. After their 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Grimsby last weekend, this was a statement win for Barrow, whose last four wins have each come under four different managers.

Bromley’s slip-up wasn’t capitalised upon by MK Dons, who followed a 3-1 defeat at home to Barnet with a 1-0 defeat at Salford. Matt Butcher’s rising strike in the 66th minute proved to be the difference. Of course, this victory will have been extra sweet for Karl Robinson, who managed MK for over six years, but it was also the Ammies’ fifth win in six and it moves them to within three points of the automatic promotion places. To make matters worse for MK, Luke Offord picked up a red card for kicking the ball into Fabio Borini’s midriff.

If you thought that Bromley’s and MK Dons’ slip-ups would be capitalised upon by Cambridge, then you would be mistaken.

The U’s nine-match unbeaten run came to an end as they lost 1-0 to play-off chasers Barnet. It’s two in two now for centre-back Danny Collinge, who finished like a seasoned striker. After wins against MK and Cambridge, Barnet are only three points off the play-off pace, but there is a fair amount of traffic between them and the top seven. Cambridge will hope to bounce back on Good Friday when they face Swindon, who drew 1-1 with Fleetwood.

All of that meant Notts County won the weekend by beating Harrogate 2-0 in the early kick-off. A brace from Alassana Jatta and a clean sheet for James Belshaw on his return to North Yorkshire was the perfect response for Notts, after their humbling at Oldham during the week. This was a damaging defeat for Harrogate, who returned to the bottom of the pyramid following Barrow’s victory over Bromley.

With neither Grimsby nor Chesterfield in action, the victor of Crewe v Oldham knew they would end the day in 7th. It was a ding-dong battle at the Mornflake… and the home side came out on top. Kane Drummond gave Oldham the lead, before Reece Hutchinson’s pile-driver on the run levelled it up four minutes later, and with stoppage time ticking away, Matúš Holíček’s fizzing half-volley made it 2-1 Crewe. Cue pandemonium, in the stands and on the pitch. Oldham’s five-match winning run (and 10-match unbeaten run) is over, but they’re still only two points behind Crewe with a game in hand.

At the bottom, it was a bad day for Harrogate – and Tranmere – as Barrow, Newport and Crawley all won. A bit of magic from Bobby Kamwa lit up a game otherwise bereft of quality as Newport beat Shrewsbury 1-0. The 26-year-old cut inside onto his right foot and curled a dipping effort past the helpless Matthew Cox. Kamwa has shown in the past that he is more than capable of producing moments like this – he just doesn’t do it very often.

Finally, Crawley ended their 10-match winless run by beating Gillingham 2-0. It was a game that neither side really deserved to win, until the 91st minute when Crawley substitute Taylor Richards made half a yard for himself and found the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Tobi Adeyemo added the second a couple of minutes later to seal the points for the Red Devils.

Colin Kazim-Richards may have seemed a leftfield pick to replace Scott Lindsey, but after one game in management, his win percentage is approximately 28% better than that of Pep Guardiola.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Reading goalkeeper Joel Pereira brings out the Zidane roulette.

2. Reece Hutchinson fires a laser-guided missile for Crewe…

3. …before Matúš Holíček generates some generational last-gasp limbs.

4. Matt Butcher goes full Pat Butcher: “What a slapper!”

5. Lights, Kamwa, Action! Bobby K wins it with a stunner for Newport

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

📈 Royal Record — Only Lincoln City (40) and Plymouth Argyle (33) have earned more League One points in 2026 than Reading (32).

🔄 Barrow bounce — Barrow ended an eight-game winless run, coming from behind to secure just their second win in 16 league games in 2026.

🔥 Gas fired up — Bristol Rovers have won five of their last six league games, as many as in their previous 26 combined.

⚽ Jatta surge puts him among giants — Alassana Jatta has scored 34 league goals across the last two seasons for Notts County; only Erling Haaland (44) and Michael Cheek (41) have more in the top four tiers.

🛣️ County cruising — Notts County are now unbeaten in their last eight Saturday away games (W7 D1), conceding just four goals.

🏠 Salford streaking — Salford have won four consecutive home league games, their best home run since 2024, while their 22 wins equal their best-ever EFL season tally.

📉 Exeter slump — Exeter City are winless in 14 league games (D7 L7), one of the longest runs in their Football League history.

🌊 Woodrow wave — Cauley Woodrow has 8 goal involvements since the start of February (5G 3A) for Wycombe Wanderers.

⬆️ Wootton you just know it — Kyle Wootton has 19 league goals for Stockport County this season, equalling his previous two campaigns combined.

League One

Blackpool 1-0 Burton Albion
Exeter 0-0 Leyton Orient
Reading 3-0 Wigan
Stockport 3-0 AFC Wimbledon
Wycombe 4-0 Port Vale

League Two

Barnet 1-0 Cambridge
Barrow 2-1 Bromley
Bristol Rovers 2-0 Accrington
Colchester 1-1 Walsall
Crawley 2-0 Gillingham
Crewe 2-1 Oldham
Harrogate 0-2 Notts County
Newport 1-0 Shrewsbury
Salford 1-0 MK Dons
Swindon 1-1 Fleetwood

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Championship

Huw Davies

The ribbons on the Championship trophy are sky blue. With seven matches left, Coventry City sit nine points ahead of Middlesbrough and 11 points ahead of Millwall and Ipswich, whose game in hand can do only so much.

Frank Lampard’s side extended their lead by winning in Swansea courtesy of a nightmare 10 minutes or so for the hosts, in which the match swung back and forth like a pendulum and every time it came Swansea’s way, it hit them in the balls. Brandon Thomas-Asante converted a penalty at one end and Gonçalo Franco… headed a great chance just wide. Matt Grimes scored against the club where he’d made 300-plus appearances and Melker Widell… hit the post. Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s deflected effort quickly made it 3-0 to end the contest before half-time.

Cov kicked off knowing their three pursuers had all drawn. Ipswich and Millwall shared an entertaining 1-1, Ipswich winning the first half (Anthony Patterson making a tremendous save before letting Jack Clarke’s daisycutter skid past him) and Millwall the second (Camiel Neghli neatly setting up Josh Coburn before Mihailo Ivanovic’s shot hit the crossbar and bounced out off the goalkeeper). Middlesbrough dropped points in a winnable game for a third time running by drawing 0-0 at Ewood Park.

That was a big point for Blackburn, who unexpectedly got the jump on a few relegation rivals. Although Leicester earned a point and West Bromwich Albion three, the latter beating a toothless Bristol City 1-0 at Ashton Gate, Oxford lost and Portsmouth really lost.

QPR had six touches in the box against Portsmouth and took eight shots in total. Chronologically, they went:

1. GOAL

2. GOAL

3. GOAL

4. GOAL

5. SAVED

6. BLOCKED

7. SAVED

8. GOAL

9. GOAL

Clinical, that. Paul Smyth, Rayan Kolli and Richard Koné scored a brace apiece in the 6-1 rout. Just how sweetly does Kolli strike a ball, by the way? His right foot is a combination of paintbrush and sniper rifle.

In the play-off race, Wrexham faced a barrage of Sheffield United shots at Bramall Lane and went behind when Andre Brooks smartly followed up a rebound. However, Josh Windass equalised with his sixth shot – his team’s seventh – and Sam Smith, feeling left out, snatched a winner with a diving header straight out of the 1990s. Wrexham’s 2-1 victory keeps them level on points with sixth place, occupied by…

Southampton, who beat the aforementioned Oxford 2-0 with two superb goals – one, great team play, and the other all Shea Charles. The Northern Ireland international was so far out, and started his shot so far outside the post, that Oxford keeper Jamie Cumming took about 18 steps just trying to get across to it. Unstoppable. Another slick Saints move ended with Tom Fellows hitting the underside of the bar, while Will Lankshear missed an excellent Yellows chance that could’ve made things interesting.

Finally, Sass of the Day goes to John Eustace, who you may remember was fired by Birmingham City in October 2023 when they hired Wayne Rooney to deliver “no-fear football” and, as it turned out, relegation to League One. Smash cut to March 2026 and Eustace’s Derby have beaten an unusually cowed and cautious Birmingham side under Chris Davies, prompting Eustace to reflect: “We played no-fear football today.”

Touché/Touchy.

League One

Sam Parry

Only one team in the top seven tasted victory and there were no alarms and no surprises as the Imps rolled over Lee Clark’s Rotherham. Some surprise and much surprise respectively as Blackpool nabbed a point from Cardiff and Port Vale beat Bolton.

It was a funny ‘relegation-battlers-versus-top-four’ weekend in League One, and Burton Albion deserve a mention. The Brewers didn’t just cling onto their early lead against Bradford; they were arguably the better side. Tyrese Shade’s tidy finish made it 2-0 on 58 minutes and the Bantams struggled to conjure anything meaningful – just two shots inside the box after that, including a consolation goal coming in stoppage time, tells its own story. It’s huge for Burton’s survival hopes.

But let’s take a look at the chasing pack and two big fixtures.

After a first half of few chances, Stevenage took over against Reading: 11 shots to zero in the second period and a deserved winner from substitute Dan Kemp. Alex Revell’s side jump back into the top six, taking the spot vacated by the Royals. That’s six wins from their last ten now – only two teams have more points in that time.

One of them is Plymouth Argyle, with 22 points from a possible 30. No team in the EFL is timing a play-off run better right now. Their opponents, Huddersfield, never looked sure-footed in this one, even after taking the lead through a neat Cameron Humphreys goal.

Lee Nicholls had kept Terriers ahead before going off with a head injury. Jak Alnwick came on and made two strong saves, but could do little about the equaliser early in the second half. Less so about what followed, as Bim Pepple’s penalty put Argyle ahead. Unfortunately, Alnwick won’t want to see the third again, as he palmed the ball straight into the path of Owen Oseni for 3-1.

As Argyle and Huddersfield swapped places, it told a broader story: one side in form despite a long injury list and a long journey from the relegation places, while the other are still searching for any real identity.

Down at the bottom, then…

Mansfield’s win over Northampton was not a huge surprise, but the margin (4-1) was huge. The Cobblers usually keep things tight, but this was their second heavy defeat in ten games, with just one win in that run. Now seven points from safety, the task looks too big for interim Colin Calderwood.

One man who has seized a big challenge is Richie Wellens. His Leyton Orient side’s 2-0 win over Wycombe came with a helping hand from a red card just ten minutes in. O’s capitalised nine minutes later and sealed the deal with a lovely Idris El Mizouni strike in added time in the second half. Four wins in a row, now. These little bursts of form are often what decide survival – suddenly Orient look okay.

And finally, Wigan 2-0 Exeter: huge for both and another example of trading places. Gary Caldwell might’ve been in the away dugout had things worked out differently. For his replacement at Exeter, Matt Taylor, this was a really tough watch in the first half as his side managed a single shot. After going 1-0 up, the Latics almost doubled their lead when 18-year-old Harrison Bettoni clipped the bar with a lob from distance.

In the second half, while still looking open at the back, Exeter made a better fist of things and forced saves from Sam Tickle in the Wigan goal. On another day, one of those might have gone in. But on this day, Wigan doubled their lead directly from a corner thanks to Fraser Murray.

It is looking bleak for Exeter now. Still, although no side has picked up fewer points – just four – over the last ten games, they do sit outside the drop zone and have their destiny in their own hands.

League Two

Matt Watts

“The Championship - the most unpredictable league in the world!”

Like Alan Davies on QI, it’s an obvious assumption to make, but it’s also incorrect. Only true EFL ultras know that League Two is, in fact, the most unpredictable league in the world. This weekend, however, was an exception to the rule with ten of the top half teams all winning.

Quite predictably, the only defeats for top-half teams came at the hands of other top-half teams. Barnet came from behind to beat MK Dons 3-1 in one of the day’s early kick-offs. The early-afternoon sun did for Ciaran Slicker, allowing Jon Mellish to tap in and give MK the lead, but a Danny Collinge header and second-half strikes from Kabongo Tshimanga and Idris Kanu saw Dean Brennan’s play-off chasers end a three-game winless run.

MK’s first defeat since New Year’s Day presented Bromley with the opportunity to extend their lead at the top to five points – one they duly took. Nicke Kabamba swivelled and rifled in from close range to give them a 1-0 victory over Colchester. This was an eventful one-niller with multiple rattles of the woodwork and 25 shots in the second half alone. Bromley have now won their last three games 1-0, they’ve set a new club record for league games unbeaten this season (21), and they still haven’t lost a home league game this season.

Salford were the only other top half side to lose. Like MK, their four-match winning run came to an abrupt halt on Saturday as they lost 1-0 to fellow promotion chasers Cambridge. James Gibbons’ second-half header proved to be the difference between the two sides, who are now separated by five points – and, crucially, Cambridge have a game in hand.

Notts County also have a game in hand over the rest of the top six. The Magpies made it nine goals scored in five days by putting five past Cheltenham at Meadow Lane. The pick of the goals were scored by Notts’ centre-mids: 31-year-old Matty Palmer (his first for three years) and 20-year-old Tom Iorpenda, who scored a phenomenal solo effort in the second half.

Swindon remain three points behind Cambridge and a point behind Notts after they left it late to beat struggling Tranmere 1-0 at Prenton Park. After some excellent work from Michael Olakigbe, the veteran Junior Hoilett finished from close range to score his first goal for the Robins and earn Ian Holloway’s side three vital points.

In terms of the race for the play-offs, the big winners (amongst all of the other winners) were Grimsby, who beat bottom club Barrow 5-0 to a) retain 7th spot and b) give their goal difference a real boost. The Mariners are level on points with Chesterfield, who beat Accrington 1-0, but Dave Artell’s side have a game in hand over the Spireites and the aforementioned superior goal difference.

Crewe got back to winning ways with a 4-0 victory at Shrewsbury, who have now lost three in a row after an excellent start to life under Gavin Cowan. Oldham beat Harrogate 1-0 to make it 22 points from the last 24 available. It’s yet another shutout for the Latics, who have kept seven clean sheets in their last eight games and 17 in the league this season – the most in the EFL.

Finally, Walsall recorded their first home win since Boxing Day, coming from behind to beat Newport 2-1. Alex Pattison’s low 97th-minute effort from the edge of the box was a dagger to the heart of Newport, but both the goal and the jubilant scenes that followed have the potential to be season-defining for the Saddlers.

Oh, and because one of the only two games we didn’t mention (Fleetwood 1-0 Crawley, Gillingham 1-2 Bristol Rovers) felt hard done by, Crawley Town took it upon themselves to sack Scott Lindsey with a CLUB STATMENT [sic] after the pubs shut on Sunday. That defeat to Fleetwood came on the one-year anniversary of his re-appointment by Crawley; a day later, he was gone, after they’d brought in three more of his 2023/24 promotion-winning players in January. Indecision, or pure panic? You decide.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Take a peek at this sneaky Ollie Norwood freekick.

2. Shea Charles gives it the treatment for Saints.

3. Like a homing device, Alex Pattison leaves it late for Saddlers.

4. It’s a thing of beauty from Tom Iorpenda for Notts County.

5. And the ever-fashionable Paul Smyth ties it up for QPR (plus a Dickie Koné bonus)

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

🚫 Better the devil you don’t know? — Crawley Town have failed to score in six straight away Football League games for the first time.

📉 Bantams’ away blues — Bradford have lost nine of their last 11 away games; only Sheffield Wednesday have more away defeats in 2026.

⚓ Mariners moored — Grimsby Town are unbeaten in 10 home league games (W6 D4), their best run since 2006.

🧱 Latics locked in — Oldham Athletic have won four straight home league games without conceding, their best such run since 2016.

💥 Q P R U Serious? — Queens Park Rangers scored six in a league game for the first time since 2020 – more than in their previous five home matches combined.

🛡️ By Eckert — Southampton are unbeaten in 12 Championship games (W9 D3), their longest such run since 2023/24 under Russell Martin.

🏠 Rams rolling — Derby have won four straight home league games, as many as in their previous 19 combined.

🔄 Vale-iant effort — Port Vale secured their first home league win since New Year’s Day, and their first clean-sheet home win since April 2025.

SkyBet Championship

Blackburn 0-0 Middlesbrough
Bristol City 0-1 West Brom
Charlton 0-1 Norwich
Derby 1-0 Birmingham
Hull 3-1 Sheff Wed
Ipswich 1-1 Millwall
Preston 3-1 Stoke
QPR 6-1 Portsmouth
Sheff Utd 1-2 Wrexham
Southampton 2-0 Oxford
Swansea 0-3 Coventry
Watford 0-0 Leicester

Sky Bet League One

AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Peterborough
Barnsley 0-1 Doncaster
Burton Albion 2-1 Bradford
Cardiff 0-0 Blackpool
Leyton Orient 2-0 Wycombe
Lincoln City 3-0 Rotherham
Luton 1-1 Stockport
Mansfield 4-1 Northampton
Plymouth 3-1 Huddersfield
Port Vale 1-0 Bolton
Stevenage 1-0 Reading
Wigan 2-0 Exeter

Sky Bet League Two

Accrington 0-1 Chesterfield
Bromley 1-0 Colchester
Cambridge 1-0 Salford
Fleetwood 1-0 Crawley
Gillingham 1-2 Bristol Rovers
Grimsby 5-0 Barrow
MK Dons 1-3 Barnet
Notts County 5-2 Cheltenham
Oldham 1-0 Harrogate
Shrewsbury 0-4 Crewe
Tranmere 0-1 Swindon
Walsall 2-1 Newport

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Championship

Matt Watts

At this stage of the season it is hard to write something that has not already been written, but I will give it a go. A promotion chaser won the weekend by beating lowly Sheffield Wednesday. Ivan Azon’s deft finish and Jack Clarke’s penalty gave Ipswich a 2-0 win at Hillsborough. Results elsewhere saw Kieran McKenna’s side climb to third and move within two points of Middlesbrough, with a game in hand.

Boro were on course for a much-needed 1-0 win over Bristol City, but Adam Randell’s stunning 95th-minute header means it is now four home games without a win for Kim Hellberg’s men. Middlesbrough had 53 shots in their home games against Charlton and Bristol City this week but scored only once and picked up just one point.

Boro dropping points opened the door for Millwall, but they failed to walk through it. Luke Cundle’s acrobatic opener set the Lions on course for their seventh win in eight games, but Zak Sturge’s controversial red card proved to be the turning point. Was he the last man? Was he denying a clear goalscoring opportunity? The referee thought so. The Lions also felt hard done by when Femi Azeez wasn’t awarded a penalty after a coming together with Eiran Cashin. Minutes later, Mathias Jorgensen levelled for Blackburn, before scoring the winner with five minutes of normal time remaining. Rovers move three points clear of the drop.

Even the leaders slipped up this weekend as Coventry fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Southampton. The Sky Blues, who had racked up six wins in a row heading into this one, conceded a couple of poor goals and ran into an inspired Daniel Peretz in the Saints goal. Despite suffering only their second home defeat of the season, Coventry are still seven points clear of Middlesbrough with eight games to go. As for Tonda Eckert’s Saints, they are unbeaten in 12 games in all competitions, winning nine of them, and remain three points behind Wrexham.

At the other end of the table, West Brom moved out of the bottom three after beating promotion chasers Hull 3-0 at The Hawthorns. Charlie Hughes’ 36th-minute red card helped West Brom’s cause, but James Morrison’s side were already 1-0 up and were good value for the win, with loanee Danny Imray putting in a standout performance. It has taken the Baggies two and a half months to pick up their first win of 2026. On this evidence, the next one should not be too far away.

Oxford’s three-match winning run came to an end as Cameron Brannagan’s 57th-minute penalty was cancelled out by Charlie Kelman’s 93rd-minute spot kick for Charlton. The pressure of a relegation battle does funny things to people. Would Ciaron Brown have grabbed Miles Leaburn’s shirt if Oxford were nine points clear of the bottom three, as Charlton are? Probably not.

Just beneath Oxford you will find Leicester, who capitulated at home to QPR. Jordan James’ long-range effort had given the Foxes the lead before goals from Harvey Vale, a Ben Nelson own goal and Ronnie Edwards turned the game on its head. Prior to Vale’s equaliser, Rangers had gone almost seven hours without scoring. Julien Stéphan’s side also ended a run of four consecutive defeats in which they had conceded 12 goals.

Away from the really important storylines, the Championship always throws up some lighter moments and this weekend was no different. Fans watching the Wrexham v Swansea game on Friday night had the option to listen to commentary from Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Yes, really. On Saturday, Birmingham gave away one of the most bizarre penalties you will ever see in their 1-1 draw with Sheffield United. Former Blades defender Jack Robinson took it upon himself to award Birmingham a goal kick, inexplicably putting his hand on the ball. Finally, in-form Norwich beat out-of-form Preston 2-0 at Carrow Road. It would have been unthinkable on 5 January, but the Canaries have reached 50 points before North End.

League One

Ali Maxwell

The League One weekend chucked up key winners at the top, near the bottom and in the play-off picture.

Lincoln City became the first League One team to win six games in a row this season, pulling clear of Stockport County to win 3-1 after a short period in which it seemed their streak was under threat.

Lincoln’s performance level was composed and clinical rather than spectacular, as it has been so often in recent weeks and months. Stockport equalised with 25 minutes to go, and for 10 minutes County had the edge, the energy, the chances, without success. Not for long. A deflected Tendayi Darikwa shot put Michael Skubala’s side back ahead, and Alfie Lloyd turned a long George Wickens kick into an assist by dominating Brad Hills to score.

After this win, it was time to check the league table and then the fixture list, to try and predict when Lincoln’s remarkable promotion may be rubber-stamped. They’re 15 points clear of 3rd with 9 games to go. Their home match on Good Friday against AFC Wimbledon – their 41st of game the season – is blinking on our radar.

Cardiff City will be joining them in the Championship, and ended their brief hangover by wiping the floor with Exeter City, overwhelming them with wide combination play. Rubin Colwill scored twice in the first half with assists from wingers Ollie Tanner and Cian Ashford, then Alex Robertson’s goal was exhibition stuff, involving backheels and improbable curl on his shot from range. It was 4-0 in the end, for an 11-point lead over Bolton.

Those two sides are top of the table on merit. They are the only two teams to have truly cracked it this season in League One. Their lack of serious competition was underlined by the fact that only two other teams in the top half won. Bolton fought back from 0-2 down at Rotherham to draw 2-2. Rotherham’s defence more or less gave up in the final minutes, and a second straight 3-2 injury-time win from 0-2 down felt inevitable… except that Bolton’s attackers forgot how to finish.

Bradford could have gone third, but lost 0-2 at Wigan – their seventh away defeat of 2026 already. Huddersfield huffed and puffed in a 0-0 at Port Vale, while play-off chasers Reading and Plymouth shared the points in a 2-2 draw that oscillated nicely for the neutral: Reading led twice, through Randell Williams and Paudie O’Connor, but Argyle responded each time, with goals from Alex Mitchell and Caleb Watts.

Which means that the biggest winners of the play-off battle were Stevenage.

Their 1-0 win at home to Wimbledon came courtesy of a first-half Jamie Reid penalty. If the details of the game contain little of note, the significance of the result contains plenty. Alex Revell’s side jump from 8th to 5th and have a game in hand over all competitors except Stockport, who dropped out of the top six for the first time since autumn.

Wycombe could have been in there with them, had they beaten Luton. Surely they would – ‘Four Straight Home Wins’ vs ‘No Away Wins In 10’? Chalk that down for a home win. But God had other plans. Or, more specifically, Hakeem Odoffin starred in the heart of Luton’s back line, and Kal Naismith and Kasey Palmer both scored close range headers from corners.

There are play-off places are up for grabs. Who wants ‘em?!

At the bottom, we know already about Rotherham’s point against Bolton. It’s one they would have taken pre-match, but still ended up feeling somewhat traumatic.

Wigan were among the big winners, righting the wrongs of a midweek defeat at home to Argyle to beat Bradford 2-0. Caylan Vickers looked bright, making his first league start for Wigan, and grabbed a first-half goal. With 15 minutes to go, Joe Taylor scored a vintage Joe Taylor goal, speeding in behind and finishing smartly. The Latics have beaten three top half teams in six games under Gary Caldwell.

What a week for Leyton Orient, winning back-to-back games for the first time this season with a 2-1 win at home to Peterborough. Equally rare is an Orient win without a Dom Ballard goal to help secure it: this was the first time that’s happened since November, as Jack Simpson and Tyreeq Bakinson did the honours.

Kevin Nolan may be out at Northampton Town, but it was the same old statuesque defending and poor finishing on display in their 0-2 defeat at home to Burton. With the hardest run-in by far among relegation battlers, this was a huge chance to take points off a side above them, but a limp home defeat sums things up. Burton’s strong record against the current bottom four is the reason for their five-point cushion.

Two points separated Doncaster and Blackpool at the start of the day. By 5pm, it was five points. Donny may have been winless in three, but having watched Blackpool in midweek, it was clear that they were lacking style, substance, ideas, confidence and discipline – all on show here in a 1-2 defeat that also saw Fraser Horsfall sent off. They’re odds-on for relegation now, and are three points from safety.

League Two

Huw Davies

The top three in League Two all won, with varying degrees of ease. At one end of the scale: Bromley needing some odd goalkeeping and a daft red card to beat Bristol Rovers 1-0 (though they did spurn golden opportunities to score more). At the other: Cambridge United.

The U’s demolished Gillingham 5-0 without conceding a shot on target. The hosts’ fifth goal (see 5iveLights, #3) showed their confidence but Gills’ defending as early in the second minute, for 1-0, must have had visiting fans checking their watches – not to see how much time had been played but how long was left. True enough, what followed was attack v defence, intent v discontent, Cambridge excellent, Gills execrable. Table-toppers after nine games, they’re 17th after 36 and have just shipped 10 goals in a week. Summer can’t come soon enough.

MK Dons won 2-1 at Swindon to stay in 2nd. Alex Gilbey, deflected; Ollie Clarke corrected; scrambled MK winner confected; Swindon dejected. Their automatic promotion challenge is becoming a challenge to stay in the top seven. Still, they received a boost from 8th-placed Grimsby losing 1-0 at Oldham. Each side had a single shot on target but Oldham scored theirs, substitute Oli Hammond setting up substitute Josh Hawkes for a well-executed breakaway. They’re in this play-off hunt.

Chesterfield replaced Grimsby in the top seven by winning a ding-dong battle 3-2 against Notts County. The first half alone featured an own goal, three regular goals, five yellow cards and a hilarious sending-off.

Inside 20 minutes, with Notts 1-0 down, Ollie Norburn dislodged Armando Dobra’s boot in a tackle and lobbed it really quite far away (knocking a pitchside multiball off its cone, which is a neat trick). It’s a silly thing to do on a booking, for sure, but experience requires precedence and who ever got sent off for throwing a shoe? Notts did well to recover to 2-2 before the break, but they didn’t have a shot after the 52nd minute and the pressure told as Liam Mandeville leapt to nod in Sammy Braybrooke’s chipped pass.

Just outside the play-off places, Walsall got back on the saddle without Mat Sadler and drew level with Crewe by beating them 3-0 at Gresty Road. Albert Adomah scoring two goals 87 minutes apart is impressive at 38, but the skill outshone the stamina – a handsome flick for the first and sexy dink for the second, with an outside-of-the-boot assist in between. Phwoar, Unc.

Further down, Newport are up to 20th, the highest they’ve been since 6th September dawned. They beat Barnet 2-1 and, even more impressively, came from behind to win away.

Barnet scored a Sunday League goal against hungover defending, but whether it was with a tactical tweak or a tactical chunder, half-time revitalised County. Ben Lloyd had one of his five shots cleared off the line. Jordan Wright brilliantly saved a close-range header. Bobby Kamwa turned in Cameron Evans’ superb assist – yet Newport wanted more. Lee Jenkins, six yards out, got his feet in a tangle; Lloyd, 18 yards out, hit the bar. Chances, chances, chances. At last, Harrison Biggins found Tanatswa Nyakuhwa, who found fellow sub James Crole, who found three vital points hidden in the back of the net.

What a difference it makes. Barrow fell into the relegation zone thanks to this result and their 0-0 home draw with Accrington. They joined Harrogate, who held out for 85 minutes before losing 1-0 to promotion-chasing Salford. Crawley’s goalless draw at Colchester didn’t do a lot of good for either side.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Imply Red: the injury-time goal that made it two – and promotion a formality – arrived to a roar that said everything.

2. Not far behind: Cardiff keep up the pace, and are we sure this ain’t Brazil?

3. A good old hoot with the outside of the boot: Shayne Lavery for Cambridge.

4. Free-kick o’clock: Who did it better? Kenny McLean for Norwich… or Marvin Ducksch for Birmingham?

5. A little wonder from Irankunda.

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

📊 Boro frustration — Middlesbrough have produced 53 shots and 4.8 xG across their last two games, yet scored just once and collected one point.

📉 Foxes famine — Leicester’s open-play xG across their last five games reads 0.41, 0.27, 0.13, 0.40 and 0.31 — 1.5 in total, underlining their recent attacking struggles.

🎯 Gilbey guarantee — Alex Gilbey scored his 10th league goal of the season for MK Dons and is now the only player to reach 10+ goals in each of the last three League Two campaigns.

🌟 Adomah evergreen — At 38y 91d, Albert Adomah became the oldest non-British/Irish player to record 3+ goal involvements in an EFL match since at least 2013/14.

🔥 Imp-ervious — Lincoln have won six consecutive league games, their longest winning run above the fourth tier since August 1958.

🏟️ Lampard pattern — Coventry City’s four home defeats under Frank Lampard have all come against sides either promoted to the Premier League last season or relegated from it (Leeds, Burnley, Ipswich and Southampton).

🐤 No clemency for Norwich opponents — No side has won more Championship matches than Norwich City (13) since Philippe Clement took charge in November.

🤏 Beg, steal and Boro — Stevenage have won 16 league games in 2025/26, and 13 were by a single goal; the others were 2-0 (vs Northampton in August), 2-0 (vs Luton in October) and 3-1 (vs Stockport in December). Tight.

🍺 Rovers’ Returns at the Den — In all league away games since the start of the 2020/21 season, Blackburn have won from behind on three occasions – and all three times were against Millwall (May 2023, October 2023, March 2026).

📬 Didzy still delivering — David McGoldrick has 14 League One goals this season; only Dean Windass (16) and Adebayo Akinfenwa (15) have scored more aged 37+ since 2004-05.

SkyBet Championship

Birmingham 1-1 Sheffield United
Coventry 1-2 Southampton
Leicester 1-3 QPR
Middlesbrough 1-1 Bristol City
Millwall 1-2 Blackburn
Norwich 2-0 Preston
Oxford 1-1 Charlton
Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Ipswich
Stoke 3-1 Watford
West Brom 3-0 Hull
Wrexham 2-0 Swansea

Sky Bet League One

Doncaster 2-1 Blackpool
Exeter 0-4 Cardiff
Leyton Orient 2-1 Peterborough
Lincoln 3-1 Stockport
Mansfield 2-2 Barnsley
Northampton 0-2 Burton Albion
Port Vale 0-0 Huddersfield
Reading 2-2 Plymouth Argyle
Rotherham 2-2 Bolton
Stevenage 1-0 AFC Wimbledon
Wigan 2-0 Bradford
Wycombe 1-2 Luton

Sky Bet League Two

Barnet 1-2 Newport
Barrow 0-0 Accrington
Bromley 1-0 Bristol Rovers
Cambridge 5-0 Gillingham
Colchester 0-0 Crawley
Crewe 0-3 Walsall
Fleetwood 0-0 Tranmere
Harrogate 0-1 Salford
Notts County 2-3 Chesterfield
Oldham 1-0 Grimsby
Shrewsbury 0-2 Cheltenham
Swindon 1-2 MK Dons

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FA Cup

Ali Maxwell

One quarter of the FA Cup’s quarter-finalists come from the EFL — and we absolutely love it. Port Vale and Southampton are one win from a Wembley semi-final.

Mansfield walked so Vale could run. The Stags hosted Premier League and Champions League favourites Arsenal and gave it a right go, losing 1-2. Mikel Arteta’s side are one of the most impressive defensive sides this century, and in their 46 games this season, only one team has taken more shots against them than Mansfield’s 18 efforts. That was Manchester United on the first day of the season, but United didn’t score — Mansfield did. Will Evans equalising, and shushing the Arsenal fans, will live long in the memory. Ebere Eze scored the winner, showing no respect for his EFL heritage.

Evans’ goal and celebration were trumped tenfold by Port Vale and Ben Waine on Sunday. League One’s bottom side have only won six league games this season, but their 1-0 win over Sunderland was their fifth in the FA Cup and their fourth 1-0 cup victory in a row. Kiwi striker Waine, hardly prolific across three years in English football, has scored the winner in three of those wins. Even better, he’s a huge Newcastle United fan, and celebrated his goal against their bitter rivals in the best possible manner: SHEARERRRRRRRRRR!

Vale’s defending in the last twenty minutes deserves plenty of credit, and the celebrations of the fans was truly joyous. With already four league games in hand in League One, and the quarter finals slated for the middle of the EFL’s Easter Weekend double header, the schedule will be brutal for Jon Brady’s bunch, but he’s certainly made some impact.

Southampton won against Fulham at Craven Cottage thanks to an injury-time Ross Stewart penalty and some excellent Daniel Peretz saves. Wrexham hosted a breathless tie against Chelsea, leading twice and almost taking a second Premier League scalp, but ultimately falling the wrong side of some bare margins. Norwich were beaten comfortably at Leeds, but it’s all eyes on the draw tonight — we pray for a sixth straight Port Vale home tie!

Championship

Sam Parry

We are in that liminal space now between the business end and what comes before. The permutations are starting to really matter. The most significant movers this weekend were Oxford and Millwall.

Let’s begin with a safari. Millwall were second best against Hull and still pulled off the sort of smash-and-grab the Tigers have inflicted on others this season. Being second best is rarely a formula for success. See if Alex Neil cares.

Hull struck the woodwork early and carried the greater threat, but Millwall made the first breakthrough when Jake Cooper finished from close range after a set piece was nodded back across goal. Joe Gelhardt equalised soon after and Hull continued to create chances without going ahead.

The pattern continued after the break: Hull pushing, Millwall clinical. Femi Azeez produced a wonderful pass across the defence to set up Ivanovic, and four minutes later Josh Coburn made it 3–1 from the edge of the box.

Hull’s inability to make their first-half pressure count cost them dearly. The numbers tell the story. Twenty shots inside the box to Millwall’s four. 3.08 xG to Millwall’s 1.38. One goal to Millwall’s three. That’s the rub.

T’other biggie happened on Friday night.

Oxford’s task was clear: beat Preston and they would climb out of the relegation zone, at least temporarily. Michal Helik shinned them ahead after ragdolling Lewis Gibson, before Milutin Osmajić equalised with a header from Ben Whiteman’s exquisite delivery.

Oxford kept posing a threat in transition and regained the lead when Will Lankshear turned in Stanley Mills’ effort. Ciaron Brown then bundled home from a long throw to seal the win and spark very different reactions at either end.

The victory briefly lifted Oxford out of the bottom three. They are back in it now, but only just, thanks to a pair of Saturday stalemates.

At Bramall Lane, West Brom and Sheffield United shared the spoils in a largely forgettable draw — George Campbell scoring both a poor own goal and a superb long-range equaliser.

Ipswich also had to settle for a point at Portman Road. They deserved their equaliser against Leicester and might have won it, but a sluggish first half against a bottom-three side proved costly. Leicester defended stubbornly and have now taken valuable away points at Middlesbrough and Ipswich in successive trips.

Elsewhere near the bottom, Portsmouth thought they had secured a late win at Blackburn that would have moved them seven points clear of danger, only for Hayden Carter to equalise deep in stoppage time. Swansea made it eight wins and two draws in their last 10 home games with a 2-0 home win against Stoke — Liam Cullen’s 50-yard strike the latest great moment for a Swansea side reborn under Vitor Matos. Charlton’s 1-0 win over Birmingham was less surprising than it sounds given the Blues’ poor away form, and it leaves Nathan Jones’ side nine points clear of the drop.

Back at the top everything went Coventry’s way.

Bristol City were architects of their own problems as Coventry stretched their gap to third to nine points. The visitors gifted Coventry their first two goals, and although Joel Latibeaudiere’s red card offered Bristol City a route back, Adam Randell’s second yellow early in the second half effectively ended the contest. Even at ten versus ten, the Robins never looked likely to recover. They are now seven points off sixth.

The final game of the Championship weekend came on Sunday at Loftus Road. In a strange way, 1-0 at half-time felt more dominant than the second period as QPR were pulled apart by Middlesbrough. Of course it wasn’t more dominant. But the inevitability of the result felt oppressive.

From a QPR perspective the first goal was a touch unfortunate - handball-ish. The second, a header from Alan Browne, was a touch shoddy. Hayden Hackney’s pearler was typical. Tommy Conway’s penalty was simply that.

With 47 points on the board QPR should not be troubled by relegation, though sides in that position should show fearful respect to the memory of Preston North End in 24/25. As for Boro, Kim Hellberg’s side maintain a nice, plump four point cushion to third.

League One

Ali Maxwell & Huw Davies

With one point between them, League One’s runaway top two met in Cardiff. Two goals separated them, both scored by Lincoln.

From the first minute, Cardiff struggled to penetrate a defensive brick wall, while Lincoln’s attacking efficiency was evident. They had the game’s first six shots, before Cardiff ended the first half with a spell in which two good strikes from range were handled by George Wickens.

Early in the second half, a loose touch from Ollie Tanner allowed Lincoln the chance to get the ball back to front. Their front two, Ben House and Rob Street, dominated the Cardiff centre-backs with power, movement and understanding. Street scored.

Some 20 minutes later, without Cardiff having mustered a shot in response, Tanner gave the ball away again and, within 11 seconds, Dom Jefferies had scored on the break. Cardiff 0, Lincoln 2, setting up a period of joyous, cacophonous noise from the Imps fans. “Tottenham away, olé olé…”

It was a brilliant, potentially title-winning performance. Michael Skubala’s side were much clearer in their roles, their movements on and off the ball, and more confident at the sharp end. Eyebrows were raised when the ‘model’ we built to power our Pinstickers Guide to League One Promotion suggested that Lincoln would take the title, but remove the team names, and consider points won, goal difference, recent form and recent underlying performance data. In all of those aspects, Lincoln City are League One’s #1.

Brian Barry-Murphy’s have played with sexy, silky confidence for months, but Lincoln rendered them swaggerless, and not for the first time this season. Cardiff’s record against the current top six – W2 D2 L4 – is more or less their only ‘negative’ statistic in 2025/26, but may be cause for thought when making plans for the Championship.

BUT WAIT. Bolton haven’t given up on automatic promotion just yet. That still-faint hope was fully invisible at half-time against Wycombe, who led their hosts 2-0, but then Steven Schumacher introduced the most effective use of CBT outside of mental health treatment.

When Corey Blackett-Taylor came on, it was as if the pitch had been raised on its right-hand axis, tilting all play to Bolton’s left. The winger had already created several chances (and Caolan Boyd-Munce had already made a superb goal-line block) when Sam Dalby expertly laid off an Eoin Toal pass for Ruben Rodrigues to finish. 88’: 1-2. Then Blackett-Taylor got the better of Fred Onyedinma once again and his cross was headed in by Mason Burstow. 90’+1: 2-2. Job done, Corey, thanks for coming in. But boss, I’m up for some overtime. On 90’+6, Blackett-Taylor cut inside past Onyedinma, Josh Scowen slipped, and the pair watched in desolate horror as Bolton’s supersub bent in a stunning winner. Bedlam.

Reading’s comeback at Luton, winning 3-2 from 2-1 down with 10 minutes remaining, was almost as late, almost as dramatic, but just as significant a pendulum swing for each team’s promotion chances. While Bolton’s turnaround pushed Wycombe down from 5th to 9th, Reading just about stayed within a point of the play-off places.

Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan’s hat-trick doubled his 2025/26 goals tally and was entirely created by Luton players. First, Isaiah Jones cushioned a defensive header into his path. Then, after the Hatters had scored either side of half-time through Nigel Lonwijk and George Saville, the most unmarked man in recorded history, a pass from Joe Johnson was intercepted by Matt Ritchie, who delivered a lovely trivela for Big Kelvin to finish. Finally, Luton completed their implosion when Kai Naismith allowed Ritchie to rob him in the box, with Ehibhatiomhan on hand to win it.

Jack Wilshere’s side are now eight points off 6th. Their misery was compounded by victories for almost every playoff rival:

• Stevenage won a low-margin game 1-0 at Burton Albion through Jamie Reid’s arguably offside goal.

• Huddersfield beat Rotherham 1-0 despite a flaccid performance angering their supporters.

• Barnsley saw off Exeter, 2-1, thanks to David McGoldrick scoring and setting up Vimal Yoganthan’s fine header with a delectable cross on his wrong foot.

• Plymouth Argyle went behind to a Thor hammer from Doncaster’s Elliott Lee, and had a penalty saved, but rallied to win 2-1 with Bim Pepple scoring again.

• And Bradford beat Leyton Orient 2-1.

It was 1-1 in the last of those games when, in a remarkable 15 minutes, Bradford had four players booked, a fifth sent off, then scored. Antoni Sarcevic’s second goal of the day was a deserved winner, even with 10 men. Aden Baldwin protested his red card, but the optics were always against him.

League Two

Matt Watts

In the past, the Premier League has been described as the ‘league of late goals’ but, this weekend, that moniker belonged to League Two. EIGHT of the 12 games featured goals scored in the 90th minute or later.

With both Bromley and Cambridge dropping points away from home, the chasing pack had the opportunity to make up some ground. Swindon thought they had done just that when Billy Bodin put them 2-1 up at Crawley in the 91st minute, however, Kellan Gordon’s 98th-minute equaliser extended the Robins’ winless run to three games, whilst also putting a point between Crawley and the bottom two.

Notts County succeeded where Swindon could not thanks to Jodi Jones’ 94th-minute winner at Walsall. Have you ever seen Jones score a back-post header? No, me neither, but this one will live long in the memory of the travelling Notts fans. Martin Paterson’s side move up to 4th ahead of next Saturday’s grudge match at home to Chesterfield. With MK Dons beating Harrogate, there’s now only two points between 2nd and 5th in the fourth tier.

Unfortunately, it’s yet more woe for Mat Sadler and Walsall, who took the lead against Notts only to succumb to a 2-1 defeat. Since beating Crewe on Boxing Day, the Saddlers have won two of their last 15 games in all competitions - losing nine. They’ve also slipped from 1st to 11th in League Two.

There was drama in Chesterfield, but it went against the home side: Sam Stubbs’ 93rd-minute winner for Shrewsbury means that Gavin Cowan’s side have now taken 18 points from the last 21 available. Four of those wins have come against teams currently in the top eight and, despite their struggles for much of the season, a top half finish isn’t out of the question.

A late brace from one of the EFL’s forgotten men, Tommy Leigh, saw Bristol Rovers come from behind to beat play-off chasers Crewe 2-1 at the Mem. The Gas have now taken seven points from the last nine available and they’re seven points clear of the bottom two. One point above Bristol Rovers, you will find Tranmere. Zech Obiero’s fine injury-time strike was nothing more than a consolation for Rovers, who lost 3-1 at home to Oldham, managed by their old boss Mr Mellon. Painfully managerless themselves, Tranmere have now lost five in a row and 11 of their last 12 games, while Oldham have taken 13 points from the last 15 available. Talk about trending in different directions.

On Friday night, Barrow were on course for three vital points before Isaac Hutchinson’s 90th-minute equaliser for Cheltenham. Despite the late setback, Barrow are out of the bottom two after Newport’s 2-1 defeat at home to Colchester. Lee Jenkins’ 97th-minute header was too little too late for Christian Fuchs’ side who have followed all seven of their league victories this season with a defeat in their next league game. The old cricket adage “one brings two” categorically does not apply in Newport.

Finally, Shaun Rooney’s 91st-minute equaliser for Fleetwood at Gillingham is unlikely to have serious consequences for either side, but it does extend the Cod Army’s unbeaten run to six games and their unbeaten run against Gillingham to ten games.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Magic Mike with the lob for Oldham.

2. Butterflee - Elliot Lee lets loose.

3. If it at first you own goal then do this: George Campbell, THWACK.

4. “That belongs in a museum!” Indiana Jodi Jones, 2026.

5. The hipster unloads his holster: Hackney’s at it again.

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

📈 Imps on top — Lincoln City went top with victory over Cardiff City; their 74 points after 35 games is their best return at this stage since 1975–76, when they won the fourth division title.

🦁 Millwall march — Millwall have earned 30 Championship points since Boxing Day (W9 D3 L2), more than any other side.

🐏 Rams rising — Only Millwall and Norwich (both 8) have recorded more Championship wins in 2026 than Derby County (7), while the Rams have won three successive home league games for the first time since November.

🤦 Double trouble — George Campbell became the first West Bromwich Albion player to score both a goal and an own goal in a league match since Semi Ajayi in 2020, and the first Championship player overall since Rob Atkinson last season.

🟥 Seeing red — Only Birmingham City and Sheffield United (5 each) have received more Championship red cards this season than Stoke City (4); Sorba Thomas’ dismissal was his first since March 2024.

🔄 Bolt On Rewards — Bolton Wanderers won despite trailing by two goals until the 88th minute, the latest a team has been 2+ down and still won an EFL match since the 2004 rebrand.

🎩 Another David McGoldrick entry — At 38y 98d, David McGoldrick became the oldest player to both score and assist in a League One match since Adebayo Akinfenwa in January 2022.

🏠 Home Park humming — Plymouth Argyle have won four of their six home league games in 2026, already more than across all of 2025 at Home Park in League One.

📉 Probromley — Bromley have failed to win three of their last four games when leading (W1 D3); only Tranmere Rovers (20) have dropped more points from winning positions in League Two this season than Bromley (19).

🔥 Fondop form — Mike Fondop has five goal involvements in his last five League Two games for Oldham Athletic (3G 2A), more than across his first 35 in the competition.

📊 Shrews untamed — Shrewsbury Town have won six of their last seven league games, more than across their first 29 of the season combined; no side has more wins or goals (14) since the start of February.

🌱 Ogunsuyi double — At 19y 101d, Trey Ogunsuyi became the youngest player to score a league brace for Shrewsbury since Tom Bradshaw in 2011.

Sky Bet Championship

Blackburn Rovers 1–1 Portsmouth
Bristol City 0–2 Coventry City
Charlton Athletic 1–0 Birmingham City
Derby County 2–1 Sheffield Wednesday
Hull City 1–3 Millwall
Ipswich Town 1–1 Leicester City
Preston 1-3 Oxford
QPR 0-4 Middlesbrough
Sheffield United 1–1 West Bromwich Albion
Swansea City 2–0 Stoke City

Sky Bet League One

AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Northampton
Barnsley 2–1 Exeter City
Blackpool 1–1 Wigan Athletic
Bolton Wanderers 3–2 Wycombe Wanderers
Bradford City 2–1 Leyton Orient
Burton Albion 0–1 Stevenage
Cardiff City 0–2 Lincoln City
Huddersfield Town 1–0 Rotherham United
Luton Town 2–3 Reading
Plymouth Argyle 2–1 Doncaster Rovers

Sky Bet League Two

Salford City 2–0 Barnet
Accrington Stanley 1–1 Cambridge United
Bristol Rovers 2–1 Crewe Alexandra
Chesterfield 2–3 Shrewsbury Town
Crawley Town 2–2 Swindon Town
Gillingham 1–1 Fleetwood Town
Grimsby Town 1–1 Bromley
Milton Keynes Dons 4–1 Harrogate Town
Newport County 1–2 Colchester United
Salford City 2–0 Barnet
Tranmere Rovers 1–3 Oldham Athletic
Walsall 1–2 Notts County

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Championship

Watch out, Middlesbrough – Ipswich are coming! Azor Matusiwa’s ‘goal worthy of winning any game’ was enough to give Kieran McKenna’s side a 1-0 victory over Hull. They leapfrog the Tigers into 3rd and, crucially, move within three points of Boro with a superior goal difference and a game in hand.

Despite making five changes from Saturday’s 3-0 win against Swansea, Ipswich started well, playing forward at a good tempo with a mixed style that causing the visitors some problems. Hull, who reverted to a back three, did look threatening on the break through Liam Millar and Lewis Koumas; however, it was the hosts’ George Hirst who passed up the best opportunity of the first half, shooting straight at Ivor Pandur after excellent work from Jack Taylor.

Both sides made changes in the second half. Hull introduced key players in Oli McBurnie, John Lundstram and Kyle Joseph, but Ipswich’s ‘finishers’ made the greater impact. With the game becoming increasingly stretched and frantic, a jinking run from Anis Mehmeti led to fellow substitute Leif Davis picking up the loose ball on the edge of box and squaring it to Matusiwa, who rifled in his first goal for the club. If you like goals that clip the underside of the crossbar, this one’s for you.

The Tractor Boys could and should have doubled their lead moments later, when a cross from Wes Burns – that’s right, another sub! – picked out Jack Clarke, but he was denied by a combination of Pandur and post.

Sergej Jakirović’s side huffed and puffed, but Cedric Kipré and Dara O’Shea defended their box well, earning their third clean sheet in a row. While Ipswich welcome Leicester to Portman Road on Saturday (their third successive home game), Hull’s next two, at home to Millwall and away to Wrexham, could decide their top-six destiny.

League One

Top-six Wycombe are the headline here, as they eased their way into the play-off places with a relatively cosy 1-0 win at Barnsley. Aaron Morley scored a sumptuous strike from the edge of the area (very similar to the aforementioned Matusiwa finish), in a game where the away side created by far the better chances.

Each of Wycombe’s last three goals have been scored by January signings, with Morley following Luke Harris and Nathan Lowe, so there is some cause for their uptick in form. Their 12 league matches since the turn of the year have yielded 24 points, a tally bettered only by Lincoln and Cardiff. The Chairboys could well be dipping their toe into the play-off pool ahead of a full blown cannonball, while the likes of Huddersfield and Luton continue to skirt around the edge, terrified of getting wet.

The defeat brings Barnsley back down with a bump after they hit Didzying heights at Orient on Saturday. They haven’t won back-to-back league games since early September.

Tuesday also brought us a matchday appointment, with Matt Taylor rejoining Exeter to try to turn off the alarm bells after caretaker Dan Green’s short reign. Taylor took charge of the home game against Burton Albion which, if not quite must-win, was certainly a do-not-lose to a side sitting between the Grecians and the drop zone.

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Championship

Sam Parry

Scriptwriters must have taken the afternoon off as Saturday’s Championship slate delivered fewer shocks than Scooby-Doo.

Only two sides beat opponents above them in the table. One was 16th-placed Sheffield United, who leapfrogged QPR after a 2-0 win. The other was 23rd-placed Oxford.

Matt Bloomfield’s side did not climb a rung. But Jinkies!, the Yellows were not mellow. They raced into a 2-0 lead against 21st-placed West Brom and did so with a clear plan. Inside 15 minutes, Stan Mills nodded in from a corner to open the scoring and set the set-piece klaxon flashing. On 25 minutes, Will Lankshear received the ball out in the right channel and simply held it, inviting contact. From that free kick, Lankshear scored his first and Oxford’s second as Albion sagged.

Oxford were content to defend the lead. A deflected Oli Bostock strike dragged West Brom back into it and the Baggies had their own set-piece chances. But they were foiled by their own inadequate finishing and a meddling Jamie Cumming.

Continuing on down the bottom, Leicester had been warned. Paris Maghoma was ghosting through at will for Norwich. He came off for Anis Ben Slimane who fired a warning shot at 0-0, and then scored for 1-0. It was a lovely finish from the edge of the box too.

This league, as Gary Rowett said afterwards, does not care about reputation. I’m not sure I agree. Leicester have a reputation for shoddy defending and there was more of it as Ali Ahmed tapped in for 2-0. Norwich are flying. Foxes have only themselves to unmask.

Elsewhere at the bottom, Southampton beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 for a fourth win in five, and Wrexham and Hull beat Charlton and Portsmouth 1-0 away respectively to sustain their play-off pushes. In those latter two games, the stats told similar stories. Nathan Jones’ side were better for long spells, creating four big chances to Wrexham’s one and recording 40 touches in the box to their 15. Whilst Pompey dominated Hull but still lost to their second shot conceded of the game - the sting in the Tigers’ tail itself a tale as old as time, or at least the start of the season.

Completing the bottom eight, Derby came to haunt and hunt. It was Michael O’Neill’s Blackburn side who led from a set-piece and they should have doubled it early in the second half. They did not. Sharp passing in and around the box found former Rovers forward Ben Brereton Diaz to level for Derby. Matt Clarke then put ahead from a set-piece and Rhian Brewster nodded in a third after Blackburn failed to clear their lines three times in build-up. It ended 3-1 with a returning John Eustace’s side looking more machine than mystery.

Of course, the above had consequences for the top half, albeit with very little impact on league positions. Only two sides lost in the top 12 (and they lost to others in the top 12).

Those two exceptions were Preston who lost 2-0 at home to Millwall as Alex Neil’s side registered a 14th clean sheet of the season, and Bristol City who were undone by a brilliant Jeremy Ngakia strike as Watford won 2-1 on Friday night.

At the top, Coventry required a late Stoke lapse to win a game they dominated 2-1 in the dying embers and Ipswich beat Swansea 3-0 to make it 11 unbeaten at home. That sets up another mouthwatering Monday night Scooby Snack: Birmingham vs Middlesbrough. Interestingly, the bookies now have the implied probabilities for a top-two finish looking like this:

1. Coventry 94.1% — their gap is +9

2. Ipswich 61.9% — their gap is -3

3. Middlesbrough 43.5% — their gap is +1

4. Millwall 11.8% — their gap is -1

5. Hull 5.3% — their gap is -3

League One

Matt Watts

Beware the wounded Bluebirds. Cardiff bounced back from their 5-2 defeat at Plymouth last weekend with a 4-0 victory over Doncaster. Brian Barry-Murphy’s side scored with all four of their shots on target, but the pick of the goals came from 20-year-old centre back Dylan Lawlor, who carried the ball from his own defensive third into Donny’s penalty area before coolly slotting into the bottom corner. The defending? Questionable at best. The goal? Outstanding nonetheless.

True to form, Lincoln kept up with Joneses (or, in this case, maybe the Colwills would be more accurate?) by beating Blackpool by the same scoreline. Rob Street impressed once again for the Imps who are now 17 league games unbeaten. It’s all eyes on the Welsh capital next weekend as the top two collide in a game that could go a long way to deciding the destination of the League One title.

Bolton remain ten points behind Lincoln after their 5-1 victory away from home against Exeter. The Trotters went into overdrive after Jayden Wareham pulled one back for the Grecians to make it 2-1 in the 67th minute. Well-taken goals from Thierry Gale (72’) and Ibrahim Cissoko (77’) took the game away from the home side, before George Johnston (90+4’) scored from close range to complete the rout late on.

It was a fascinating day in terms of the race for the play-offs with two games between the chased and the chasers and the teams in 6th and 9th facing relegation-threatened sides. The result? The teams in 4th, 5th and 6th all lost and the teams in 7th, 8th and 9th all won.

Reading (7th) came from behind to beat Bradford (4th) 2-1. A spectacular strike from Matthew Pennington gave the Bantams the lead, before Paddy Lane equalised in the 90th minute and Matt Ritchie headed home a 97th-minute winner. Stockport (5th) also gave up a lead to lose 2-1 to Alex Revell’s Stevenage (8th), who have now won their last four home games - a feat matched by Michael Duff’s Wycombe (9th), who beat Burton 3-0. Caolan Boyd-Munce scored the pick of the goals after a quarter of an hour, before loanees Luke Harris and Nathan Lowe scored in quick succession to wrap up the victory late on.

Finally, Jensen Weir’s second-half strike consigned Huddersfield (6th) to a 1-0 defeat at Wigan. The Latics’ victory saw them climb out of the bottom four at the expense of Leyton Orient, who lost 3-1 at home to Barnsley in one of the day’s early kick offs. The irrepressible David McGoldrick became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in England's top four tiers since Jamie Cureton for Dagenham & Redbridge in April 2015. Fine wines, people. Fine wines.

League Two

Huw Davies

League Two had a quiet one, with no team moving more than one place in the league table. The Saturday 3pm kick-offs were especially snoozy: at 3.37pm, with half-time approaching, zero goals had been scored across the eight fixtures.

Jack Stevens irrigated the drought by converting Oldham’s eighth shot on target in the first half against Crawley, all taken from inside the box – and they had a ninth soon after. That tells you a lot about Crawley, who sit just a point above safety after February brought them two draws and four defeats. Stevens scored a sparkling solo second in an easy 2-0 win.

None of the bottom eight won. Tranmere did lead at Crewe but caved to second-half pressure and lost 2-1 when Josh March scored in the first minute of stoppage time (a second assist for the excellent Tommi O’Reilly). Not to be outdone, Barrow lost 1-0 to Gillingham by conceding in the 103rd minute, having failed to test the visiting goalkeeper barring a corner bouncing off the crossbar.

So, in the relegation scrap, this week’s winners were three draw-ers. Bristol Rovers held Swindon 1-1 in a lively derby, leading through Kane Thompson-Sommers’ brilliant breakaway before Ollie Palmer got the equaliser that Swindon’s performance deserved. Newport burgled a 0-0 from Fleetwood with 29% possession and 17% of the game’s shots. Harrogate’s 1-1 draw with Cheltenham on Friday night took them to five unbeaten, though they might’ve won but for Joe Day’s second-half heroics in goal.

The result is this:

At the top, Bromley extended their advantage to four points, because Cambridge vs MK Dons was 2nd vs 3rd and they couldn’t both win. In fact, neither did, as Aaron Collins’ 96th-minute penalty earned MK a late but deserved point at the Abbey. Bromley themselves had some help from Accrington: not one but two penalties for Michael Cheek to convert, plus Accy’s early red card for a Cheeky stamp by Donald Love, in another defeat for nominative determinism. A 2-1 victory got Andy Woodman’s men back to winning ways after three straight draws, though they still haven’t lost since November.

They were also helped by Notts County’s 1-0 defeat to Grimsby, dressed as Crystal Palace. Having scored twice the previous weekend, Lee Ndlovu missed from six yards and was sent off for a high challenge, before Charles Vernam netted a late curler. With Walsall and Barnet beating Shrewsbury and Chesterfield, it’s tight around the play-off places – although if Colchester had beaten Salford instead of losing 1-0, there’d be just a single point separating 7th from 12th…

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Dylan Lawlor with a progressive carry for Cardiff.

2. Kane Thompson-Sommers with a progressive carry for Gas.

3. Caolan Boyd-Munce with a left-footed tap-in for Wycombe.

4. Jeremy Ngakia with a right-footed tap-in for Watford.

5. Charles Vernam with a progressive carry leading to a right-footed tap-in for Grimsby.

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

🐤 Coal mine in the Canary — Facing Norwich is a pit of despair at the minute; they’ve won eight of their last 11 Championship games (L3), collecting more points than any other side in the division in 2026 (24).

🐑 Rams Rovers — The Derby County starting line-up had more Blackburn Rovers appearances (544) and goals (97) between them than the Blackburn Rovers starting line-up: 408 & 33.

🟥 Stan, Stan, Stan — The tea’s gone hot not cold for Accrington Stanley who are wondering why they’ve been shown four red cards across their last five League Two matches when it took 112 league games for their previous four.

📉 Oh dear, Tranmere — No side in League Two has conceded more goals in 2026 than Tranmere Rovers (22) and only Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday (24 each) have conceded more across the 92.

⚽ Rathbone returns — All but one of Ollie Rathbone’s seven goals for Wrexham have directly contributed to fourteen points (W4 D2), the latest a beauty against Charlton Athletic.

🦋 Kentish symmetry — There’s above par, there’s below par and then there’s Gillingham…

🎩 McGoldrick masterclass — At 38y 91d, David McGoldrick is the oldest player to score a league hat-trick in England’s top four tiers since Jamie Cureton in April 2015.

🪄 Murkin making moves — Derry Murkin supplied two assists for Derby County against Blackburn this weekend; since signing in January, he’s averaged 1.83+ chances and nearly 5.8 clearances per 90.

🎯 Cobbled together on the training pitch — Each of Northampton Town’s last 10 home league goals have come from set-pieces (4 freekicks, 3 corners, 3 throws), the latest two from Tom Eaves headers after long throws.

💥 Bolton go bang — Bolton Wanderers’ 5–1 win at Exeter was their first 5+ goal away league game since February 2023; before that, they had scored multiple goals in just one of their 17 away league matches this season.

🟡 Spot Don — Aaron Collins’ 96th-minute equaliser for Milton Keynes Dons at Cambridge United was their seventh penalty goal this season; only Gillingham (8) have scored more spot-kicks in League Two.

🏟️ Home and away quirks — The two League One sides whose away games have seen the most goals this season — AFC Wimbledon (60) and Wigan Athletic (54) — rank just 24th and 22nd respectively for goals in their home matches.

🦢 Swanning about — Against Ipswich Town, Swansea City completed 176 passes for every one touch they had in the opposition box (3).

SkyBet Championship

Bristol City 1-2 Watford
Charlton 0-1 Wrexham
Coventry 2-1 Stoke
Derby 3-1 Blackburn
Ipswich 3-0 Swansea
Leicester 0-2 Norwich
Oxford Utd 2-1 West Brom
Portsmouth 0-1 Hull
Preston 0-2 Millwall
QPR 0-2 Sheffield Utd
Sheff Wed 1-3 Southampton

Sky Bet League One

Doncaster 0-4 Cardiff
Exeter 1-5 Bolton
Leyton Orient 1-3 Barnsley
Lincoln City 4-0 Blackpool
Mansfield 2-2 AFC Wimbledon
Northampton 1-1 Peterborough
Port Vale 1-1 Luton
Reading 2-1 Bradford
Rotherham 1-0 Plymouth
Stevenage 2-1 Stockport
Wigan 1-0 Huddersfield
Wycombe 3-0 Burton Albion

Sky Bet League Two

Barnet 1-0 Chesterfield
Barrow 0-1 Gillingham
Bromley 2-1 Accrington Stanley
Cambridge Utd 1-1 MK Dons
Colchester 0-1 Salford
Crewe 2-1 Tranmere
Fleetwood Town 0-0 Newport County
Harrogate Town 1-1 Cheltenham
Notts County 0-1 Grimsby
Oldham 2-0 Crawley Town
Shrewsbury 1-2 Walsall
Swindon 1-1 Bristol Rovers

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Championship

Huw Davies

There’s only one place to start. Having beaten them 1-0 in the FA Cup eight days earlier, Wrexham beat Ipswich again… 5-3. It was a strange game, defending optional, its lunacy summarised by a long-range beauty from centre-back Cedric Kipré. That put Ipswich 3-2 up, after Wrexham had led 1-0 and 2-1, but the hosts channelled the injustice of Christian Walton escaping punishment for punching Callum Doyle’s head instead of the ball by scoring three unanswered goals, one from Doyle himself.

Kieffer Moore’s superb finish for 1-0, his assist for Josh Windass and his creation of the fifth goal made a point to his former club. They arguably could’ve used Moore’s all-round game this season, given the struggles of Iván Azón and George Hirst. Still, Azón scored and fought to set up Anis Mehmeti’s first Ipswich goal, twice punishing defensive lapses.

Fortunately for Ipswich, 3rd-placed Millwall were feeling sloppy. Portsmouth showed greater intensity, work rate and quality in a 3-1 victory at the Den. While two away wins in a week has lifted Pompey six points clear of the dropzone with a game in hand, the Lions must lick their wounds ahead of Birmingham’s midweek visit.

And so Middlesbrough gained a point on their two main rivals for automatic promotion, despite drawing 0-0 at home to Oxford, who hit the woodwork twice. Boro racked up shots and xG but no goals while Coventry won 2-0 at West Bromwich Albion, extending their lead at the top. Five minutes in, Ephron Mason-Clark beat a wonky high line, a flapping Max O’Leary and a discombobulated Alfie Gilchrist on the goal line, and once Jack Rudoni had doubled the lead with a sledgehammer, that was that. WBA are goalless in four and scored more in their first game under Eric Ramsay (2) than in six league games since (1, from a corner).

Derby are the latest team to hit 6th and rebound off it. Watford, who know the feeling, scored in the 5th and 90th minutes and should’ve had a penalty in between. The pair are now cheek and jowl in this game of top-six musical chairs.

Wassat? Birmingham up to 7th? Yup, with a 2-1 win at Carrow Road. Carlos Vicente scored early after streaking down the right (not literally), as Bright Osayi-Samuel’s pass exploited the space between Ben Chrisene and José Cordoba. It was so successful that Osayi-Samuel did it again 10 minutes later; this time, August Priske got the better of Cordoba and set up Marvin Ducksch for 2-0 inside a quarter of an hour. Norwich had three big chances and seven shots on target in the second half, with Mohamed Touré also hitting the post, but Birmingham held on despite Kenny McLean’s goal.

The Blues climbed above Southampton (who led Charlton through Ross Stewart’s lovely header but drew 1-1, to Nathan Jones’ great pleasure), Preston (who lost 1-0 in stoppage time to Blackburn on Friday), Derby (see above) and Bristol City, who lost a nothing game with nothing in it one-nothing to Swansea, as Zan Vipotnik scored the only goal. If that sounds familiar, it should. Vipotnik is top of the scoring charts with 16,and 9 of those have been the first goal in a game. He’s clutch.

Hull remain in the top six, but no longer look safe there. After trading scrappy goals, they lost 3-1 at home to QPR as Daniel Bennie, in his own words, said, “F*ck it, why not hit it?” and scored from 20 yards. Kieran Dowell, bogged down on Hull’s rugby pitch, gifted Richard Koné two chances and he took one. Maybe he’s in Dowell’s Fantasy EFL team.

In Gary Rowett’s first game, Leicester’s 2-2 draw at Stoke kept them in the bottom three and Stoke still winless since beating Coventry in the FA Cup six weeks ago. The Foxes still look reliant on individual magic and the occasional cross going in, but after conceding late on to Ben Wilmot’s second goal of the afternoon, they did force a big save in the 96th minute and then hit the post and hit the crossbar after that.

And on Sunday, Sheffield United relegated Sheffield Wednesday, as expected. When the Blades scored two alarmingly easy goals within 20 minutes, the first inside 90 seconds, a paddling was on the cards. They didn’t achieve the humiliation they were after, though, pegged back by a Kalvin Phillips red card and Charlie McNeill’s goal, before Wednesday had a man sent off themselves. But even if the 2-1 win wasn’t resounding, the repeats of ‘we relegated you’ will resound through the years for as long as this derby exists. History cares not for context.

As for Wednesday… what more is there to say?

League One

Matt Watts

A seven-minute hat-trick, a 5-2 defeat for the leaders and a team bus caught in traffic… One regular weekend of Sky Bet League One, that’s all I ask for. Will never happen.

Lincoln were the big winners at the top of the third tier. The Imps beat Mansfield 2-0 thanks to a Rob Street penalty and a 95th-minute clincher from Tom Bayliss. Michael Skubala’s side are now 16 games unbeaten, they’ve won six of their last seven and, crucially, they’re now ten points clear of 3rd-place Bolton (with a game in hand) who drew 2-2 with Ian Evatt’s Blackpool and one point behind the leaders Cardiff, who suffered their first league defeat of 2026, losing 5-2 to Plymouth. There were three braces in the game at Home Park with Lorent Tolaj, Bim Pepple and Omari Kellyman all scoring twice. Having propped up the rest of the division in early November, Argyle have now won three games in a row in December, January and February and they’re only six points off Huddersfield in 6th.

Speaking of the Terriers, they returned to winning ways by coming from behind to beat Barnsley 2-1. The evergreen David McGoldrick opened the scoring in style for the visitors, but some excellent wing-play from Bali Mumba and Cameron Ashia led to goals for Ryan Ledson and Ryan Hardie, flipping the game on its head and putting 11 points between the two Yorkshire clubs.

Just above Huddersfield, you will find Bradford. After back-to-back wins, Graham Alexander’s side had an afternoon to forget, getting stuck in traffic, arriving late and losing 3-1 to a resurgent AFC Wimbledon. Bradford’s slip up was pounced upon by Stockport, who regained 4th spot after relinquishing it to the Bantams during the week. Dave Challinor’s Hatters came from behind twice to beat Gary Caldwell’s Wigan 4-2 after red cards for Steven Sessegnon and Maleace Asamoah. There were two more braces in this one - one for the in-form Joe Taylor and one for Kyle Wootton, who leads the League One scoring charts.

Jack Wilshere exchanged words with restless Luton fans after the Hatters 1-1 draw at home to Burton. Fabio Tavares’ 92nd-minute header extended the home side’s winless run to three games, leaving them in 10th - six points behind Huddersfield. Is that good enough for a team with parachute payments in League One? I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Down towards the foot of the table, Leyton Orient climbed out of the bottom four by beating fellow strugglers Northampton 2-1. Goals from Dom Ballard and James Morris put the O’s 2-0 up and on course for their first away win since the end of November. Tom Eaves halved the deficit, but it’s now back-to-back defeats for Cobblers who remain the wrong side of the dotted line. Doncaster moved five points clear of the drop after they came from behind to beat Rotherham 2-1. Sam Nombe’s early penalty was cancelled out by Brandon Hanlan’s second-half equaliser, before Cameron Dawson went walk about allowing Luke Molyneux to roll what proved to be the winner into the empty net. It’s Donny’s first league double over Rotherham since 1950 and it leaves the Millers five points from safety.

Finally, Jayden Wareham scored his first senior hat-trick (an eight-minute hat-trick, no less!) in Exeter’s 3-3 draw with Peterborough. 17-year-old Ukrainian midfielder Patryk Sykut gave Posh the lead, before Wareham took over after half-time. However, another brace - this time from Harry Leonard - meant that the Grecians had to settle for a share of the spoils.

League Two

Sam Parry

This is a corkscrewing league. Round and round. At a right old pace too.

Every result this weekend shifted something at either end. If there were exceptions, perhaps it was the prematurely ‘beachy’ Oldham 3–0 Gillingham.

Still, at the top, Bromley drew their third straight league game, this time against 23rd-placed Harrogate, who out-shot the leaders 25–6. Opportunity knocked for those in and around.

Ian Holloway’s Swindon answered by clawing at thin air. Crewe edged a tight first half that looked destined to finish level but didn’t because, in added time, retreating Swindon defenders watched more ball than a Chippendale audience.

A quite extraordinary way to concede for 1-0. And then, eight minutes into the second half, it was two, with Josh March flicking on from a corner. Swindon rallied, pulling one back with around 30 minutes to play. But Lee Bell’s side held firm, stopper Ian Lawlor doing plenty of the heavy lifting as Crewe moved up to sixth.

Elsewhere it felt like a matter of when, not if, Cambridge would score against 24th-placed Newport. The when happened late, though. Two goals on 73’ and 76’ gave them a deserved lead and lifted them into second.

Notts County then moved third, above Swindon on goal difference, thanks to a 5–0 dismantling of Tranmere. A comedy own goal set the tone before Lee Ndlovu marked his first start with two close-range finishes, the second born of defending so tragic it was not only Icarus-adjacent but waxless, wingless, hopeless and just down right bad. Jodi Jones added gloss with a deflected effort and Matthew Dennis put gloss on top of gloss from the spot. Tranmere have now lost eight of their last ten (W2 L8). Can they be pulled into the mire?

Maybe. Those around them, like Crawley, are picking up point (singular). They struck in the 95th minute to deny Chesterfield, though the Spireites managed to cling onto 7th.

Falling out of the top seven altogether were Salford. And in such style.

A Jorge Grant strike after six minutes suggested their midweek defeat to Newport was an aberration. Karl Robinson’s side were decent value for their half-time lead against Cheltenham. Then came the swing. Three minutes into the second half, Luke Garbutt tangled inside the six-yard box, saw red and Cheltenham converted the penalty. The way Salford hung-in there was impressive and when Zach Awe struck on his full debut it looked like they would keep their grasp on an impressive victory.

The only trouble? Erm… they didn’t.

After defending their box well with a high line, Salford allowed the deep crosser time to cross, but on 84’ Harry Ashfield didn’t cross and he didn’t need time. Instead, he kept coming and coming until he was so close to goal he banged in an equaliser. Two points dropped.

Then three. In 90+6 another deep delivery (Ashfield crossing this time) was nodded home. Huge for Cheltenham, who move nine clear of the drop.

Also nine clear are Shrewsbury. Imagine a world where Salop’s four-match winning streak never happened. They’d be a point off the bottom two. Timing, then, is everything (P4 W4 GF8 GA2).

Another win, this time 2-0 and away at an Accrington side that had been feasting on lower-half opponents. A first-minute goal helped, though an injury-ravaged Stanley side unable to name a full bench probably helped more. And repeat: timing is everything.

The big losers at the bottom were Barrow. And they were big losers in every sense. To take a 2-0 lead into the final 25 minutes and not only throw victory away but all three points, simultaneously emboldening those around and beneath you… man alive, that takes some doing.

Fleetwood had been poor in the first half and, even as they rallied in the second, they did not look capable of a three-goal turnaround. Esapa Osong pulled them back into it. Crispin McLean poked one cleanly through the legs of Wyll Stanway right at the death to level. And then. Wow.

Wyll Stanway. I feel for you, brother. As the ball is driven high across goal, he somehow palms it in a looping arc straight into his own net.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Jack’s back: Rudoni hits a scorcher

2. Steward fist-pumps? Better than it sounds.

3. It’s not about the hat(trick) but how you Wareham.

4. Home Park, home wins, one of the best home atmospheres in the EFL.

5. Super-sub Ashfield goes it alone (before setting up Cheltenham’s winner)

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

👖 Baggies cut off at the knees — West Bromwich Albion have lost 17 of their 33 Championship games (W9 D7), already their most defeats in a second-tier campaign since 1999–00.

📦 Clearance clearance — Leyton Orient’s 96 clearances against Northampton are the most on Opta record in the EFL (since 2019–20), surpassing Tranmere 88 vs Crawley Town just last weekend.

🐟 Cod roe it back — Fleetwood Town’s 3–2 win over Barrow was their first ever EFL victory from 2+ goals down (records since 2013–14).

🔵 Blues unbeaten — Birmingham City are unbeaten in eight league matches (W5 D3), their longest Championship run without defeat since a 10-game streak in January/February 2020.

🧼 Oxford squeaky clean — Oxford United have kept clean sheets in back-to-back away Championship games, more than in their previous 15 on the road combined.

🛣️ Pompey on the road — Portsmouth have won consecutive away Championship games for the first time since February 2011, and recorded their first win at Millwall since October 2010.

🔥 You’ll Wareham out — Jayden Wareham scored his first EFL hat-trick for Exeter City, the club’s first since May 2023.

🌟 Psyched for Sykut — At 17y 221d, Patryk Sykut became the third-youngest scorer in the EFL this season on his first English league start.

🎭 Improvisation — Lincoln City have 68 points from 33 League One games, their best return at this stage since 1980–81.

🐔 County your chickens — Notts County’s 5–0 win over Tranmere Rovers equals their biggest EFL victory of the past 15 years.

🍬 Sweet North Yorkshire mix — Harrogate Town have taken eight points from their last four League Two games (W2 D2), twice as many as across their previous 20 combined — and after a 22-game wait for a clean sheet, have now recorded back-to-back shutouts.

🟥 Seeing red — Wigan Athletic’s eight red cards this season are three more than any other EFL side.

📈 Payne in the annexe — Jack Payne scored his second career EFL hat-trick for Colchester United, becoming just the second Colchester player since 2004–05 to net multiple EFL trebles.

🎯 March milestone — Josh March has 13 League Two goal involvements this season (8G 5A), his best single-campaign return, and reached 50 career EFL involvements.

SkyBet Championship

Blackburn 1-0 Preston
Hull 1-3 QPR
Middlesbrough 0-0 Oxford Utd
Millwall 1-3 Portsmouth
Norwich 1-2 Birmingham
Sheffield Utd 2-1 Sheff Wed
Southampton 1-1 Charlton
Stoke 2-2 Leicester
Swansea 1-0 Bristol City
Watford 2-0 Derby
West Brom 0-2 Coventry
Wrexham 5-3 Ipswich

Sky Bet League One

AFC Wimbledon 3-1 Bradford
Bolton 2-2 Blackpool
Huddersfield 2-1 Barnsley
Luton 1-1 Burton Albion
Mansfield 0-2 Lincoln City
Northampton 1-2 Leyton Orient
Peterborough 3-3 Exeter
Plymouth 5-2 Cardiff
Port Vale 1-1 Reading
Rotherham 1-2 Doncaster
Stockport 4-2 Wigan
Wycombe 3-1 Stevenage

Sky Bet League Two

Accrington Stanley 0-2 Shrewsbury
Bristol Rovers 3-1 Grimsby
Cheltenham 3-2 Salford
Colchester 4-1 Barnet
Crawley Town 1-1 Chesterfield
Fleetwood Town 3-2 Barrow
Gillingham 0-3 Oldham
Harrogate Town 0-0 Bromley
Newport County 0-2 Cambridge Utd
Notts County 5-0 Tranmere
Swindon 1-2 Crewe

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Championship

Huw Davies

The second tier took a back seat to the FA Cup and lower leagues, but if you think that means it was dull, you’re a narrative device created so that I can contradict you.

Sheffield Wednesday gave Millwall a scare. Winless since September, goalless since Boxing Day and pointless since 2025, Henrik Pedersen’s Owls resisted for an hour thanks to Murphy Cooper’s saves and then led when Jamal Lowe pounced on Max Crocombe’s error. Anthony Patterson, prepare thyself. The celebrations? Heartwarming. But it felt temporary and Millwall soon won with two goals in three minutes, including a weird and wonderful improvised finish by Macaulay Langstaff.

Two new bosses made their bows. Ed Still’s Watford took 20 shots, mostly from bad positions, in a 2-2 draw at Preston that hurt both teams’ play-off hopes. Michael O’Neill was in the dugout for the 3-1 win at QPR that took Blackburn out of the relegation zone (and put Leicester in it), though he was at pains to give all of the credit to erstwhile caretaker Damien Johnson. The first half of Mathias Jørgensen’s brace came from a frankly unbelievable pass by Ryoya Morishita, who also headed home Blackburn’s third goal with only their fourth attempt of the match.

It’s Derby’s turn to occupy 6th, following a 2-0 victory at Pride Park. Swansea had most of the ball but Derby made the most of their corners, with Rhian Brewster and Patrick Agyemang on hand to convert. Swans would’ve drawn level with their opponents if they’d won, but instead 10 places separate them, which is COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS. Does that mean Sheffield United, in 15th, are still in the play-off conversation due to their last-minute winner at a profligate Portsmouth? Maybe! They, and Swansea, sit six points off 6th.

League One

Huw Davies

Reduced slate = reduced jeopardy? Not a bit of it. A League One schedule that was only two-thirds full nonetheless threw up a playoffs-for-the-playoffs bonanza, as virtually all of the top half played each other.

It made for quite the game of musical chairs, with a hell of a lot of movement by the end.

So, what happened?

At lunchtime, Stevenage delivered Liam Manning his first league defeat with Huddersfield. No League One team averages lower than 63% pass completion and these two managed 60% and 62%, so that should give you some idea of the match as a spectacle, but Carl Piergianni’s 85th-minute winner rewarded a firm defensive display. Whereas debutant Matt Phillips forced a good save in the first half and Stevenage had further chances in the second, Huddersfield didn’t test Filip Marschall even once. As questionable as recent performances have been, Alex Revell’s side have lost just once at home in the league this season, and that was 1-0 to a late scorcher from Cardiff’s Callum Robinson.

Reading leapfrogged Wycombe with a 3-2 home win, having been pegged back from 2-0. Jack Marriott’s hat-trick ensured he was once again, or thrice again, the difference-maker; with 15 goals and three assists in 1,611 minutes since his arrival from Wrexham, he’s averaging a goal contribution every 89.5 mins, i.e. once per game. His finishes here were, in turn, predatory, powerful (plus helped by poor goalkeeping) and ruthless. Just look at his movement for the first goal, catching Wycombe’s defenders cold:

Wycombe will be frustrated to have conceded from kick-off after equalising, as Charlie Savage came on to set up Marriott with his first touch. Still, they had 20 shots from inside the box, and 10 on target, while Reading had seven efforts in total – Mike Duff shouldn’t worry too much.

Can we say the same about Luke Williams? His Peterborough defence gave up 55 shots and 6.15 expected goals across two away games last week. Mansfield couldn’t punish them but Bradford did, creating eight big chances and winning 2-0. Only some superb stops by Alex Bass, who had been at fault for Bobby Pointon’s opener, saved Posh from a Bantams battering.

Sam Dalby scored the biggest goal of the weekend. Lincoln, already ahead via Jack Moylan’s impish one-two and finish, had dominated Bolton in the second half, and with 10 minutes remaining they led their automatic promotion rivals by a goal to nil and nine points in the table, with a game in hand. Dalby’s headed equaliser reduced that gap to six, letting some air out of Lincoln’s cushion. Moylan scored, hit the bar and had 10 shots in the game, which was more than Bolton… and also more than Luton, Northampton, Posh, Blackpool, Huddersfield, Reading, Stevenage and Wimbledon.

That 1-1 draw allowed Cardiff to increase their lead over 3rd to 10 points. They were scintillating in a 3-1 win over Luton, whose only shot after Jordan Clark’s 20th-minute penalty was an effort from their own half. Perry Ng scored a belter, Alex Robertson controlled the midfield, Joel Colwill impressed again and brother Rubin replaced him for his first appearance since November – everything’s coming up Bluebirds.

Away from the promotion race – very far away – Blackpool took their first shot against Plymouth Argyle at 4-0 down midway through the second half. They were at home. Ian Evatt’s touchline ban gave him a fan’s-eye view of the four-goal defeat, as well as the boos when his players went off for half-time and as they came back on again. To cap a crap day, James Husband was sent off near the end for lashing out. Argyle, though, were magnificent: they won every battle, created opportunities at will and had the game won by half-time, all without Lorent Tolaj. They’re into the top half for the first time since relegation.

Finally, while Exeter and Northampton were drawing 0-0, Barnsley and Wimbledon had a lovely back-and-forth goalfest: 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, full-time and home for tea and biscuits. Reyes Cleary registered two fine assists for the hosts; Omar Bugiel scored two brilliant headers for the visitors.

League Two

Matt Watts

At the top, Bromley drew 1-1 with Notts County. Then 3rd-placed Swindon were well beaten 3-1 by a Shrewsbury side who have now won back-to-back games and have grown a 7-point gap to the relegation zone. Those results meant the big winners at the top of League Two were Cambridge and MK Dons.

The U’s dispelled any Manager of the Month or Player of the Month curse by beating Bristol Rovers 3-1 with Ben Knight scoring twice. Kell Watts also got on the scoresheet as Steve Evans’ side struggled to deal with Cambridge’s set-piece threat. After their shock defeat to Harrogate last weekend, back-to-back wins have taken Neil Harris’ side up to 2nd and four points behind Bromley.

MK Dons made it 16 points from the last 18 available by beating Newport 1-0. MK’s Newport-born striker, Aaron Collins, gave the promotion-chasers the lead inside a minute thanks to Jordan Wright’s mistake. It was an eventful afternoon for the County keeper, who gave away a penalty in the second half but managed to save Callum Paterson’s rather tame spot-kick.

Have we been sleeping on Crewe? Quite possibly. The Railwaymen moved into the top seven with a 1-0 win at home to Gillingham. This game was dominated by the visitors, but Adrien Thibaut’s second-half strike gave Lee Bell’s side a third 1-0 win in four games, and a two-points-per-game record since the turn of the year.

Guess who’s back? Dino’s back! After Paul Gallagher’s fateful five games in charge of Barrow yielded a grand total of zero points, Dino Maamria began his reign with a 1-0 victory over Colchester. Big Niall Canavan’s 85th-minute winner (and first league goal for more than two years) was a huge relief for everyone associated with Barrow, who hadn’t picked up a single point since 29th December. It was, believe it or not, their first home league win since 20th September.

Finally, roses are red… but so are match-ending, suspension-inducing cards from a referee. Three players in the fourth tier received the worst type of card on Valentine’s Day. While Notts County’s Scott Robertson and Cheltenham’s Arkell Jude-Boyd may reflect upon their second yellows with some disappointment, the most avoidable second yellow came at Chesterfield, as striker Lee Bonis went from hero to villain in a 1-1 draw with lowly Harrogate.

The Northern Irishman’s flying finish had given Chesterfield the lead, but he received two yellow cards in two minutes during the second half. The second was for nonchalantly kicking the ball away while waiting to come back on the pitch – and, therefore, delaying the restart. Wigan loanee Tobias Brennan finished a well-worked move to equalise for Harrogate in the 84th minute. The point takes Simon Weaver’s side off the bottom, but victories for Shrewsbury and Barrow have only made the Sulphurites’ task tougher.

FA Cup

Sam Parry

Let’s start with EFL-on-EFL.

Southampton beat Leicester for the second time in a week, 2-1 this time. Wrexham edged past a misfiring Ipswich to enter the Fifth Round draw for the first time in almost 30 years. And West Brom looked a little less baggy against Norwich, with Josh Maja putting the ball in the net twice from offside positions before equalising early in the second half.

Whether it’s sustainable or not, the Canaries have wind in their wings. Ben Chrisene drove home a deeply satisfying angled strike for 2-1, and then came the highlight of the weekend. Anis Ben Slimane, in a vein of form so rich it could give you a coronary, produced his ninth goal contribution in eight games with one absurd sequence of ball control: chest, foot, head, all without the ball bouncing, cushioning it perfectly into Mo Touré’s path for 3-1 (that’s five in three for him). Mo. Men. Tum.

Any near misses for the Davids vs the Goliaths?

Hull were not-so-nearly, but for a moment the “teams-misfire-against-Hull narrative” sparked. It did not catch. Chelsea hit four unanswered goals to reverse the London 0 Hull 4 album artwork released by The Housemartins almost exactly 40 years ago.

A late deflected effort from Patrick Roberts brought Birmingham level against top-flight Leeds. It was everything they deserved. But in the inexorable penalty shootout that followed, Roberts missed and Birmingham missed out.

Burton Albion’s moment came and went. They took West Ham to extra time, but Crysensio Summerville put them to bed. Salford produced one of the round’s more impressive efforts by keeping Manchester City down to 2-0 (six goals fewer than when they met a year ago), with the giants scoring early and late. Sunderland needed a penalty to beat Oxford 1-0, Stoke couldn’t hang on to a lead against Fulham and lost 2-1, and though Grimsby went down 1-0 to Wolves, they made a real ball-game of it.

And then to Burnley, where League One Mansfield found themselves 1-0 down, away from home, to top-flight opposition. No giant-killings then? Pfft.

Nigel Clough’s ‘special relationship’ with cup competitions is enough to make you blush. It didn’t really feel like the game was going to turn. When it did, the protagonists, as in all good dramas, were more thrilling for their predictability.

It began with a deep cross, snow-on-it height, dropping into the box. Who was there? Jumbo Oates, eating the Burnley defender for breakfast to nod home the equaliser. The Stags were calm between the leveller on 53’ and the game’s big moment on 80’ (Burnley managed just one shot on target in that spell), but what a moment it was.

After 157 appearances for Nigel Clough, the loyal technician stepped up. A free kick was given. This diminutive playmaker – a few inches too short to trouble the second tier, never mind the top flight – produced an inch-perfect strike.

Louis Effing Reid. No Stag Party puns required. We’re beyond the wedding now. Framed on the wall are three little words: Live. Laugh. Clough.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. A freekick on the wild side – Lou Reid acts as Mansfield’s transformer.

2. Liam Delap tranquillises the Tigers and then himself.

3. This is the assist you’re looking for: Obi Ben Slimane uses the force for Norwich.

4. Perry Ng stops, looks, listens, thinks… and then smashes home for Cardiff.

5. Jack Moylan produces something a bit different – and special.

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

💤 Don’t sleep on Marriott — Jack Marriott has scored in 13 of his 18 League One starts for Reading this season (72%). For context:

• Erling Haaland has scored in 15/25 (60%)

• Aaron Drinan 14/25 (56%)

• Žan Vipotnik 11/22 (50%)

• Dom Ballard 10/24 (~41%)

• Kyle Wootton 12/29 (~41%)

Marriott also became the first player to score a hat-trick on Valentine’s Day in the top four tiers since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Arsenal in 2021. Love that.

🔟 Perfect 10 for Imps’ #10 — Jack Moylan is the first player to attempt 10 shots in an EFL match since David McGoldrick for Notts County against Swindon in January 2025; the last player to have more (11) was Morgan Whittaker for Plymouth Argyle against Watford in January 2024.

🎯 I can see Cleary now DKD’s gone — Reyes Cleary has 10 assists for Barnsley this season, more than any other League One player, and is the first Tykes player to reach double figures in a league campaign since Conor Hourihane in 2016/17.

🪄 Ben Slimane supplying — Anis Ben Slimane has more assists (4) than any other player in this season’s FA Cup since the first round proper, and the most by a Norwich City player in the competition in the last 30 years.

🛣️ On Road relief — Blackburn Rovers ended a seven-game winless away run in the Championship with victory at Preston North End – it was their longest barren stretch on the road since a 10-game streak between December 2023 and March 2024.

📈 Dobbin double take — Lewis Dobbin has scored 7 Championship goals this season for Preston, more than across his previous four EPL/EFL campaigns combined (6 in 85 appearances).

🕺 Funky Brewster — Rhian Brewster has scored in three successive league games for the first time; five Championship goals for Derby represents his best tally in the top four tiers since his 2019/20 campaign with Swansea.

🐦‍⬛ Ravens plucked — Notts County are the first League Two side this season not to concede multiple goals away at Bromley, while the Ravens’ single shot on target was their fewest in a league game this term.

📉 Quiet County — Newport County recorded just four touches in the opposition box and three shots (none on target) in defeat to MK Dons – both are the lowest totals in a League Two match this season.

🌕 MidKnight rising — Cambridge United’s Ben Knight has scored seven goals in eight League Two games in 2026; no player has more in any league this calendar year.

SkyBet Championship

Derby 2-0 Swansea
Portsmouth 0-1 Sheffield United
Preston 2-2 Watford
QPR 1-3 Blackburn
Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Millwall

Sky Bet League One

Barnsley 3-3 AFC Wimbledon
Blackpool 0-4 Plymouth
Bradford 2-0 Peterborough
Cardiff 3-1 Luton
Exeter 0-0 Northampton
Lincoln 1-1 Bolton
Reading 3-2 Wycombe
Stevenage 1-0 Huddersfield

Sky Bet League Two

Barnet 0-0 Cheltenham
Barrow 1-0 Colchester
Bromley 1-1 Notts County
Cambridge 3-1 Bristol Rovers
Chesterfield 1-1 Harrogate
Crewe 1-0 Gillingham
MK Dons 1-0 Newport
Oldham 1-1 Fleetwood
Shrewsbury 3-1 Swindon
Tranmere 2-0 Crawley

FA Cup

Arsenal 4-0 Wigan
Aston Villa 1-3 Newcastle
Birmingham 1-1p Leeds
Burnley 1-2 Mansfield
Burton Albion 0-1 West Ham
Grimsby 0-1 Wolves
Hull 0-4 Chelsea
Liverpool 3-0 Brighton
Manchester City 2-0 Salford
Norwich 3-1 West Brom
Oxford 0-1 Sunderland
Southampton 2-1 Leicester
Stoke 1-2 Fulham
Wrexham 1-0 Ipswich

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Championship

Huw Davies

Welcome to the gallery. Our centrepiece is the diptych, A Game of Two Halves. It’s a minimalist modern masterpiece that conveys the exhilaration, hubris, fragility, decline and despair of human existence as experienced through the medium of supporting Leicester City in 2026.

It was going so well. Jolted into life in the first minute by Cameron Archer’s bad miss, Leicester played with intent and led Southampton 3-0 after half an hour. Divine Mukasa, the 18-year-old Manchester City loanee, scored on his full Foxes debut; Patson Daka converted Tom Fellows’ terrible backpass into his second goal across 1,000-plus Championship minutes in this campaign; Abdul Fatawu hammered in a third. It was their best 45 minutes of the season, and it served only to set up their worst.

Read more

Championship

Ipswich Town are heading on a tractor road trip. On Saturday lunchtime they played the first of three consecutive away league games, after a midweek game in Portsmouth was rained off. Oh, and there’s a cup game at Wrexham in there for good measure. How Kieran McKenna’s side fare in these matches may well define whether it’s top two or play-offs.

The first leg of their travels saw them grind out a 2-1 win at Derby. Lewis Travis became the second 2023/24 Ipswich Town promotion-winner to score an own goal on their behalf this season, after Swansea’s Cameron Burgess, but Rhian Brewster’s penalty levelled it up. Travis was later sent off, though not before Leif Davis had planted a magnificent header into the top corner.

If the win was valuable, it was compounded by the results of their rivals. Coventry could only draw 0-0 at home to 23rd-placed Oxford United, while party-crashing Hull City fell 2-3 at home to Bristol City. Sergej Jakirović switched formation to 3-4-3 in response to a lack of control against Bristol City’s 3-4-2-1 shape in the reverse fixture. It did not have the desire effect: despite taking the lead, Hull were second-best.

Hull have collected just one point from two home games in the past week; had they won both, they’d be joint-top. Bristol City’s fans may well have missed their intended train home thanks to a runaway squirrel that delayed the game for around 10 minutes, but this won’t be an away game they forget in a hurry.

This was inarguably Ipswich’s weekend at the top – until Monday night, at least, when Middlesbrough head to Sheffield United with a chance to hit the summit.

The only other team in the top eight to win were Millwall, avenging Wrexham’s win at The Den by beating them 2-0 at The Racecourse. Femi Azeez was the difference in attack, setting up both goals, and Max Crocombe did the business in nets with five saves. This was 5th beating 6th but there’s now six points between them. Millwall are having an exceedingly healthy start to 2026.

A strange weekend for Leicester City. Their potential points deduction had been referred to as such for so long that it started to become one of those phrases that lost all meaning. But no, it was real and it was a six-point deduction. Ostensibly bad… but maybe actually pretty good in the circumstances? It takes them to the edge of the relegation zone, so at least they now know what they’re playing for: survival from a double relegation.

Perhaps that will have focused the minds on the task at ha— ah no, there’s Ricardo Pereira dallying on the ball, losing it in the last line of defence, and there’s Birmingham City winger Ibrahim Osman running through to score. Leicester got themselves level (an Abdul Fatawu banger, of course), only for Bobby De Cordova-Reid to receive a red card for a first-half over-stretching lunge. Blues’ winner came in the 67th minute – gorgeous movement and finish from Jay Stansfield, assisted smartly by Marvin Ducksch.

Here’s how things look now for Leicester…

…while Birmingham are up to within 2pts of the play-off places. Then again, so is everybody else, because the seeded batch is threatening the upper crust: Wrexham may still be 6th but only 4 points separates them from 15th!

15th is Swansea City. They and Norwich City (17th) beat dropzone-dwellers Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn Rovers. For Norwich it was a new striker, Mo Touré, who notched on debut. He may be starting sooner rather than later, with Jovan Makama limping off injured and Josh Sargent on strike. In a 4-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday, it was a double for the Swans’ Viper, Zan Vipotnik the league’s top scorer by three clear goals.

Southampton and Preston were 1-0 winners at home, against Watford and Portsmouth respectively. New Saint Cyle Larin larruped home a thumping header and Preston’s winner was also a headed goal, this one a divine looper from Alfie Devine.

League One

Another eventful weekend in the third tier brought 44 goals, two hat-tricks and one sacking.

Kyrell Lisbie scored his second hat-trick of the season in Peterborough’s 6-1 demolition of Wigan. Jimmy-Jay Morgan, Harry Leonard and Pemi Aderoju also got on the scoresheet for Posh, with veteran defender Tom Lees registering two assists. This result saw Wigan drop into the bottom four and it proved to be the final straw for the Latics’ hierarchy, who parted company with Ryan Lowe on Saturday evening. The 2013 FA Cup winners have won one of their last 11 league games and, bizarrely, haven’t beaten a team other than Burton in the league since 22nd November.

The weekend’s other hat-trick was a first senior treble for AFC Wimbledon’s Marcus Browne. Despite his team being pegged back twice by Reading, Browne’s 71st-minute match ball-clincher proved to be the winner as Johnnie Jackson’s side secured back-to-back wins for the first time since early October and their first home win in the league since 27th September. All of a sudden, the Dons are 14th and six points clear of the bottom four.

At the top, both Cardiff and Lincoln overcame adversity to win away from home. Despite Ryan Wintle’s 21st-minute red card, Cardiff beat Rotherham 3-0 thanks to goals from Omari Kellyman, Chris Willock and Isaak Davies. The numerically-disadvantaged Bluebirds also restricted their opponents to a solitary shot on target. Tidy.

Down in Devon, Lincoln came from a goal down to beat Plymouth 4-1 and secure their fourth consecutive victory. A well-placed finish from Bim Pepple gave Argyle the lead, before Freddie Draper headed home the equaliser from a corner. The Imps came on strong in the second half with Reeco Hackett bagging a brace (including an Olympico!) and Ryan Oné streaking clear to score his first goal for the club.

Bolton also racked up their fourth win in a row, beating Barnsley 3-2 at The Toughsheet. A dominant first-half display, underpinned by two goals and an assist from Sam Dalby, meant Steven Schumacher’s side raced into a three-goal lead, but a quadruple half-time change from Conor Hourihane helped the visitors to come back into the game. A deflected effort from Luca Connell in the 57th minute and a powerful near-post strike from Adam Phillips in the 60th minute put the result back in the balance, but Bolton saw the game out to remain six points behind Lincoln.

There was a big win for Jack Wilshere’s Luton in the race to secure a top-six finish. The Hatters beat Bradford 2-1 to move within four points of the Bantams. Jake Richards’ daisy-cutter and Shayden Morris’ cool finish gave Luton a 2-0 lead, before Stephen Humphrys pulled one back for the visitors in the 96th minute. It’s now three points from the last 15 available for Graham Alexander’s side, whose challenging run of fixtures continues with games against Posh and Stockport.

Barring AFC Wimbledon, the only other team in the bottom half to win on Saturday was Northampton. Kevin Nolan’s Cobblers ended a run of nine league games without a win, and climbed out of the bottom four, by beating Stevenage 3-1. Northampton have scored 17% of their season’s goals in their last two games.

League Two

Not since 27 September, and across a run of 20 games (D4 L16), had Simon Weaver’s side tasted victory. That Harrogate run finally ended against Cambridge, who arrived as League Two’s third-placed side and unbeaten since 25 October.

Of course, it’s League Two, so the unstoppable force was beaten by the immovable object.

And both goals were beauties. Bryn Morris opened the scoring with a long-range strike, before Emmerson Sutton added a superb tight-angled finish to make it 2-0. Cambridge found a foothold on 29 minutes, but Harrogate defended impressively after the break, holding firm to see out a result that had been a long time coming.

On to Barrow, whose narrow defeat to Notts County was their fifth loss in a row. Barrow were unfortunate to fall behind to a deflected effort and they remained competitive once they’d levelled before the interval, but Notts deserved their winner on 58’ through Matthew Dennis – and could have scored more. Elsewhere, Bristol Rovers threw away a 2-1 lead as Chesterfield nicked a late 3-2 win, inspired by an acrobatic James Berry. The Gas still look a different proposition under Evans, however.

Colchester’s 2-0 win over floundering Shrewsbury tightened things further at the bottom. Will Goodwin scored with the first shot of the match before Arthur Read doubled the lead with a corker from range before half-time. Shrews applied some pressure after the break, but Colchester managed the game comfortably enough. Gavin Cowan’s side are just two points in front of Harrogate and…

Newport. Oh my good lord, what might have been. And then, oh my good lord, what might have been again.

The 0-0 draw with Grimsby is objectively a good point. Reaching half-time goalless was an achievement in itself, given the Mariners’ dominance. But Christian Fuchs’ side brought a bit more heat after the break and restricted Grimsby to just four shots in the second half, with the momentum nudging Newport’s way.

On the hour, Newport were awarded a soft-ish penalty. It was a huge opportunity to punish Grimsby’s wastefulness, and a huge opportunity missed, Nathaniel Opoku seeing his effort saved. With 15 minutes remaining, another penalty followed, this time for Grimsby, despite minimal contact on the darting Jaze Kabia (contact that appeared to come outside the box). It would have been cruel on County, but Jordan Wright made the save to keep things square.

At the other end of the table, we are in that phase of the season where the top seven is so tightly packed that you drop places if you lose and climb them if you win. It might pay to take your eye off the table for a while.

Swindon were convincing winners against Oldham, with Aaron Drinan scoring his 24th goal of the season in all competitions, the third in a 3-0 victory. MK Dons were similarly dominant, even if the 3-2 scoreline against Cheltenham made it appear closer than it was. Goals at 2-0 just before the break and again at 3-1 late on flattered the visitors. League leaders Bromley nicked a late 2-1 win against Fleetwood to become the first side to pass 60 points.

Everything remains in play in League Two, and when the run-in arrives, it should be properly tasty.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. We’re not sure how to describe this goal from James Berry, but it’s bloody good.

2. Bookish brilliance from Arthur Read

3. At a canter, on the counter, Bristol City break forward

4. Off the training ground, from the corner, and into the net for Wycombe

5. YOU’RE GETTING MAULED BY THE SQUIRREL

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

🐤 Canary comeback — Norwich City have won five of their last seven Championship games – that’s the same number as they totted up over their previous 24.

🧙‍♀️ A Drinan spell — Coming into this season, Aaron Drinan had 37 goals; his 24 in 31 appearances since mean that 39% of his career goals have come in this campaign.

🟥 Double trouble — Lewis Travis of Derby County is the second player this season to both score an own goal and receive a red card in the Championship, after Jack Robinson for Birmingham against Hull.

🎩 Lisbie landmark — Kyrell Lisbie scored his first EFL hat-trick for Peterborough, taking him to seven goals in seven games after managing just two in his first 21 appearances.

⚽ Dalby in stereo — Sam Dalby has scored a brace in two of his last three games for Bolton, having never scored more than once in any of his 75 prior EFL matches.

📈 Lincoln climbing — Lincoln City have won four successive league games for the first time since April 2024, and their 61 points from 30 matches is their best tally at this stage of a season since 1980/81.

🐝 Beesley buzz — Jake Beesley has now scored 12 League One goals for Burton Albion, more than in any of his previous seven campaigns across the top four tiers.

🎯 Paterson streak — Callum Paterson has scored or assisted in six consecutive League Two matches for Milton Keynes Dons, his longest such run in the top four tiers.

🔥 County roll on — Notts County have won six straight league matches for the first time in the top four tiers since September 2017, under Kevin Nolan.

🇬🇭 Osman opener — Ibrahim Osman became the first Ghanaian to score a league goal for Birmingham City since Quincy Owusu-Abeyie in September 2008.

SkyBet Championship

Birmingham 2-1 Leicester
Charlton 0-0 QPR
Coventry 0-0 Oxford
Derby 1-2 Ipswich
Hull 2-3 Bristol City
Norwich 2-0 Blackburn
Preston 1-0 Portsmouth
Southampton 1-0 Watford
Swansea 4-0 Sheffield Wednesday
West Brom 0-0 Stoke
Wrexham 0-2 Millwall

Sky Bet League One

AFC Wimbledon 3-2 Reading
Bolton 3-2 Barnsley
Huddersfield 2-2 Blackpool
Luton 2-1 Bradford
Mansfield 0-0 Exeter
Northampton 3-1 Stevenage
Peterborough 6-1 Wigan
Plymouth 1-4 Lincoln
Port Vale 2-2 Burton Albion
Rotherham 0-3 Cardiff
Stockport 0-0 Leyton Orient
Wycombe 4-0 Doncaster

Sky Bet League Two

Accrington Stanley 1-0 Salford
Bristol Rovers 2-3 Chesterfield
Cheltenham 2-3 MK Dons
Colchester 2-0 Shrewsbury
Crawley Town 0-1 Crewe
Fleetwood Town 1-2 Bromley
Gillingham 2-1 Tranmere
Harrogate 2-1 Cambridge
Newport County 0-0 Grimsby
Notts County 2-1 Barrow
Swindon 3-0 Oldham
Walsall 1-3 Barnet

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It’s deadline day today

Write-ups and ratings from the weekend’s movers are on the way, ahead of our live blog at 11:00 and live stream at 18:00. Keep an eye on your inbox. But first…

Championship

Matt Watts

Happy Birthday, Kim Hellberg. The Swede turned 38 on Sunday, but you could argue that he had three presents on Saturday. The first was Hayden Hackney’s stunning strike after 17 minutes to give Middlesbrough all three points against Philippe Clement’s in-form Norwich. It’s now five league wins in a row for Boro, who didn’t let the Canaries have a single shot on target after they took the lead.

Hellberg’s men are now level on points with leaders Coventry, who fell to a 2-1 defeat against QPR. Josh Eccles gave the Sky Blues the lead after the break, but a delightful backheel from Richard Kone and an emphatic finish from Nicolas Madsen completed the turnaround (and delivered present No.2 to Herr Hellberg). There was more than a hint of revenge for the Rs, who lost 7-1 at the CBS Arena back in August. This defeat means Coventry are now winless in their last seven away league games – eight in all competitions.

Present No.3 came in the form of Ipswich dropping points at home for the first time since 22nd November. Jack Clarke’s penalty cancelled out Lewis Gibson’s opener for Preston, but Kieran McKenna’s side are now seven points behind Coventry and Boro (albeit with a game in hand).

Four presents for Sweden’s finest export since Abba? Not on Hull’s watch. The Tigers racked up their fourth win in a row, beating strugglers Blackburn 1-0 at Ewood Park. Four minutes after coming off the bench, new signing Lewis Koumas combined with fellow sub Kyle Joseph to score the winner and send the away end into raptures. Like Ipswich, Hull have a game in hand over the top two – at home to Watford on Tuesday night – but, unlike Ipswich, they’re now only five points off the autos.

In the race for the play-offs, Wrexham reclaimed 6th spot after beating Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Hillsborough. Derby held the final play-off spot from 10pm on Friday night ‘til 2:30pm on Saturday after they put in a five-star performance against Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

It was a disastrous evening for the hosts, with Zak Vyner about to leave for Wrexham, Neto Borges and Sinclair Armstrong being benched after arriving late, and then an absolute horror show on the pitch. The Robins failed to defend balls into their box, couldn’t live with Derby’s third-man runs, and mustered a solitary shot on target despite trailing since the 13th minute. John Eustace’s rampant Rams have taken 10 points from the last 12 available and they have their best away record in the Championship this season (owing to their slightly better goal difference than Hull!).

Javi Gracia’s second spell in charge of Watford came to an end with their 2-0 defeat at home to Swansea. Gracia resigned (that’s right, resigned - he wasn’t sacked!) after a meeting with the board on Sunday. Gracia leaves the Hornets four points off the play-offs after a run of four league games without a win.

Andy King’s first game in interim charge of Leicester didn’t go according to plan, as Caleb Okoli was sent off after 15 minutes for pulling back Miles Leaburn. The Charlton striker was a long way from goal, but Okoli was the last man and he held on to Leaburn like a feline bringing down a bird. Clinical finishes from Sonny Carey and Lyndon Dykes put the Addicks 2-0 up, before Jordan Ayew spurned the Foxes’ best chance to get back into the game, firing his penalty against the post.

It’s now one point in four games for Leicester, who continue to look over their collective shoulder, but this was the perfect response to a derby-day drubbing at Millwall for Nathan Jones’ side. Granted, Charlton’s only two wins since Christmas have come against teams reduced to nine men and ten men – both before half-time – but they are now six points clear of the bottom three.

One team who’d love to have that kind of cushion is West Brom, who fell 3-0 to Portsmouth. Two recent arrivals stepped up for Pompey, with Millenic Alli contributing an assist and then a goal, before Ebou Adams scored once again at Fratton Park. Cries of “You’re not fit to wear the shirt!” met the Baggies players at full-time, with Isaac Price having to be held back by Daryl Dike. When you’ve picked up one lousy point on the road since 1st October, you’d be well-advised to hold your hands up, take your medicine and walk off. It’s now one point (and 12 goals conceded) in four games at the helm for Eric Ramsay.

League One

Huw Davies

Seeing as nobody in the top six moved a place, let’s race to the bottom instead.

Rotherham went to St James Park on the back of four consecutive away defeats (five in all competitions). Exeter hosted them on the back of four consecutive home wins to nil (five in all competitions). Rotherham won 4-0.

Switching to a back four for once, Matt Hamshaw’s Millers had to revert to a back three anyway as Dan Gore went off at 1-0 with a shoulder injury. No matter. Three goals in five second-half minutes secured the win and proved helpful for their goal difference; 17-year-old Harry Gray scored his second in two games and Sam Nombe turned provider with two fine assists.

They climb from 23rd to 20th, above the dotted line on goal difference (I told you it was helpful). Burton Albion join Doncaster, Northampton and Port Vale in the bottom four, despite earning a 2-2 draw with Cardiff. Not many teams restrict the league leaders to two shots from inside the box… sadly for Burton, they both went in.

Rotherham weren’t the only victorious strugglers. There are signs of life at Jon Brady’s Port Vale. Kyle John headed home from a corner inside two minutes and that was all they needed to beat Leyton Orient 1-0. Outside of a tame effort from the O’s Ollie O’Neill, the hosts didn’t really come close until Dom Ballard hit the outside of the post with the last shot of the game.

Orient were booed off at half-time, and afterwards Richie Wellens declared himself “very worried because players are drifting”, adding that transfers in progress will bring “fresh blood and new determination to fight”. For Vale, hosting Wimbledon and Burton Albion next week provides a great chance to make up some more of their 10-point gap to safety with two games in hand.

Stockport came from behind to beat Plymouth 2-1. Argyle hit the bar and forced defenders into last-ditch interventions before taking a deserved lead, but Dave Challinor’s triple substitution on the hour changed everything. On came Lewis Bate, who brought control to the midfield. On came Malik Mothersille, whose dribbling created the equaliser. On came Jack Diamond, who crossed for the winner. And staying on to score both goals was Kyle Wootton, who is having quite the season, going joint-top of the goalscoring charts.

Twice in a week, Argyle have scored first and failed to win. Performances have improved immeasurably but an 11-point gap to the top six might be too much, now.

Finally, Peterborough 2-3 Huddersfield was League One’s match of the day. Under Liam Manning, the Terriers have won three from three with possession shares of 47%, 35% and now 31%. That’s how you do it.

Huddersfield led 2-0 through a combination of Lasse Sorensen, Radinio Balker and Peterborough goalkeeper Alex Bass, but Posh dragged it back to 2-2. Kyrell Lisbie scored at the third attempt, after Harry Leonard’s beautiful flicked effort had hit the post, then James Dornelly got on the end of a late set piece. Could they…? Nah. Later still, in the 89th minute, the Posh defence let Cameron Humphreys have too much space and he called their bluff, shooting into the corner that the attendant Archie Collins had all but pointed him towards.

Protect a point, protect the goal… or if you’re George Nevett, stood behind Collins, protect what really matters.

League Two

Ali Maxwell

The bottom two, Harrogate Town and Newport County, travelled to teams in 20th (Crawley) and 22nd (Bristol Rovers) with a chance to close the gap. They both lost to nil, further raising the difficulty level of survival.

At the Mem, Newport had the game’s first presentable chance through Ciaran Brennan, but it was missed. After that, this was the Yusuf Akhamrich show. Bristol Rovers’ 20-year-old Spurs loanee made his first league start and put in one of the season’s most exciting individual performances. His first goal was a left-footed rocket from 25 yards following a dribble inside, and his second came after a sensual first touch to control a ball over the top.

Upon his signing, based on what we knew about Akhamrich, we wrote that, “there may not be a player with higher upside involved in the League Two relegation battle.” These goals brought to mind Elliot Anderson’s sparkling performances for Gas in 2021/22.

Harrogate lost at Crawley, who have finally got serious. A third straight clean sheet (W2 D1) has them six points above Newport and eight above Harrogate, winning via goals from Max Anderson and Josh Flint. Scott Lindsey seems to have finally hit on something with a back three of Charlie Barker, Theo Vassell and Flint, with Jacob Chapman behind them and Jay Williams screening in front of them.

At the top, it was a weekend of away wins that ranged from gutsy to dominant. Bromley blitzed Gillingham in the first half, 3-0 up at the break. Ben Thompson celebrated a hat-trick just after half-time, in his first start in over three months – 4-1, the final score. Notts County’s depth in the striker position was reflected in their 2-1 win at Fleetwood: Alassana Jatta opened the scoring and Matthew Dennis came off the bench on the hour mark alongside new singing Lee Ndlovu, who promptly laid one on a plate for Dennis to score the winner. Four wins in a row for Notts.

It’s six (SIX) straight for Cambridge United following a 3-0 win at Oldham. A tight game was cracked open when an error at the back by Manny Monthé was compounded by a clumsy tackle from Ryan Woods – penalty, scored by Ben Knight on 55’, and by 67’ it was 3-0 after a Double Appérétif.

Salford recovered from midweek defeat to win 2-0 at Tranmere. Goalkeeper Matty Young made some sharp first-half saves, before Jorge Grant and Kelly N’Mai won the game in the second half. And Swindon’s 3-1 against Barrow put an end to their three-game losing streak but was somewhat overshadowed by Ian Holloway’s remarkable, viral post-match interview.

We also had 8th vs 6th and 9th vs 2nd, and both served up topsy-turvy games. Chesterfield and MK Dons relinquished 2-0 leads to draw 2-2 against Walsall and Grimsby respectively. When 12th and 10th did battle, Crewe jumped back above Colchester with a 1-0 win. It was a simple case of execution: Calum Agius calmly finished Adrien Thibaut’s low cross, while Colchester’s goal threat was all quantity (18 shots to 3 in the match) and no quality.

Accrington scored a few crackers to beat an out-of-sorts Cheltenham Town 3-1, while Gavin Cowan’s first match as Shrewsbury Town manager was a match that happened at home to Barnet: 0-0.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Brace on debut for Yusuf Akhamrich and both are beauties for Gas.

2. Alternative angle of Ben Thompson’s hat-trick goal for Bromley.

3. Tricks and flicks from Richard Kone sparks limbs and scenes at Loftus Road.

4. Hayden Thwackney with the rocket of the docket.

5. That’s scary: a sumptuous first touch by Sonny Carey to put Addicks ahead.

Bonus: Man yells at Cloud.

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

🐝 Javi Gra-see-ya — Javi Gracia’s second spell at Watford ended despite an improved return of 31 points from 20 games; over the season, the Hornets have failed to keep a clean sheet in 13 of 16 home matches and conceded the opening goal in 20 of 29 games.

🌟 Golden oldies — Walsall’s Albert Adomah (38) marked his goal this weekend with a walking-stick celebration, but wasn’t to be outdone by Shaun Whalley of Accrington Stanley, who posted one goal and two assists and now has 10 goal contributions in 15 appearances this season.

🧳 Whither Wycombe’s wanderlust? — Wycombe Wanderers have scored just 28% of their goals away from home, collecting 13 points from 14 away games.

💣 Gas explosion — Bristol Rovers have recorded two 3-0 wins in their last five league matches, as many 3+ goal victories as in their previous 128 Football League games combined.

🚍 Ram raid — Derby County’s 5–0 win at Bristol City was their biggest away league victory since September 1959.

📈 Half-century Mill — Millwall have reached 50+ points after 30 games of a second-tier season for the first time since 2001–02 (53), when they finished fourth.

🍾 Pompey pop — Portsmouth have won three of their last six Championship games (D2 L1), recording their first league win by 3+ goals in over a year, since beating Swansea City 4–0 on New Year’s Day 2025.

🔥 Boro blaze — Middlesbrough have won five consecutive league games for the first time since October 2023; no side in England’s top four tiers has won more league matches so far in 2026.

🚫 Home blanks — AFC Wimbledon have failed to score in five straight Football League home games for the first time in their history.

⚽ Wootton you just know it — Kyle Wootton scored twice for Stockport County against Plymouth Argyle, taking him to 15 goals this season – it’s his best-ever return in a Football League campaign and he is joint-top of the Golden Boot rankings now.

📊 Stanley surge — Since the start of November, only Bromley (38) and Cambridge United (32) have won more League Two points than Accrington Stanley (27), who’ve won five of their last seven matches (D1 L1).

⚖️ Cool, Cambs and collected — Cambridge United are unbeaten in 14 league games (W9 D5), their joint-longest run in Football League history, last achieved in November 1972.

SkyBet Championship

Blackburn 0-1 Hull
Bristol City 0-5 Derby
Ipswich 1-1 Preston
Leicester 0-2 Charlton
Middlesbrough 1-0 Norwich
Millwall 1-1 Sheffield United
Oxford 0-2 Birmingham
Portsmouth 3-0 West Brom
QPR 2-1 Coventry
Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Wrexham
Stoke 0-2 Southampton
Watford 0-2 Swansea

Sky Bet League One

AFC Wimbledon 0-1 Bolton
Barnsley 3-1 Stevenage
Bradford 1-0 Doncaster
Burton Albion 2-2 Cardiff
Exeter 0-4 Rotherham
Leyton Orient 0-1 Port Vale
Luton 1-0 Blackpool
Mansfield 0-0 Wycombe
Northampton 0-2 Reading
Peterborough 2-3 Huddersfield
Stockport 2-1 Plymouth
Wigan 0-1 Lincoln

Sky Bet League Two

Accrington Stanley 3-1 Cheltenham
Bristol Rovers 3-0 Newport County
Chesterfield 2-2 Walsall
Crawley 2-0 Harrogate
Crewe 1-0 Colchester
Fleetwood 1-2 Notts County
Gillingham 1-4 Bromley
Grimsby 2-2 MK Dons
Oldham 0-3 Cambridge
Shrewsbury 0-0 Barnet
Swindon 3-1 Barrow
Tranmere 0-2 Salford

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🚨 Features: Weekend Notes | 25/26 Transfer Window | Season Previews

🖋️ Writers: Ali Maxwell | George Elek | Huw Davies | Sam Parry | Guests

🎙️ Podcasts: Under The Lights | Dear Ali & George…

Championship

Sam Parry

Ollie Rathbone’s 2025/26 season for Wrexham is a catalogue of cameos and consequence. In one of only two league starts, against Blackburn, he scored in a 2-0 win. In 20 minutes as a sub at home to Preston, he scored a 77th-minute winner. In a two-minute cameo at Watford, he nabbed a 91st-minute equaliser. And on Saturday…

The latest act came after QPR looked to have done enough. Harvey Vale opened the scoring early with a superb volley. Wrexham failed to register a first-half shot but levelled after the break, only for Steve Cook to restore QPR’s lead on 80 minutes with the freest over headers. A stoppage-time equaliser from Josh Windass: cue limbs. Then cue some more, as a Rathbone strike from range turned defeat into victory and lifted Wrexham into the top six. From 10 shots this season, Rathbone has directly contributed 7 points.

There was also late drama at The Den, though not of the jeopardy kind. Millwall were already in control at 2-0, with Josh Coburn also having missed an open net while Femi Azeez had a diving header ruled out. Then Camiel Neghli missed a stoppage-time penalty – but Luke Cundle bundled home the rebound. Aidomo Emakhu added a late fourth to cap a dominant afternoon. Millwall sit six points off 2nd and six points off 7th.

At the sharp end, Middlesbrough strengthened their position by beating Preston. At 0-0, a PNE penalty appeal for handball went unheeded. Minutes later, Alan Browne scored against his former club and, once ahead, Boro raced away with it – 4-0 up by the 54th minute. Having faced scrutiny over his finishing, Tommy Conway’s brace took him to three goals in two games and doubled his season’s tally to six.

That result mattered because…

Third-placed Ipswich (with key men missing) lost ground with a 3-1 defeat to Sheffield United (who also had key men missing). With Gus Hamer back in the side, the Blades were comfortable in possession and clinical on the break. Ipswich briefly threatened a comeback after a second-half penalty, but Patrick Bamford’s fine finish restored a two-goal cushion. He also received a late second yellow for a dive, bringing him the first red card of his career.

At the bottom, Oxford claimed a vital 2-1 win over Leicester. Abdul Fatawu struck late for the Foxes, but it was only a consolation. Mark Harris, starting for the first time since 20th December, used his pace against a high line by breaking free 1-v-1 and rounding the goalkeeper to finish into an empty net. Someone called it…

For the Foxes, this result was the final Jenga piece to be pulled before the tower toppled. Martí Cifuentes was sacked on Sunday. Who will pick up the pieces? And will all 38 pieces be there to play with, given the possible points deduction that’s looming?

In the South Coast derby, Portsmouth’s Ebou Adams had a hand in affairs. So duel-savvy was he, that he effectively duelled the equaliser into existence. Southampton had struck first through Leo Scienza, who gave his celebration the full derby-day treatment, but in truth neither side did enough to win. Colby Bishop’s eight touches in the box were only one fewer than Southampton managed as a team — a stat that neatly captured the inefficiency on both sides.

But where better to finish than where the weekend began? That’s right: West Brom on Friday night television. Derby scored with their only first-half shot when debutant goalkeeper Max O’Leary spilled a corner, but a 95th-minute Chris Mepham header gave Eric Ramsay a deserved and much-needed first point.

League One

Huw Davies

We start with a draw, because Monday pod rules don’t apply here. Doncaster led Wigan 3-0 through Francis Okoronkwo, Jay McGrath (who’d made a superb goal-saving block at 0-0) and Harry Clifton, the latter helped by Will Aimson’s banana-peel-coated studs. When you’re in the relegation zone, though, nerves jangle. Joe Taylor clipped in delightfully and Donny retreated deeper than the ninth circle of hell, which allowed Callum Wright to convert Fraser Murray’s dangerous cross from a couple of yards out. In the dying minutes, Owen Moxon equalised, Sam Tickle brilliantly denied Jack Senior and it finished 3-3. Rovers shouldn’t have drawn this game – they outshot Wigan 28 to 8 – but draw it they did, leaving them in the poop.

Also in the poop: Rotherham, who drew 1-1 with Wimbledon by missing chances and conceding to their visitors’ only shot on target.

OK, back to the top. Saturday lunchtime gave us two big promotion clashes: Cardiff v Stockport, which ended 1-1 (a fair result despite Callum Robinson’s big chance late on), and Huddersfield v Bradford. The hosts won 1-0 with a goal that illustrated the perils of switching off in the multi-ball era. It feels almost transgressive to take a throw-in two seconds after the ball’s been sent into the crowd, but those have been the rules for some time now. A ball boy, Bali Mumba and Alfie May all reacted quickly to the opportunity, Bradford’s defenders didn’t, and Marcus Harness scored.

Liam Manning’s Terriers deserved their win. Bradford took a single shot, from miles out, in the hour before Marcus McGuane’s red card and only four shots after it, three of those from outside the area. McGuane, given his first start in any competition this season by the new manager who had trusted him at Oxford and Bristol City, was tricked into the first yellow card – he was rightly booked, but only for retaliating when Aden Baldwin, wrongly unbooked, tried to push him over the pitchside hoardings – but could have no complaints about the second. In the end, it didn’t matter.

Meanwhile, by which I mean earlier, Lincoln had hosted Burton Albion on Thursday night and made the most of foul conditions and a skiddy surface. Jack Moylan scored by skimming one like a stone – outside of the boot, inside of the post. Then, after Jake Beesley had equalised with an xGeesley special, i.e. unmarked six yards out, Freddie Draper’s low shot was spilled by Bradley Collins and, showing great initiative to get to the rebound first, Moylan mopped up. Well, not literally. That would’ve taken forever. Lincoln are two months unbeaten, W6 D4 L0 in that time, and this gave them a little cushion over their automatic promotion rivals.

The cushion would’ve been puffier had Bolton not climbed to 3rd with a stoppage-time winner from the spot against Leyton Orient.

Now, introducing a new feature: What In Devon’s Name? Plymouth and Exeter both deserve commendations. Exeter, who scored some very swish goals in their 3-1 win at Port Vale, have English league football’s joint-best form over five matches. They did allow Vale 12 shots from inside the box, but on the other hand, Jayden Wareham almost scored doing this:

And Argyle beat Luton 1-0. They would’ve scored before first-half stoppage time (through a Brendan Galloway bicycle kick, no less) were it not for Nigel Lonwijk’s incredible goal-line block and Josh Keeley’s fine saves. The win was merited even with Conor Hazard saving Nahki Wells’ good opportunity, which takes him to 6.94 xG for the season with only two goals scored.

January signing Ronan Curtis impressed again. Derek Adams joined Tom Cleverley’s setup as director of football in mid-November with Argyle bottom of League One; since then, only three teams can better their 23 points from 12 games. The underlying data shows their improvement, too.

League Two

Matt Watts

Like most weekends since the autumn, it was a good weekend for Bromley. The league leaders came from behind to beat top-three rivals Swindon 2-1 at a packed-out Hayes Lane. A week after being racially abused online for missing a late penalty against Chesterfield, Nicke Kabamba rose highest to nod in the winner in the 90th minute.

Andy Woodman’s Ravens have won 10 of their last 12 games. They’re still unbeaten at home in the league this season, and have maintained their record of scoring two or more goals in every home game. Next up: Crewe at home on Tuesday night.

Who goes to school on Tuesday night?

Salford are up to 2nd after beating Bristol Rovers 1-0. The only goal of the game was a delightful finish from Ryan Graydon, who has scored three goals in three games since making the switch from Fleetwood. The Ammies, 10 unbeaten in league and cup, sit six points behind Bromley with a game in hand.

It was Callum Paterson’s day at Stadium MK as MK Dons beat Shrewsbury 5-1. Paterson scored his 100th career goal before adding a couple more to bag his first career hat-trick – all within the opening 34 minutes. The goal of the game, however, was a consolation scored by Tom Sang.

Neil Harris’ Cambridge came from behind twice to beat Tranmere 4-2. Shayne Lavery scored his first goal since mid-October, big Kelland Watts bagged a brace, then Ben Knight put a gloss on the scoreline just before full-time. Not only have Cambridge won their last four league games, but they’re unbeaten in League Two since 25th October.

Grimsby have also won four league games in a row (five in all competitions). They beat Cheltenham 2-0 thanks to a long-range pile-driver from Kieran Green and a deft flick from Andy Cook / cross from Jaze Kabia. I’ll leave that one to the Dubious Goals Panel!

A 2-1 defeat to Colchester proved to be Pete Wild’s final game in charge of Fleetwood. The Cod Army haven’t won since before Christmas, have lost their last five games in all competitions, and are 15th in the table. Injuries, key players moving on, off-field dramas and a budget that is no longer towards the top end of League Two are all contributing factors.

Down towards the foot of League Two, only two teams in the bottom 11 won. Scott Lindsey’s new-look/old-look Crawley picked up their first win since 8th November, beating Barrow 1-0. A sumptuous 89th-minute winner from one of their many new additions, Taylor Richards, proved to be the difference between the two sides.

Newport are off the bottom - and only one point from safety - after beating misfiring Chesterfield 2-1 at Rodney Parade. Goals from Harrison Biggins and Michael Spellman put County 2-0 up, before Dilan Markanday pulled one back with five minutes remaining. That’s back-to-back home wins for Christian Fuchs’ side; can they make it three in a row against Accrington on Tuesday night?

Unfortunately, at any given moment, one team has to prop up the other 71 EFL teams and, at present, that team is Harrogate. The Sulphurites conceded three second-half goals in their 3-0 defeat to Gillingham. Simon Weaver’s men haven’t won a league game since beating the Gills in the reverse fixture at the end of September.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Lift, love, laugh — Regan Slater scores what would be the winner for Hull.

2. Lift and let drive — Kieran Green grabs a banger for Grimsby.

3. Lifting it over the keeper’s head — Callum O’Hare bags for Blades on the break.

4. Lifting the Vale – QPR hit the bar before Harvey hits a volley.

5. Lifting the roof off - Ollie Rathbone scores a late screamer for Wrexham.

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

⏱️ Imply Red — No EFL side has led more often (18 times) nor for longer than Lincoln City, who’ve spent 46.6% of their minutes ahead. If only first halves counted, Lincoln would have 58 points from 27 games — 20 more than L1 leaders Cardiff City.

🔟 Pat on the head — With a hat-trick on Saturday, Callum Paterson has recorded 10 goal involvements in nine games (6 goal and 4 assists) since December, more than any other player in England’s top four tiers.

⤵️ Saints still reeling — In their last 10 games under Tonda Eckert, Southampton’s opponents have averaged 26.5 touches in the box per game. In their final 10 games under Will Still, Southampton’s opponents averaged 16.5 touches in the box per game.

💪 Hullk — Hull City have won eight of their last 11 Championship games (D1 L2). No team in the top four tiers has won more league matches in that spell… although in their 2–1 win over Swansea, they were reliant on Swans missing all four of their big chances. Someone needs to probe those numbers in an article.

✈️ Late luggage — Exeter City have earned more points (7) and scored more goals (6) in their last three League One away games than across the 11 that preceded them this season.

🎯 Hamer time — Gustavo Hamer supplied two assists for Sheffield United vs Ipswich Town. It’s his sixth Championship game with multiple assists – more than any player since his 2020 debut (level with Harry Wilson and Ryan Giles).

📈 Truly, Madly, Lisbie — Kyrell Lisbie has scored three goals in his last four league games, more than in his first 21 EFL appearances for Peterborough United.

🍊 Fletcher’s dozen — Ashley Fletcher’s 12th League One goal marks his best ever return in a single league season.

🚫 O’s No — Leyton Orient have lost eight of their last nine away league games (W1), including two separate four-game away losing runs.

🧓 Garnering experience — At 37y 287d, Joe Garner became the oldest player to register multiple assists in a League Two game since Wes Hoolahan for Cambridge United in October 2020.

SkyBet Championship

Birmingham 1-1 Stoke
Blackburn 1-1 Watford
Bristol City 2-0 Sheffield Wed
Derby 1-1 West Brom
Hull 2-1 Swansea
Leicester 1-2 Oxford
Middlesbrough 4-0 Preston
Millwall 4-0 Charlton
Portsmouth 1-1 Southampton
QPR 2-3 Wrexham
Sheffield Utd 3-1 Ipswich

Sky Bet League One

Blackpool 2-0 Northampton
Bolton 2-1 Leyton Orient
Cardiff 1-1 Stockport
Doncaster 3-3 Wigan
Huddersfield 1-0 Bradford
Lincoln 2-1 Burton Albion
Plymouth Argyle 1-0 Luton
Port Vale 1-3 Exeter
Reading 2-2 Barnsley
Rotherham 1-1 AFC Wimbledon
Stevenage 1-1 Mansfield
Wycombe 0-2 Peterborough

Sky Bet League Two

Barnet 3-2 Oldham
Barrow 0-1 Crawley
Bromley 2-1 Swindon
Cambridge 4-2 Tranmere
Cheltenham 0-2 Grimsby
Colchester 2-1 Fleetwood
Harrogate 0-3 Gillingham
MK Dons 5-1 Shrewsbury
Newport 2-1 Chesterfield
Notts County 1-0 Crewe
Salford 1-0 Bristol Rovers
Walsall 0-0 Accrington Stanley

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Thanks for reading!

Elsewhere on NTT20.COM

🚨 Features: Weekend Notes | 25/26 Transfer Window | Season Previews

🖋️ Writers: Ali Maxwell | George Elek | Huw Davies | Sam Parry | Guests

🎙️ Podcasts: Under The Lights | Dear Ali & George…

Championship

Sam Parry

In one of the most intriguing games of the weekend, Eric Ramsay’s new-look West Brom side started fast against Middlesbrough. They went close in a frenetic opening when a Luke Ayling error allowed Aune Heggebø through on goal.

As the half wore on, West Brom looked increasingly flustered rather than fluent, more instructed than practised when trying to break at pace, and Middlesbrough began to suss them. A Charlie Taylor own goal put Boro ahead in the first half, and when Sammy Silvera drilled a second through a defender’s legs for 2–0 on ‘58, it felt as though they had West Brom in a chokehold.

The arrival of Jed Wallace and Josh Maja, and Mikey Johnston moving to the left wing, helped Baggies find some cut-through. An Isaac Price free kick from the edge of the box and a Wallace finish from a loose clearance hauled them level. A 2-2 draw would’ve made the Baggies the first side to deny Boro victory after they’d led.

Instead, Boro found another answer. Crisp interplay between Morris, Hackney and Silvera carved out space for Delano Burgzorg, who finished calmly to make it 3–2 and finally settle a game that had swung wildly but ultimately, and just about deservedly, tilted Boro’s way. Baggies, it should be said, are only 3pts off the relegation zone.

Early errors proved decisive at Portman Road, where Blackburn were undone inside the opening 15 minutes against Ipswich. An inviting cross saw Eiran Cashin slide home an avoidable own goal on his Championship debut for Rovers. The second was just as preventable, Blackburn failing to clear a corner and allowing Jack Taylor to prod home.

The game was effectively over long before the 88th minute, when a sumptuous counter-attack ended with Sammie Szmodics tapping in against his former club. Kieran McKenna’s side needed that, having seen both Coventry and Middlesbrough win.

Coventry’s victory was harder-earned because Leicester struck first with a flowing move involving many of their brightest sparks this season: Fatawu dribbling into the box, Bobby De Cordova-Reid flicking the ball round the corner, and Jordan James firing home inside ten minutes.

Looking vulnerable to Foxes pressure in the first half, Coventry flipped the contest just after the break when Ellis Simms deflected in an equaliser. That goal sparked them into life. Frank Lampard’s side dominated the second period, with Romain Esse hitting the post and Coventry registering ten shots inside the box. In the 84th minute, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto shrugged off Luke Thomas and fired goalwards, where substitute Haji Wright was on hand to secure all three points.

One of the strangest matches of the weekend unfolded at the Valley, where one goalmouth caught all the action. Sheffield United dominated the first half, with Tom Cannon and Patrick Bamford denied by Thomas Kaminski in the Charlton goal, and Djibril Soumaré rattling the post.

Gravity flipped late in the first period, not with Soumaré’s red, but when Blades captain Japhet Tanganga was also dismissed for a clumsy-at-best forearm smash. At 11 vs 9, Charlton dominated the second half. Sonny Carey opened the scoring within a minute, finishing neatly from debutant Lydon Dykes’ headed knockdown. It was attack-v-defence stuff from there. A huge result for Nathan Jones’ side, who secured only their second win in eight games. Significant for Sheffield United too, who lose players and ground in their bid to crash the play-off party.

Elsewhere, a second-half double gave Millwall a deserved win over Watford, whilst a familiar name to Preston fans, Patrick Agyemang (not that one), missed an open net for Derby before going on to score the winner. Portsmouth, meanwhile, had to beat Sheffield Wednesday, and did so, but only just.

Norwich ended Wrexham’s winning streak with a 2–1 away victory. It does not lift the Canaries out of the relegation zone, but at 1.5 points per game under Philippe Clement, they look well placed to stride clear of danger.

And finally, Southampton’s struggles under Tonda Eckert continued as they trailed Hull 2–0 at half-time. Ross Stewart pulled one back after the break, but the Tigers threw bodies in front of everything to hold firm. It is now one win in eight for Saints, while Hull sit in the play-off mix with a game in hand on many around them.

League One

Matt Watts

The EFL’s middle child did its best to take centre stage on Saturday with Big Stories everywhere you looked.

Table-topping Cardiff beat Bradford 2-1. A stunning strike from David Turnbull gave the visitors the lead, before Calum Chambers diverted in an Ollie Tanner cross to double their advantage inside the opening half an hour. Another sumptuous effort from young Jenson Metcalfe halved the arrears after the break with what proved to be Bradford’s only shot on target. The result meant Bluebirds extended their lead at the top of the table after Lincoln let a two-goal lead slip in their draw at Luton. Crucially, Cardiff are also now nine points clear of Bradford - albeit, the Bantams do have a game in hand.

Stockport moved within one point of Bradford by beating Rotherham 3-2. There may have been five goals scored, but only two of them were in the right net. Struggling Rotherham scored two own goals, but the pick of the bunch belonged to Stockport’s Joseph Olowu after Ben Hinchliffe fired his clearance into Olowu’s backside. “Bring back the 90’s Bloopers VHS!” we say.

A word of warning for those above Stockport - this is the first time that Dave Challinor’s Hatters have won back-to-back league games since October and yet they’re still only four points off 2nd.

Bolton climbed up to 5th after Josh Sheehan’s late strike at Wigan gave them a) the bragging rights in a local derby and b) their first win since Boxing Day. Sheehan’s drive from the edge of the area certainly moved and it did come through bodies, but super Sam Tickle will want this one back.

Huddersfield’s 3-1 defeat at Burton proved to be the final game in charge for Lee Grant, who was sacked on Saturday evening. Grant leaves the Terriers 6th in League One and ten points off the automatic promotion places after a run of four league games without a win. As for Burton, this result, in their 750th game in the Football League, saw them end a run of three league games without a win (and without scoring). It also catapulted Gary Bowyer’s Brewers out of the bottom four and up to 19th.

There’s a new name at the top of the League One scoring charts and that name is Dominic Ballard. The 20-year-old scored his second hat-trick of the season as Leyton Orient beat Reading 3-1 at Brisbane Road. It was a perfect hat-trick for Ballard and a pretty perfect afternoon for Richie Wellens, who celebrated his 100th win in charge of Orient. In addition to his three goals that stood, Ballard also had two goals disallowed and he hit the post. Yes, he really could have scored five or six!

How do you respond to a 10-1 drubbing? By winning and, crucially, keeping a clean sheet. Exeter beat Stevenage 3-0 thanks to a Jayden Wareham penalty, an Ethan Brierley strike from distance and a debut goal for Timur Tutierov. Despite their off-field issues, Gary Caldwell’s Grecians are 13th after winning five league games to nil since the start of December - albeit, they’re still only four points clear of the bottom four. As for Stevenage, they’re now six without a win and, without stating the obvious, they aren’t Manchester City.

Finally, is it too early in the year for a Stag Party? Mansfield made it five wins in a row in all competitions by beating Port Vale 3-0. Spurs loanee Oliver Irow marked his senior debut by scoring twice either side of a Will Evans tap-in. Irow’s second goal in particular was certainly one that he won’t forget in a hurry. The Stags are up to 10th, but they’re only four points behind Huddersfield in 6th and they have not one, not two but three games in hand over the Terriers.

League Two

Huw Davies

League Two had an as-you-were weekend. The only wins for a lower-placed team were 4th away at 2nd and 12th at home to 11th (Grimsby beating Barnet 1-0) – hardly upsets worthy of the name.

That 2nd v 4th encounter was a biggie, though, as Salford went to Swindon and won 3-2. In a fun first half featuring three goals, a corner hitting the crossbar and an open goal missed from the touchline, they led through a set piece and a great move taking the ball from their own half to goal in just three touches – Jorge Grant’s long pass, Ryan Graydon’s unspeakably good first-time lay-off, and Kelly N’Mai to finish.

Salford finished the job to go level on points with Swindon in 2nd. They’re also six points off the top with a game in hand, thanks to Bromley drawing at Chesterfield in a 0-0 with plenty of goalmouth action. Bromley had an 89th-minute penalty to win it but Zach Hemmings saved from Nicke Kabamba. How significant could that end up being?

The other two BIG GAMES, worthy of all-caps, were relegation-based. Newport started fast again away at Gillingham: having scored in the first minute of their first meeting, they scored in the fourth minute here. And lost both times.

Losing 3-2 to goals on 90’+1 and 90’+9 sounds worse than it was, as a lengthy stoppage resulted in 18 minutes of injury time, but it’s still painful for Newport. Cameron Antwi’s fine goal to put them 2-1 up was assisted by debutant Tanatswa Nyakuhwa, who then gave away a clumsy penalty on Garath McCleary, and that rather sums up County. At times, they impress in attack. At no time do they impress in defence. Ryan Delaney, returning to the Exiles, was too weak under McCleary’s aerial challenge and the veteran nodded home.

Gillingham could/should have won it earlier anyway. Though the game’s 41 shots and 13 on target were fairly evenly shared, the five big chances (per Opta) all went to Gills. Of course, Opta may have decided that Josh Andrews’ 0.98xG miss represented five big chances in one.

Finally, Shrewsbury saw off Harrogate with some help. Jack Evans’ second booking was pivotal and perhaps a little harsh; delaying the restart is one thing, but dropping the ball behind your opponent for a throw-in as you run back to your mark is just standard practice. After that, Taylor Perry’s long-range drive went through the despairing fingers of young Henry Gray, who’d made several good saves up to then, and that was enough.

And Shews really are doing just enough. This was their fifth win of 2025/26 and three have been 1-0 at home to 22nd, 23rd and 24th. Incredibly, Harrogate haven’t won a league fixture since September – that they’re one point from safety is a damning indictment of two-up-two-down.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Kaikai can can — Super satisfying freekick kisses the crossbar on its way in.

2. Irow take a bow — Stag’s debutant hits a stunner.

3. An OG for the ages — Rotherham nab one from the most unlikely source.

4. Just three touches — Salford link up: Jorge Grant > Ryan Graydon > Kelly N’Mai

5. Owura’s Brazil aura — Wonder strike for Col U in the yellow and blue.

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

🔥 Nombe en Flambe — Sam Nombe has scored three goals in his last three appearances, all as a substitute as he’s eased back from injury; no League One player can better his 0.97 goals per 90 — albeit from just 556 minutes on the pitch.

⚖️ Level pegging — The Championship’s joint top scorers are locked on 11 goals, but not all totals are created equal: Adam Armstrong has scored his tally from 11.39 xG, with Žan Vipotnik bagging his from just 4.2 xG.

🚍 Mill travelling well — Millwall, who haven’t lost a game by a single goal this season, won their first away league game by more than one goal since November 2023; each of their previous 14 away wins had come by a single-goal margin.

🏠 Grecian’s Mount Olympus — Exeter City have won four straight home games, their longest run at St James Park since 2022.

🔄 Loss leaders — After coming from behind to beat Leicester City 2–1, Coventry City have now recovered 16 points from losing positions this Championship season — Watford (23) have rescued more though.

📉 Smereing it on thick — Tranmere Rovers have lost five of their last seven league games (W2), the same number of defeats as across their previous 22 matches.

🚫 Brom stopped — Bromley failed to score in a league game for the first time since September, ending a 15-game scoring run; the draw at Chesterfield also halted a seven-game League Two winning streak.

❌ Crawling on empty — Crawley Town are winless in 11 league games (D4 L7), losing four straight for the first time since October 2024.

📉 Tangerine nightmare — Blackpool’s 2–1 defeat to Barnsley leaves them on three consecutive league losses for the first time since October 2024.

SkyBet Championship

Charlton 1-0 Sheffield Utd
Coventry 2-1 Leicester
Ipswich 3-0 Blackburn
Oxford Utd 0-0 Bristol City
Preston 0-1 Derby
Sheff Wed 0-1 Portsmouth
Southampton 1-2 Hull
Stoke 0-0 QPR
Swansea 1-1 Birmingham
Watford 0-2 Millwall
West Brom 2-3 Middlesbrough
Wrexham 1-2 Norwich

Sky Bet League One

AFC Wimbledon 0-1 Doncaster
Barnsley 2-1 Blackpool
Bradford 1-2 Cardiff
Burton Albion 3-1 Huddersfield
Exeter 3-0 Stevenage
Leyton Orient 3-1 Reading
Luton 2-2 Lincoln City
Mansfield 3-0 Port Vale
Northampton 1-2 Wycombe
Peterborough 0-1 Plymouth
Stockport 3-2 Rotherham
Wigan 0-1 Bolton

Sky Bet League Two

Accrington Stanley 0-2 MK Dons
Bristol Rovers 0-1 Colchester
Chesterfield 0-0 Bromley
Crawley Town 1-2 Notts County
Crewe 3-1 Barrow
Fleetwood Town 1-2 Cambridge Utd
Gillingham 3-2 Newport County
Grimsby 1-0 Barnet
Oldham 2-1 Cheltenham
Shrewsbury 1-0 Harrogate Town
Swindon 2-3 Salford
Tranmere 1-3 Walsall

▶️ NTT20 EFL Fantasy League — Join Now

Top 5 Scorers (Total)

Top 5 Scorers (Gameweek)

NTT20 League leaderboard (Overall)

NTT20 League leaderboard (Gameweek)

Thanks for reading!

Elsewhere on NTT20.COM

🚨 Features: Weekend Notes | 25/26 Transfer Window | Season Previews

🖋️ Writers: Ali Maxwell | George Elek | Huw Davies | Sam Parry | Guests

🎙️ Podcasts: Under The Lights | Dear Ali & George…

Sam Parry: As a Saturday job, I used to sell pies and drinks at Hillsborough to pay for my season ticket at Bramall Lane. Every winter, this old fella would idle up to the hatch and ask, without fail: “Got any soup?”

We never sold soup. If he’s still knocking about, though, I imagine he’s still asking the question. It’s freezing.

I raise this because, much like soup at football, we’re in Cup Mode today. Huw and Matt are running through the big stories from the FA Cup third round, leaving me to mop up the overspill from six big ties in League One and League Two.

FA Cup 3rd Round

Huw Davies

We make no apologies for starting this EFL newsletter with a match featuring no EFL teams, because Macclesfield of the National League North beating FA Cup holders Crystal Palace is the biggest shock in the competition’s 155-year history. No, really – there’s contextual justification to placing it below Hereford vs Newcastle in 1971/72, Sutton vs Coventry in 1988/89 or Wrexham vs Arsenal in 1991/92, but in pure position terms, five divisions and 117 league places separating Palace and Macclesfield makes the latter’s 2-1 win the No.1 upset by that semi-objective measure.

They were good value for it, too, even with 28% possession. The goals: a superb header from the be-bandaged Paul Dawson and a chaotic but well-taken effort from Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, all under blue skies and fans standing on gantries. Mmm, that’s some good FA Cup.

Sadly, we can’t ignore another record. Exeter became only the second Football League side to ship double figures in a post-war FA Cup tie (in 1960 fourth-tier Crewe lost 13-2 to Spurs in a replay) by going down 10-1 to Manchester City, who had 10 shots on target, posted an xG of 2.2… and scored 10 goals with it. Everything flew in, due to a combination of elite finishing, two own goals and a horror show for Joe Whitworth. The Exeter keeper is on loan from Palace, so he had quite the day. Yet travelling fans could celebrate when academy boy George Birch, 19 and recalled from Weston-super-Mare, slammed in the ultimate consolation goal with his weaker foot.

The previous night had brought shocks under the lights. Wrexham drew 3-3 with Nottingham Forest and beat them on penalties through two Arthur Okonkwo saves. The hosts had a little fortune in leading 2-0 (one goal deflected, one following some pinball) but they earned their luck as Nathan Broadhead, George Dobson and scorers Liberato Cacace and Ollie Rathbone hassled, harried and hit the target. It would have been 3-0 before half-time, had Sam Smith not spurned a one-on-one. Forest brought on their stars and Callum Hudson-Odoi duly scored twice, including an equaliser of pure Premier League quality, but Wrexham got there in the end.

Meanwhile, Wigan were winning 1-0 at Preston, 20 miles up the road and 35 places up the pyramid. Harrison Bettoni, 18, struck with a heavily deflected shot that looped so slowly past Daniel Iversen, he was turning around to pick the ball out of the net before it had even nestled there. On a dog of a pitch, Wigan’s Callum Wright sent a penalty over the bar, then in the 98th minute Sam Tickle brilliantly denied Alfie Devine’s would-be equaliser. Brad Potts’ strike from the rebound was ruled offside, prompting joy from Wigan’s players, despair from Preston’s, and disappointment from Potts (No.44) once he’d eventually finished celebrating in front of the stands.

On Sunday, Mansfield won 4-3 at Sheffield United with Louis Reed scoring twice from outside the box either side of Gus Hamer doing the same. Mansfield had to be effective on the rare occasions they had the ball – and boy, were they. Rhys Oates was the stand-out, always present, always driving, giving Blades debutant Ki-Jana Hoever a headache. He assisted Lucas Akins for 3-1, dinked home for 4-1, and that was enough to win it deservedly despite Blades hitting back with a quickfire double.

Matt Watts

Away from the cupsets that were and the cupsets that weren’t, a goal of the round contender from Lamine Cissé gave Mark Robins’ Stoke victory over Coventry. Robins’ previous club hit the woodwork twice before Cisse showed them how it’s done. The Potters have started 2026 with three wins and three clean sheets, while Coventry have lost three of their last four games in all competitions.

Saturday’s other all-Championship tie saw a lesser-changed Bristol City put five past a much-changed Watford. An Emil Riis hat-trick, sealed with a delightful dink, made it back-to-back five-star home displays for the Robins. Watford can at least focus all of their attentions now on maintaining their excellent league form. On Sunday, a Jovon Makama hat-trick helped Norwich on their way to a 5-1 victory over Walsall. Makama has scored 12 goals in league and cup after his summer switch from Lincoln.

Southampton and Birmingham were both on course for routine wins on the road at lower-league opposition… until they weren’t. In a battle of two out-of-form sides, Tonda Eckert’s Saints beat Grant McCann’s Doncaster 3-2 with new signing Daniel Peretz making a decisive double save in stoppage time. In Cambridge, Kai Wagner’s first goal for Birmingham, Kyogo Furuhashi’s first goal since August and Marvin Ducksch’s third goal of 2026 gave Birmingham a three-goal lead, before a late brace from Sullay Kaikai set up a grandstand finish – but 3-2 it remained.

Elsewhere, League One strugglers Burton flipped the form guide on its head by beating National League high-flyers Boreham Wood 5-0. Kyran Lofthouse’s goal loosened up the blocked-up Brewers, who’d failed to find the net in their last three league games but scored from five of their nine shots here.

Finally, Carabao Cup giant-killers Grimsby are officially on another cup run. The Mariners beat a stubborn Weston-super-Mare 3-2 at Blundell Park. After Charles Vernam opened the scoring, in true Charles Vernam fashion, the National League South side came from behind twice to level, before Kieran Green glanced in Grimsby’s winner in the 86th minute.

League One

Sam Parry

In the EFL proper, we begin with Icarus (and we’ll end with him too).

After an “oh gosh” festive period that left them 20th, it was an “oh dear” moment that put Leyton Orient ahead. When Cardiff keeper Nathan Trott controlled a backpass instead of booting it clear, Dom Ballard was on hand to tackle the ball into the net. A classic Icarus concession. So far, so Greek.

If there was tragedy in the opener, there was irony in the equaliser. Instead of playing out from the back, Cardiff booted it to Yousef Salech on halfway. A bit of Hercules to win it, a bit of Zeus to lift it over the defender’s head, a bit of Hermes to carry it from halfway to the box, wide around the keeper, and then a bit of Ares – brutal war – to smash it home. Lovely stuff.

All of the action came in a first half where Orient probably edged the chances. A staler second period meant 1-1 felt about right. It changes little for either side: the table still shows Cardiff amidst a heyday, and Orient a little too close to Hades.

Elsewhere, Bolton had a chance to power into the top four. Lately, though, the Trotters have lost some of their trot. Each of their previous nine games had been settled by no more than a goal; never thrashed, never thrashing, Pandora’s Box resealed like tupperware.

Here they were concerned with Peterborough’s box – or rather, Posh with theirs. Luke Williams’ side opened the scoring with an atypical Route One move: goalkeeper lofts it up Mount Olympus, one striker flicks it on, the other runs through and finishes. Not very Williams. Following some Bolton pressure late in the first half, more familiar patterns did bring reward: Archie Collins with a lovely first-time volleyed pass, Matt Garbett with the finish.

When Sam Dalby pulled one back for Bolton from Max Conway’s beautiful driven cross, it felt like a contest. Kyrell Lisbie ended that, latching onto a ball dummied by a team-mate and squeezing it home for 3-1. The goalkeeper was unsighted, but the table is clear: the two clubs are separated by four points, not ten.

Another play-off-relevant game followed, this time shaped by a missed penalty for Luton. It got worse. Stevenage took the lead after the break, but hats off, Hatters, because Luton responded well by equalising from a set piece within two minutes. Then won it by regaining possession on halfway, with Nahki Wells squaring the ball for Gideon Kodua to pass it calmly into the corner.

And finally. So very finally. When the embers are dying, you don’t need heat but ice in your veins. Stockport’s Ollie Norwood baffled the ground by rejecting the obvious set-piece delivery into a packed Huddersfield box, instead pinging the ball to Jid Okeke on the right. Okeke’s cross found Benoný Breki Andrésson — more ice, this time Icelandic — for a tap-in. There’s no coming back from that in the 96th minute. Stockport leapfrog Huddersfield into 4th with a much-needed win – just their second in five games since Christmas.

League Two

Sam Parry

It would usually be a “match that happened”, but Harrogate gaining a point against Crewe in the 93rd minute really matters. The Sulphurites played reasonably well without reward in the first half, then Crewe made a furious start to the second and deservedly went ahead through Calum Agius’ tap-in from a sumptuous Lewis Billington cross.

At 1-0, Crewe really should have capitalised. They did not. Harrogate barely threatened until time added on, when Tom Cursons finished a cross with all the emphasis of a man who knew his team had just moved off the bottom.

That was the bottom. Now for the top, where Andy Woodman’s making the weather.

Bromley have a knack of making their opponents feel hard done by. But if their imperiousness was not clear beforehand, it was after 90 seconds when Michael Cheek headed them in front. Tranmere were tidy enough and almost equalised when – in a very un-Bromley moment – chaos at the back allowed a header to hit the post. Cheek then hit the bar himself. Had fate tilted slightly, he might have had a hat-trick.

Instead, early in the second half, he mopped up a goalkeeper flap and some scrappy defending to end the contest at 2-0. You simply do not come back from that against Bromley.

We often talk about the spotty form of even the best fourth-tier sides. Bromley have now won 11 of their last 13 since 11th October. If the Ravens are to leave the tower this season, it won’t be with wax and wings but, I’d wager, promotion.

Now there’s your callback.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Sal-bloody-ech! Cardiff striker goes his own way.

2. Handy Bass goes route one as Posh punt for goal.

3. Stoke’s Cissé slaps in a Yeboah-like half-volley.

4. Bramall Lane debut under Nigel Clough aged 16; Bramall Lane banger under Nigel Clough for Louis Reed to start the Stag Party.

5. Classic Gustavo Hamer hitting play on Hammer Time.

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

❌ QP Aren’t — With a 2-1 defeat in added time to West Ham, Queens Park Rangers have been knocked out of the FA Cup at the earliest opportunity for the 20th time in 25 seasons.

1️⃣ First time for everything — Despite both being at the club for two and a half years, Daryl Dike and Josh Maja started a West Bromwich Albion fixture together for the first time. Oh, and Maja scored, as the Baggies won their cup tie against Swansea.

📈 The Bromley Bounce — Only Walsall (126) have accumulated more points than Bromley (177) since their arrival in the division in 2024.

🏡 In their Ken — Luton’s win over Stevenage makes it 7 home games without defeat for Jack Wilshere’s side, a streak bettered only by Cardiff (8 games).

🔥 Getting Giddy — Gideon Kodua has scored in each of his last three league appearances for Luton (4 goals), and has 6 goals in his last 7.

🏋️‍♂️ Posh-ups — Since Luke Williams was appointed by Peterborough, when Posh were in the relegation zone, only league leaders Cardiff (26) can better their points tally of 25.

Sky Bet League One

Leyton Orient 1-1 Cardiff
Luton 2-1 Stevenage
Peterborough 3-1 Bolton
Stockport 1-0 Huddersfield

Sky Bet League Two

Crewe 1-1 Harrogate
Tranmere 0-2 Bromley

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Top 5 Scorers (Total)

Top 5 Scorers (Gameweek)

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Thanks for reading!

Elsewhere on NTT20.COM

🚨 Features: Weekend Notes | 25/26 Transfer Window | Season Previews

🖋️ Writers: Ali Maxwell | George Elek | Huw Davies | Sam Parry | Guests

🎙️ Podcasts: Under The Lights | Dear Ali & George…

Point of order: In the stats pack section this week, we have interactive before-and-after tables for each league covering the four games between Boxing Day and 4th January. When we say “four games”, we mean three in some cases. But still, have a play around to see who were the biggest winners and losers. 👇

Interactive "Before and After" tables

Championship

Huw Davies

Birmingham got their first win in eight by beating Coventry 3-2 with some high-quality goals. Kai Wagner started the match within 48 hours of joining the Blues, promising assists from left-back, and delivered one within six minutes. Marvin Ducksch converted it beautifully and held his run well for his second, after Lewis Koumas had rounded the keeper for a goal of his own. Coventry equalised twice but their defence wasn’t on it, and Bobby Thomas got himself sent off in stoppage time by giving Phil Neumann an opportunity to go down flailing. His suspension will be salt in the wound for Frank Lampard amid Cov’s indifferent form: 9 points from 8 games since the start of December, and 1 from their last 3.

Middlesbrough hadn’t scored in four games, and the frustration showed in the first half against Southampton as they took 10 shots without putting any on target. Only two of those were taken from inside the box; in the second half, all 12 Boro shots came from inside it and they won 4-0. Football’s a simple game. Though the scoreline was flattering – at 0-0, Tom Fellows skied a big chance and debutant Adilson Malanda, a block-rocking beast, brilliantly denied Adam Armstrong – Boro’s second-half performance merited the win. With Ipswich’s game called off, Boro return to 2nd. As for Southampton, Tonda Eckert’s record as caretaker was WWWWL. His record since being appointed full-time? WWLDLDDL. A tale as old as time.

The other headlines belonged to those teams jostling for a top-six place. Thanks to Hull v Watford – an unexpected clash of 4th v 5th going into the weekend – being postponed 20 minutes before kick-off, Preston and Millwall were able to climb above the pair. Millwall beat Swansea 2-1 and it was only due to Swans stopper Lawrence Vigouroux that they needed a 92nd-minute goal to win it; although he could’ve done better with Caleb Taylor’s header, it’d be understandable if he’d clocked out by then.

PNE won a 0-0 game 2-0 at Bristol City, and you can’t fault it: that’s a big part of their success. Early doors, Jordan Thompson and (a possibly offside) Lewis Dobbin ruthlessly exploited a trifecta of f*ck-ups by Zak Vyner, Max O’Leary and Adam Randell, then very little happened for an hour until Alfie Devine scored a low drive. As low-margin as their games can be, Preston have nonetheless scored in 14 of their last 15 matches. That’ll do it.

And, just a single point outside the play-off places, knocking politely at the door, sit two more of the weekend’s winners. Stoke defeated Norwich 2-0 through a double scoop of ice-cold Sorba (an assist and a goal with a mad up ’n’ under sprinkled on top), while Wrexham beat Derby 2-1 on their own frozen patch to record a fourth consecutive victory. Sam Smith has started each of the last two, after just one league start all season up to then, and he’s scored in both. Kieffer who? Check out Matty James’ winner in 5iveLights, too.

League One

Matt Watts

Sunday’s reduced docket in League One began with Lincoln laying down a marker, coming from behind to beat Peterborough 5-2. There was another goal for Harry Leonard, before the Imps came roaring back to go in 3-1 up at the break. Kyrell Lisbie reduced the deficit, but only for a minute – Adam Reach’s third goal in three games restored the hosts’ two-goal lead, before Tendayi Darikwa rubber-stamped the result with his second of the afternoon.

In the third tier’s other early kick-off, Bolton were held to a goalless draw by Kevin Nolan’s Northampton. Despite the Trotters having 70% possession and 17 shots, there wasn’t a single shot on target in this ‘match that happened.’ It’s a continuation of a theme for Steven Schumacher’s side, who had a real opportunity to make their move over the festive period but followed up victory over Rotherham with a defeat to Mansfield and disappointing draws against Donny and Cobblers.

Cardiff responded to Lincoln going level on points with them at the top by producing one of the most dominant 1-0 wins of the season against Wigan. The league leaders had 82% possession and they completed 558 more passes than the Latics, yet Calum Chambers’ first-half piledriver was all that separated the two sides in the only stat that really matters. No team in the top six tiers of English football has picked up more points at home in their respective league this season than Cardiff City (33).

Overall, the Bluebirds are three points clear of Lincoln and five clear of Bradford, who provided League One’s only away win of the day by beating Blackpool 2-1. You’re probably sick of the sight of turkey, but it was Will Swan’s well-placed strike that made it three wins over the festive period for the Bantams, who are now seven points clear of 4th. Leam Richardson’s Reading have also won three of their last four games. With a minute of normal time remaining, a trademark ping for the ‘Ding from Lewis Wing saw off an increasingly inconsistent Stockport and moved the Royals within four points of the top six.

From Berkshire to Buckinghamshire, Wycombe got the better of AFC Wimbledon thanks to goals from Junior Quitirna and Niall Huggins. Down in Devon, Plymouth Argyle picked up their first win since before Christmas, putting in a dominant display to beat Burton 3-0. The Brewers have lost their last three and find themselves inside the bottom four.

Finally, back up in north in a county where the majority of games were called off, Huddersfield drew 2-2 with Exeter. The Terriers’ unbeaten run goes on, but Jayden Wareham’s 89th-minute equaliser meant that Lee Grant’s side had to settle for a point against the Grecians, who can now turn their attentions to their upcoming FA cup tie with Manchester City. On this evidence, Pep’s Citizens would be well-advised to not let Reece Cole let fly from distance.

League Two

Sam Parry

Both of League Two’s scheduled lunchtime kick-offs went ahead, while every 3pm was postponed. This league, eh?

They were important fixtures, too: one at the top, one at the bottom. Pre-season favourites MK Dons were looking to reel in the top three against a Chesterfield side yet to hit the levels many expected. And it was the Spireites who provided the early spark…

Included on their team sheet graphic before any club announcement were three new signings: Sam Curtis (RB), Sil Swinkels (CB) and Sammy Braybrooke (CM). One of those would have a huge hand in the result.

Early on, Paul Cook’s side were lively but wasteful, failing to capitalise on decent openings. MK duly punished them twice, as Callum Paterson turned in a low cross before Rushian Hepburn-Murphy fired in a thunderbolt.

The game flipped as MK sat off, though it still felt as if the visitors lacked end product. Until they didn’t. Sam Curtis, on debut, headed home from a Liam Mandeville set piece and suddenly the game had life. MK looked set to ride it out, but then came chaos in the 94th minute. Another Mandeville corner. Another header. Will Grigg with the equaliser. A red card for Paul Cook. And a very public disagreement among MK defenders over who had lost their man. One point salvaged, two points dropped.

It was quieter in Gloucestershire. But there was room for another “new”* signing to impact a football match…

Before kick-off, Crawley were nine without a win and had taken just five points away from home all season. With five January signings already through the door, Scott Lindsey will have hoped fresh faces might change the tone.

Cheltenham’s first shot arrived in the seventh minute. Their second didn’t come until the 48th. In between, Crawley were marginally the better side in a poor game. New arrivals featured throughout but it was Cheltenham’s November signing, Hakeeb Adelakun, who made the difference by scoring within minutes of coming off the bench, to finally shake a game that had drifted.

That goal didn’t just shake it. It broke it. Cheltenham doubled and then trebled their lead from corners, with minimal resistance. What had been scrappy quickly became one-sided, and there was little fight from Scott Lindsey’s side as the game slipped away.

Two key notes:

1. Crawley are now ten without a win and still have just five away points all season.

2. *Adelakun played his last game for Cheltenham and will become a new signing for another (we presume) EFL club soon…

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Putting the REECE in Grecians: Cole with goal.

2. Departure: Matty James. Arrival: The Net.

3. Calum Chambers, centre-back pile-driver

4. If you can’t beat them, confuse them

5. Hepburning the midday oil: it’s a screamer for MK.

Who were the festive winners and losers?

This week we’re looking at the before and after of the festive period to see who were the biggest winners and losers in each league — you can filter the tables in the app and on your browser.

SkyBet Championship

Birmingham 3-2 Coventry
Blackburn 2-2 Charlton
Bristol City 0-2 Preston
Derby 1-2 Wrexham
Hull P-P Watford
Middlesbrough 4-0 Southampton
Millwall 2-1 Swansea
Norwich 0-2 Stoke
Portsmouth P-P Ipswich
QPR 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United P-P Oxford

Sky Bet League One

Blackpool 1-2 Bradford
Bolton 0-0 Northampton
Cardiff 1-0 Wigan
Doncaster P-P Luton
Huddersfield 2-2 Exeter
Lincoln 5-2 Peterborough
Plymouth Argyle 3-0 Burton Albion
Port Vale P-P Barnsley
Reading 1-0 Stockport
Rotherham P-P Mansfield
Stevenage P-P Leyton Orient
Wycombe 2-0 AFC Wimbledon

Sky Bet League Two

Barnet P-P Crewe
Barrow P-P Bristol Rovers
Bromley P-P Oldham
Cambridge P-P Grimsby
Cheltenham 3-0 Crawley
Colchester P-P Accrington
Harrogate P-P Swindon
MK Dons 2-2 Chesterfield
Newport P-P Tranmere
Notts County P-P Gillingham
Salford P-P Shrewsbury
Walsall P-P Fleetwood

Thanks for reading!

Huw Davies

Hungover? Not sure what day it is? Saw your own team’s game but have no idea what happened elsewhere? Fret not – here’s a cracker-sized run-down of the EFL Boxing Day action you may have missed…

Championship

We start at the end. Wrexham v Sheffield United was the televised late kick-off and it promised plenty, given their previous meetings of the Hollywood era had finished 3-3, 3-1 and 4-2. If anything, it overdelivered: 1-1 after 10 minutes and 3-1 to Blades after 25, with Femi Seriki assisting Pat Bamford twice from right-back. Then Wrexham roared back to win 5-3, echoing their National League goalfests under Phil Parkinson and leaving Chris Wilder stunned. Kieffer Moore scoring a brace added salt to the wound, though the former Blade did at least assist one of their goals first.

Oxford, led by caretaker manager Craig Short following Gary Rowett’s departure, shocked Southampton. Tyler Goodrham’s floor-to-net missile, in 5iveLights below, put the Yellows 1-0 up but they were quickly pegged back. Jamie Cumming’s heroics kept the scores level, however, which allowed Stan Mills to net a breakaway winner in the 89th minute, more than earning the shirt-off treatment. Hell, we might’ve dropped trou.

In the two away wins, Bristol City beat a wasteful West Bromwich Albion 2-1, while Leicester surrendered a lead at home to Watford in a 2-1 defeat that was notable for Abdul Fatawu trying to make The Godfather Part II and failing.

The rest of the second tier featured six draws, most of them less madcap than Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Hull (the Tigers twice clawing back the Owls) and Birmingham 1-1 Derby (a goal apiece, a red card apiece, and eight saves by Jacob Widell Zetterström in the visitors’ net). Dropped points for Middlesbrough and Ipswich allowed Coventry to streak eight points clear of 2nd and 13 clear of 3rd with a 1-0 win over Swansea. Book the bus, order the ribbons.

League One

The EFL’s forgotten middle child acted out on Boxing Day: four thrashings, four last-minute winners, three goals per game, two red cards for one team and a party for Stags at Barnsley.

The Tykes were 2-0 up within a quarter of an hour, but Louis Reed’s penalty gave Mansfield a sniff and they sneezed all over Barnsley. After half-time, Stephen McLaughlin made it 2-2, Aaron Lewis 2-3, and Nigel Clough could celebrate a first league win since October.

Reading’s comeback in Plymouth was more straightforward. Joe Ralls was sent off early on and Lewis Wing scored from the spot, before he and Kamari Doyle put the visitors 3-0 up within 20 minutes. A few Argyle fans would’ve wanted to deck the Ralls after that. Xavier Amaechi reduced the deficit and Lorent Tolaj could’ve made things interesting, but his penalty was saved and Jack Marriott settled the tab: 4-1 to Reading, bursting Argyle’s bubble after three wins in a row.

Speaking of 4-1 – and that’s how to segué – Burton Albion led Northampton by that scoreline as early as half-time. It finished 5-1, Tyrese Shade doubling his tally to put the two teams level on points and goal difference in 15th/16th. Exciting! It was one-way traffic in Luton, too, as they thumped Wycombe 4-0 by restricting the Chairboys to three shots all game.

Meanwhile, Darren Moore was being haunted by the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present as his former club, Huddersfield, beat his current one, Port Vale, 5-0 with all goals scored before the hour mark. Vale are now 10 points from safety and visit 3rd-placed Bradford on Monday. For Moore, is the worst Yet To Come?

Finally in League One, there were late winners for Bolton (beating Rotherham 2-1 on 90+3’ having conceded an equaliser on 90’), Bradford (seeing off nine-man Wigan at the death) and Peterborough (1-0 over Leyton Orient, scoring in the 94th minute). Yet the most significant was Rob Street’s 92nd-minute penalty to give Lincoln a 2-1 victory at stuttering Stockport, because it keeps Michael Skubala’s men within three points of table-topping Cardiff. Impish.

And how’s this for a bonkers league table? Ninth place sits just four points above the relegation zone.

League Two

Thankfully for some, i.e. me, League Two was deathly quiet. Four 1-0 home wins. Two 0-0s, two 1-1s. Less than two goals per game in total. The day after Christmas, barely a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Of course, there were some noisy exceptions. Accrington scored a last-gasp goal to beat Barrow 2-1 and pull away from trouble, while MK Dons crept up on top-three Swindon by defeating them 1-0 through Aaron Nemane’s great solo effort (below). Chesterfield’s 2-0 win over Notts County puts the pair level on points in a tight, tight top seven.

But I’m burying the lede. Red cards don’t come much costlier than Shaq Forde’s in the 53rd minute of Bristol Rovers v Bromley, which came at 2-0 in a game that ended 2-3 to the Londoners. Goalscorer Fabrizio Cavegn missed a golden chance to give the 10 men a 3-0 lead, whereupon Bromley made him, Forde and Steve Evans pay. Nicke Kabamba sweeps home – bish! Ben Thompson’s in acres, just after coming on – bash! Thompson’s inexplicably unmarked again – bosh!

For the fans, away wins don’t come better.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. For here’s a jolly Goodrham strike, and so say all of U’s.

2. Walking down Nemane Street – Aaron settles MK Dons v Swindon in style.

3. Bamford: balletic (and then the game went crazy)

4. You can’t beat top quality from marksman Sparkes at Christmas.

5. O Maamma, he’s brought out the trivela.

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

💥 GOOOOOAAALLLLL — This was the 12th meeting between Wrexham and Sheffield United; those 12 matches have produced 54 goals (4.5 per game).

🥱 NO GOOOOAALLLS — There were just 22 goals in the 12 League Two games, making this the lowest-scoring set of Boxing Day fixtures ever in the fourth tier (when 12 have been played).

🍺 BREWERS FOUR-X — Burton Albion’s 4-0 half-time lead over Northampton represented the most goals they’ve scored in the first 45 minutes of a match since October 2014.

🔄 DO CALL IT A COMEBACK — Watford’s come-from-behind win against Leicester takes them to 23 points picked up from losing positions in 2025/26 – the most in the EFL.

🙃 UPSIDE-DOWN YELLOWS — After playing everybody once, Oxford United have picked up 73% of their points this season (16/22) against sides currently in the top half.

🦌 STRUTTING STAGS — Mansfield won a Football League away fixture from 2-0 down for the first time since January 2019, when they beat Colchester United 3-2.

🔥 ON FIRE — After scoring 4 goals in his first 32 appearances in League Two, Tranmere’s Charlie Whitaker now has 7 in his last 8.

🐕 TERRIER-VISION — Huddersfield’s 5-0 pantsing of Port Vale was their biggest league win in just under a decade, going back to January 2016’s 5-0 victory over Charlton in the Championship.

🔥 SKY-BLUE THINKING — Coventry are only the second team to have picked up 50+ points (51) and scored 50+ goals (54) at the halfway stage of a Championship season, following Wolves in 2008/09.

SkyBet Championship

Birmingham 1-1 Derby
Coventry 1-0 Swansea
Leicester 1-2 Watford
Middlesbrough 0-0 Blackburn
Millwall 0-0 Ipswich
Norwich 1-0 Charlton
Oxford 2-1 Southampton
Portsmouth 1-1 QPR
Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Hull
Stoke 0-0 Preston
West Brom 1-2 Bristol City
Wrexham 5-3 Sheffield United

Sky Bet League One

AFC Wimbledon 0-0 Stevenage
Barnsley 2-3 Mansfield
Blackpool 1-0 Doncaster
Bolton 2-1 Rotherham
Bradford 2-1 Wigan
Burton Albion 5-1 Northampton
Cardiff 1-0 Exeter
Huddersfield 5-0 Port Vale
Luton 4-0 Wycombe
Peterborough 1-0 Leyton Orient
Plymouth Argyle 1-4 Reading
Stockport 1-2 Lincoln

Sky Bet League Two

Accrington 2-1 Barrow
Bristol Rovers 2-3 Bromley
Cheltenham 3-1 Shrewsbury
Chesterfield 2-0 Notts County
Crawley 1-1 Colchester
Gillingham 1-1 Cambridge
Grimsby 0-0 Oldham
MK Dons 1-0 Swindon
Newport 0-0 Barnet
Salford 1-0 Harrogate
Tranmere 1-0 Fleetwood
Walsall 1-0 Crewe

Thanks for reading!

Elsewhere on NTT20.COM

🚨 Features: Weekend Notes | 25/26 Transfer Window | Season Previews

🖋️ Writers: Ali Maxwell | George Elek | Huw Davies | Sam Parry | Guests

🎙️ Podcasts: Under The Lights | Dear Ali & George…

Championship

Huw Davies

Commentator references to The Nightmare Before Christmas reached record levels at the weekend, but some were justified. Leicester’s 4-1 defeat at QPR capped a bad week not just for Martí Cifuentes, suffering revenge of the ex at the hands of the Rs, but for the club’s staff. They usually receive their December wages before Christmas yet were told on Thursday 18th that they wouldn’t be paid on Friday 19th, as planned, but on the 31st instead. Bad news for the Cratchits.

Leicester nonetheless gave QPR an early payday. Their beneficiaries were 1-0 up within two minutes and 4-0 up at half-time, with Kady Dembele and Amadou Mbengue having fun down the right, culminating in Mbengue spanking in a shot (or cross?) from a silly angle. Leicester’s defending was chaotic and their only consolation was a first senior goal for Silko Thomas, following in Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s penalty, because the first half was a massacre: four QPR goals to one Leicester shot, blocked at source, with Koki Saito also missing from under the crossbar. The biggest threat posed to QPR was to Saito’s eardrums.

Sheffield United beat 10-man Birmingham 3-0. In defeat the previous weekend, Chris Wilder apologised to Blades fans in the same way I’ll blame a fart on the dog, and his naughty boys duly responded – fast. Tyler Bindon’s unmarked header from a corner on 5’ was the 12th time this season Birmingham have conceded the first goal, with half of those coming in the first 15 minutes of a match. Only Watford, Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea have trailed 1-0 more often.

Things quickly got worse for Chris Davies. Less than 20 minutes in, and with both Blues centre-backs already booked, Tommy Doyle sent Gustavo Hamer flying into the technical area and was told to walk past him into the changing rooms and stay there. Keshi Anderson – again, already booked – made it up to Hamer by gifting him a goal, and found himself substituted on the half-hour mark. Birmingham got to half-time without stepping on any more rakes, but Patrick Bamford scored shortly after the break and that was that.

At Ashton Gate, Bristol City beat a misfiring Middlesbrough 2-0. After Morgan Whittaker hit the post, Sol Brynn let an Emil Riis potshot go through him, and when Max O’Leary returned the favour with a mistake of his own on his first appearance of the season, Boro didn’t punish him. Gerhard Struber switched to a back five and brought on Rob Atkinson to protect City’s lead, only for Atkinson to extend it. Of Boro’s 28 shots, their three on target all came from range.

Could Southampton rein in Coventry in the same way? The big lunchtime kick-off was an even bigger opportunity for Saints, especially when their table-topping visitors turned up flu-ridden without three starting players. Cov led through Ephron Mason-Clark, but when Jay Dasilva began the second half by planting his studs halfway up Welington’s shin, which is roughly shoulder-height for Dasilva, the rest of the division watched in hope.

Yet Saints couldn’t fully capitalise. Although Nathan Wood soon equalised and Finn Azaz forced a decent save soon afterwards, Coventry restricted them to half-chances for the remaining 40 minutes, despite Gavin Bazunu going up for a corner at 1-1. The Sky Blues are 11 points clear of an ascending Ipswich in 3rd… but who’s this in 4th?

Hull, that’s who. Hull are 4th. Hull. Are. Fourth! They had some help in beating West Bromwich Albion 1-0: Isaac Price put a sitter over the bar and Karlan Grant missed another great chance before Nat Phillips palmed away a corner for some reason, allowing Oli McBurnie to score from the spot. As if to convince Ryan Mason that his substitutions are cursed, Alfie Gilchrist replaced the booked George Campbell and got sent off himself, on 75’, killing any Albion resistance.

League One

Matt Watts

It was an eventful weekend at the bottom of League One and the big winners were the two Devon clubs. Plymouth Argyle jumped from 21st to 17th with a 5-1 victory away at Doncaster Rovers. The returning Lorent Tolaj scored his first career hat-trick, making him the division’s top scorer in spite of a three-match ban, and Owen Oseni registered a goal and two assists. While Argyle have won three in a row, Donny have slipped from second to second from bottom, following a run of one win in 14.

Argyle’s rivals, Exeter, climbed out of the bottom four thanks to their 3-0 victory over Barnsley. The Grecians have won three home games in a row in all competitions – if only they were taking on Manchester City at St James Park instead of at the Etihad!

Ian Evatt’s Blackpool got the better of Ryan Lowe’s Wigan. Memories of the Tangerines’ 4-0 victory at this venue in their maiden Premier League game, in 2010, are becoming increasingly distant, but goals from two former ‘Tics – in-form Ashley Fletcher and the returning Dale Taylor – will help their fans to form happy new memories.

Peterborough made it three wins in a row by beating rock-bottom Port Vale 1-0, as Harry Leonard’s fourth goal in those three games proved to be the difference. Vale, with no win and no goal in five league home games, are becoming increasingly detached from the rest. Oh, what they’d give to have a certain Swiss forward back…

Up at the top, Lincoln and Stockport were the only members of the top six to win. Lincoln moved up to 2nd and within three points of Cardiff with a 2-1 victory over the Bluebirds. Alex Robertson’s own goal was cancelled out by a stunning team goal finished off by Perry Ng, before Sonny Bradley headed home the winner. After going toe-to-toe with Chelsea on Tuesday night, this was a game too far for Brian Barry-Murphy’s table-toppers, ending a run of five consecutive league wins.

Finally, Stockport left Mansfield with all three points. While it was a great day for the Hatters, who had Ollie Norwood in their starting line-up for the first time since 1st November, Mansfield drop into the bottom four. Nigel Clough was unhappy with a one-minute shortfall in first-half stoppage time, when the score was 1-1 before Jack Diamond scored Stockport’s winner in the second half, but his side have taken just one point from the last 18 available. It’s the season of Christmas parties, not Stag parties…

League Two

Ali Maxwell

League Two had a status quo weekend: there were no major shocks, seven instances of top-half teams beating bottom half teams, and a 0-0 draw in the only match involving two top seven teams: Notts County vs Walsall.

In that sense, the Big Stories may have been the only two victories secured by those in the lower reaches. How about Cheltenham beating Barrow 2-1 in a game of gorgeous assists? Jordan Thomas twisted, dipped inside and crossed for Hakeeb Adelakun to score at the back post. In response, Tom Barkhuizen feinted inside, drove down the line and crossed for Ben Whitfield to score at the back post. For Cheltenham’s winner, Isaac Hutchinson controlled a high ball with a feathery touch and, with his next, slid a precise pass through for Ethon Archer to finish. Cheltenham leap up to 18th.

Oldham have been nicknamed Tranmere Old Boys, and not just by us, due to the presence of former Rovers manager Micky Mellon and players Jake Caprice, Josh Hawkes, Kieron Morris and Manny Monthé. With Tranmere travelling to Boundary Park, it was Oldham’s Young Boy – Mellon’s son, Michael – who did the damage in a 3-1 win with a perfect hat-trick, each goal excellently taken. Mellon Jr was born while Micky was playing for Tranmere, and most of his teenage years were spent with his dad in the dugout, but that stood for nothing: each goal was celebrated passionately.

Bristol Rovers’ 10-match losing streak ended with Steve Evans’ first game, a 1-1 draw with Crewe. “We should have gone onto win the match,” said the new Gas boss, after Crewe played an hour with 10 men while the scores were level. Harrogate took Rovers’ place in the bottom two, thrashed 0-4 at home by MK Dons, for whom the finally-fit-and-firing Aaron Collins scored his first two league goals, followed by an Alex Gilbey brace.

Newport couldn’t handle Colchester’s attacking squadron, as the movement and speed of Samson Tovide, Micah Mbick, Kyreece Lisbie and Harry Anderson were far too much for League Two’s bottom club. Sammy Braybrooke unleashed his frustration with a shot from inside his own half that flew in – another remarkable strike from range, in what feels like a weekly occurrence across the EFL. It was applauded by all four corners of the ground, which tells you all you need to know (although 5iveLights, below, will provide the video as well).

Cambridge United, so strong at home, flicked Accrington aside with a comfy 2-0 win. They’re seven unbeaten and sniffing around the play-offs as always. In beating Crawley 1-0, Swindon made it back-to-back to wins, as did Chesterfield (1-0 at Shrewsbury) and Fleetwood (2-1 vs Gillingham).

Salford’s 3-1 win at Barnet catches the eye. An enterprising first-half display saw them benefit from the attacking mentality of their #8s: Josh Austerfield crashed the box to put them ahead, then Kallum Cesay stretched his extendo-legs to run onto a through ball. Before he could finish, Nnamdi Ofoborh had slid it into his own net. Karl Robinson’s side are right in the mix, while Barnet are on the outside looking in, wondering when they can cash in their Expected Points for Actual Points.

To finish us off, how about Bromley, beating Grimsby 2-0 for their third straight win to take them 3rd in the table? Friend of NTT20, Will Hondermarck, scored twice from close range – the second, thanks to an eye-catching assist for League Two Transfer Target Marcus Ifill.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Newport State of Mind: it’s Braybrooke from way downtown

2. Ngl, Ng scored a sexy Cardiff goal with this one-two-three-four

3. A slick Tangerines team goal Taylor-made for Dale

4. Mbeng it like Beckham – QPR wrap it up in style

5. And a lowlight, not a 5iveLight… but what a way for Arthur Okonkwo to give Swansea a stoppage-time winner over Wrexham

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

🎶 Driving home for Christmas — The Championship got cosy in the final matchday before Christmas: 9 home wins, 3 draws and not a single victory for a visiting side.

📈 Brom Go Vroom — Bromley’s 24 points in their last 10 games represents three more than any other EFL side has in that time.

🍈 Juicy — Michael Mellon scored his third League Two hat-trick in just 38 starts – that’s one every 12.66 games.

🐎 Bobbin’ Along — Since Steve Cotterill’s appointment, Cheltenham Town have the fifth-best record in League Two.

🟢 Pilgrim’s Progress — Lorent Tolaj’s hat-trick, plus an assist, was the third time in 2025 that he has recorded 3+ goal contributions in a match; Erling Haaland is the only other player in England’s top four tiers to have done the same.

🤢 Fumes — Harrogate have lost their last six home league games; the last five, without scoring.

🎭 Swings and roundabouts — WBA have lost eight of their nine fixtures away to top-half teams, while losing none of their eight fixtures at home to bottom-half teams.

🤪 Goalford City — There have been 20 goals in Salford’s last four league games, and they’ve won them all.

🏠 Grecian the wheels — Exeter haven’t lost any of their last five league fixtures at St James Park; the last time they enjoyed a longer unbeaten run at home, they reached 11 without defeat (January to April 2022).

🤔 Game of two halves — Norwich are still 3rd in the Championship’s first-half table... and 23rd in the actual table.

SkyBet Championship

Blackburn 2-0 Millwall
Bristol City 2-0 Middlesbrough
Charlton 1-0 Oxford United
Derby 1-1 Portsmouth
Hull 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
Ipswich 3-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Preston 1-1 Norwich
QPR 4-1 Leicester
Sheffield United 3-0 Birmingham
Southampton 1-1 Coventry
Swansea 2-1 Wrexham
Watford 1-0 Stoke City

Sky Bet League One

Doncaster 1-5 Plymouth Argyle
Exeter 3-0 Barnsley
Leyton Orient 2-1 Bradford City
Lincoln 2-1 Cardiff
Mansfield 1-2 Stockport
Northampton 3-1 AFC Wimbledon
Port Vale 0-1 Peterborough
Reading 3-2 Luton
Rotherham 1-3 Huddersfield
Stevenage 2-2 Burton Albion
Wigan 0-2 Blackpool
Wycombe 2-1 Bolton

Sky Bet League Two

Barnet 1-3 Salford
Barrow 1-2 Cheltenham
Bromley 2-0 Grimsby
Cambridge 2-0 Accrington
Colchester 4-1 Newport
Crewe 1-1 Bristol Rovers
Fleetwood 2-1 Gillingham
Harrogate 0-4 MK Dons
Notts County 0-0 Walsall
Oldham 3-1 Tranmere
Shrewsbury 0-1 Chesterfield
Swindon 1-0 Crawley

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Thanks for reading!

Elsewhere on NTT20.COM

🚨 Features: Weekend Notes | 25/26 Transfer Window | Season Previews

🖋️ Writers: Ali Maxwell | George Elek | Huw Davies | Sam Parry | Guests

🎙️ Podcasts: Under The Lights | Dear Ali & George…

Championship

Sam Parry

Today we’re unapologetically talking promotion places. OK – one apology to Pompey, who secured a huge rot-stopping win over Blackburn. Meanwhile…

Although Ipswich did pull a goal back for 3-1, they were, in Football Manager news-speak, “powerless to resist” Leicester.

The Foxes were inside the Tractor Boys’ hen house, their individual genius sending feathers everywhere. Bobby De Cordova-Reid‘s effort ebbed in the air and wobbled with turbulence — it was lovely, swazzy, long distance. But not as long as Fatawu’s. A nutmeg to tee himself up and then a shot from a distance Usain Bolt couldn’t cover in six seconds. 65.2 metres out — the furthest distance for a Championship goal on record (since 2013-14). It was so good we’re not even putting it on 5iveLights, because if you haven’t already seen it, then there’s no helping you.

Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up when goals that good decide games. Sometimes the goals deserve more words than the game. And this time, given the final score, you have to say the biggest winners were Coventry and Boro.

The table looks beautiful. Yet the more beautiful it looks, the more nervous you get, because you can’t help thinking about that magical ‘P’ word. We’re not even halfway through the Championship season, but the scale of the challenge for those who would be king is growing larger.

Exhibit A

Nothing has been earned yet. But Coventry holding on for a 1-0 win against Bristol City means they’re now 12 points ahead of 3rd and streaking clear of the ‘parachute’ teams.

The best chance of the game fell to Ephron Mason-Clark, who converted it. Bristol City gave an extremely good account of themselves and have every reason to divine a sustainable play-off push from the tea leaves. For Frank Lampard’s side, it was the result and not the performance that mattered most, given what happened elsewhere.

The same goes for Middlesborough, who extended their lead over 3rd to seven points. Nothing is a given for them, though everything Kim Hellberg touches at the minute turns to wins. He returned David Strelec to the side, and Strelec opened the scoring. Morgan Whittaker bagged his sixth goal in six games, including one in each of Hellberg’s first four. Even Tommy Conway converted a 50th-minute penalty for his first goal since August, and the game was over despite QPR reducing the deficit.

Exhibit B

I’m not suggesting for a second that Boro can’t be caught, nor that they can’t catch Coventry, but the battle for 2nd has a clear frontrunner. Now that Boro have a gap of 8 points to Ipswich (L), 11 to Leicester (W) and 12 to Southampton (L), it puts a new slant on the league, because those are the sides who have the kind of squad that could put a run together to unseat second place.

Yes, by semi-conscious omission, I’m ruling out 3rd-placed Preston. They fashioned a two-goal lead over Oxford in a game that wasn’t level on chances – because Oxford out-shot them three to one, with 16 of their 24 efforts coming from inside the box. Yellows pulled one goal back, but couldn’t find a leveller. Paul Heckingbottom is doing a grand old job, but I don’t see PNE improving on their 1.67 points per game over the long term in order to challenge the top two.

And then there’s Millwall. While they continue to drop points in more games than they win, they’ll keep ruling themselves out. This time, Hull beat them 3-1 with arguably their best performance of the season. Inside 15 minutes, they showed lethal counter-attacks and lethal crossing from both sides, producing the tap-in opportunities that Kyle Joseph could only dream about… although the same can’t be said of his father, apparently.

Southampton lost under Tonda Eckert for the second time. They missed a penalty and conceded from a clear handball, and maybe that rocked them, but at 2-1 down against Norwich with more than half an hour to play, Saints conjured one solitary effort from 20+ yards. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond to that in their next fixture – more on that below.

It’s all finely poised and it’s all about timing.

Today, we are still closer to the start than we are to the end. By New Year’s Day, we will be closer to the end than we are to the start. The MASSIVE games in between will decide whether 2026 brings a blistering race for 2nd and something more than a procession for top spot. So, stock up on Baileys, squirrel away the best Quality Street and nab the comfy chair…

Sat 20 Dec

• Southampton vs Coventry — 12:30

• Bristol City vs Middlesbrough — 15:00

Fri 26 Dec

• Millwall vs Ipswich — 13:00

Mon 29 Dec

• Coventry vs Ipswich — 18:00

• Middlesbrough vs Hull — 19:45

• Birmingham vs Southampton — 20:15

Sat 4 Jan

• Birmingham vs Coventry — 12:00

• Middlesbrough vs Southampton — 15:00

League One

Sam Parry

Right. Shall we dial it down a bit?

Erm, no…

Cardiff 4–3 Doncaster Rovers was possibly my favourite game of the season so far. “Ding dong! Merrily on high. In Cardiff, goals were flowing.”

The first ding came via Owen Bailey, right place, right time, turning in a cut-back to put Donny ahead. Then it all clanged about. Omari Kellyman’s touch and volley was a dream. Thimothée Lo-Tutala failing to get a hand on Cian Ashford’s toe-poke was a nightmare. Charlie Crew slipped Brandon Hanlan through to make it 2-2 at the break.

Yousef Salech outmuscled his marker to put Cardiff ahead again on 50’. Harry Clifton equalised from the scraps of a set-piece to level things again. The final dong arrived in the 99th minute with another Lo-Tutala nightmare, parrying a shot straight into the path of Joel Bagan to win it at the death. Brutal on Donny. Wild scenes in Cardiff.

And maybe let’s dial it up again. Did we see the best performance by an individual player so far this season, as Barnsley recovered from going behind twice to beat Leyton Orient 3-2?

The story was Reyes Cleary. Fresh from his NTT20 Pod bow, the Young Player of the Month scored the opener with a deflected volley, led the game for touches in the box, smashed the post after outmuscling his marker and added two assists. One was a first-time volley across goal; the other came from chasing a lost cause and punishing hesitant defending to tee up the winner. Long before that, he’d also put a cross on a plate that should have been converted. Signing of the season in the EFL? I think so.

Elsewhere, the biggest clash among the chasing pack saw Stevenage win 3-1 at Stockport. Coming in, Stevenage’s goals column had read either zero or one in seven straight games, though that was also true of their opponents, resulting in W1 D3 L3. Would it be tight? Sort of…

Both sides passed up early chances before Chem Campbell rolled his man and smashed home. Stevenage then did what they haven’t always done this season and scored at exactly the right times, doubling their lead on 53’ and then hitting back within 10 seconds of Kyle Wootton’s reply, thanks to an undercooked backward header from County’s Ethan Pye.

Stockport are missing Ollie Norwood badly. They’ve won just once in his absence. There is room for optimism, though: he’s due back soon and cup fixtures have limited the damage.

And finally, Double Desmonds. Blackpool showed some backbone by coming from two down to draw 2-2 with Lincoln at Bloomfield Road, Ashley Fletcher levelling late. Equally significant was Port Vale ending their goal drought by scoring against Luton; unfortunately for them, they were pegged back twice. Another 2-2.

Nine points separates 7th from 23rd – what a league, man.

League Two

Matt Watts

It was ten (league defeats in a row) and out for Darrell Clarke, whose second coming at Bristol Rovers didn’t go as anyone had hoped. Clarke was sacked after Rovers’ 3-0 defeat to Swindon – managed, of course, by former Gashead Ian Holloway. Swindon were three up after 33 minutes thanks to goals from Joe Snowdon, Ollie Clarke (another former Gashead) and Aaron Drinan, before Kacper Lopata’s red card on 36’ made matters worse for the home side. The Robins didn’t punish them in the second half; in fact, Drinan evened up the numbers with a second yellow card.

Swindon’s day was made all the better by Walsall’s 1-1 draw at home to Shrewsbury. Daniel Kanu scored his seventh goal in eight games in all competitions, but a scruffy equaliser from Tom Anderson means that Swindon and Notts County, who beat Grimsby 2-0 for a third win in succession, are now just two points behind the table-topping Saddlers.

One point back from Swindon and Notts, you’ll find Bromley, who went to Accrington and won 1-0. If Michael Cheek and Nicke Kabamba don’t get you, Omar Sowunmi or Deji Elewere will, and it was the latter who duly nodded home the winner in the 89th minute. Since the start of November, no team has won more points in the fourth tier than Andy Woodman’s Ravens.

The game of the day in League Two came at the Peninsula Stadium as, once again, Salford came from behind to win a seven-goal thriller at home. Karl Robinson’s Ammies were 3-1 down to Colchester before an Adebola Oluwo header, a Fabio Borini penalty and a Luke Garbutt piledriver turned the game on its head.

While we’re on comebacks, managerless Barrow came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Gillingham, who’ve now drawn their last five fixtures. A second-half brace from Josh Gordon was just reward for the hardy travelling faithful.

At the foot of the table, Harrogate moved out of the bottom two at Bristol Rovers’ expense thanks to Conor McAleny’s 80th-minute penalty earning the Sulphurites a point at Cheltenham. Newport failed to build on their hard-earned point at Crewe, falling to a 2-0 home defeat to Fleetwood.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. He’s going to need a trademark — Cohen Bramall with another freekick

2. Sullay Kaikai waves bye-bye to a curling ball into the top right corner

3. Swindon’s Joe Snowdon with a low-trajectory laser

4. Chem Chem Cher-ee — Chem Cambell spins and smashes home

5. ‘Keeper assist klaxon — Boro’s Sol Brynn finds Morgan Whittaker

Oh, and if you have 11 minutes to watch Reyes Cleary for Barnsley, then you really should drink it in

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

🎯 One shot, one kill — With his first shot of the season (13 apps), Ben Pearson scored his first goal since October 2019.

😞 Double figure defeats — Bristol Rovers are the first team since Notts County 2016-17 to lose ten League Two games in a row.

⛽ Gas 4eva — Well over 800 games into his managerial career, Saturday was the first time Ian Holloway has managed against boyhood club Bristol Rovers. He made 476 appearances as a Gas player (1981–1985, 1987–1991 & 1996–1999) and oversaw 249 matches as manager (1996–2001).

🧪 The Science of War — There have been 12 instances of a player being fouled 6 times or more this season in the Championship. Leo Scienza is the only player on the list three times.

🔪 Still Fab — Fabio Borini’s first league goal for Salford comes 14 years and 8 months after his first EFL goal, for Swansea in March 2011.

🐤 Young Canaries — Today’s Norwich City starting XI contained seven players under the age of 23 for the first time in 15 years, and only the second time in their 1,258 games this century. Credit @NCFCNumbers on X.

🐔 Cosy Coop — No side in England’s top four tiers has won more home league games in 2025 than Bradford City (17).

🤝 Not Winning ‘Em — Gillingham drew 2-2 against Barrow in what was their fifth consecutive League Two draw. It was the Gills’ 22nd league draw in 2025, the most of any EFL side.

🤪 Hero To Zero — There have been two occasions of a player both scoring and being sent off in a League Two match this season, with both cases being Swindon players (Finley Munroe v Chesterfield in November, Aaron Drinan v Bristol Rovers).

SkyBet Championship

Birmingham 1-1 Charlton
Coventry 1-0 Bristol City
Leicester 3-1 Ipswich
Middlesbrough 3-1 QPR
Millwall 1-3 Hull
Norwich 2-1 Southampton
Oxford 1-2 Preston
Portsmouth 2-1 Blackburn
Stoke 2-1 Swansea
West Brom 2-0 Sheffield United
Wrexham 2-2 Watford

Sky Bet League One

AFC Wimbledon 0-0 Mansfield
Barnsley 3-2 Leyton Orient
Blackpool 2-2 Lincoln
Bolton 2-1 Exeter
Bradford 2-0 Reading
Burton Albion 0-0 Wycombe
Cardiff 4-3 Doncaster
Huddersfield 1-1 Wigan
Luton 2-2 Port Vale
Peterborough 2-1 Northampton
Plymouth 1-0 Rotherham
Stockport 1-3 Stevenage

Sky Bet League Two

Accrington Stanley 0-1 Bromley
Bristol Rovers 0-3 Swindon
Cheltenham 1-1 Harrogate
Chesterfield 3-1 Barnet
Crawley 2-2 Oldham
Gillingham 2-2 Barrow
Grimsby 0-2 Notts County
MK Dons 1-1 Cambridge
Newport 0-2 Fleetwood
Salford 4-3 Colchester
Tranmere 1-4 Crewe
Walsall 1-1 Shrewsbury

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Championship

Matt Watts

The Championship weekend started with Kim Hellberg’s Middlesbrough giving Hull hell in a first half blitz at the MKM Stadium — 0-4 up at the break, zipping, swarming, scoring. A Joe Gelhardt penalty (which sent him joint-top of the Championship goalscoring charts) was Hull’s only consolation. It’s back-to-back wins for 2nd-place Boro under their new boss. Rob who?

Leicester responded to recent criticism but putting Derby to the sword at Pride Park. Wales youngster Jordan James (he’s still only 21) was fantastic as the Foxes went 3-0 up after 31 minutes: 3-1 the final score. Derby have now lost three of their last four games.

The standout fixture in the 3 o’clockers came at Portman Road as runaway league leaders Coventry travelled to the second-favourites for promotion, Ipswich. Frank Lampard’s side dominated the early exchanges with Kaine Kesler-Hayden missing a golden chance to open the scoring and Josh Eccles drawing an excellent save from Christian Walton. The home side could (and should) have been reduced to ten men after George Hirst, who had already been booked, kicked the ball away after the whistle had been blown. Given that Josh Eccles had been booked for a similar offence earlier in the half, you can see why those of a Sky Blue persuasion felt frustrated. That frustration went up a notch when Hirst got on the scoresheet in the second half, adding to Sindre Walle Egeli’s fine first-half strike. Substitute Iván Azon put a gloss on the scoreline deep into stoppage time. Coventry’s lead is cut to seven points, while Ipswich move up to 4th — five points adrift of Boro and 12 points behind the Sky Blues.

Tucked in between Boro and Ipswich, you’ll find MIIIIIIIIILLLLLLL. The Lions made it three wins in a row by beating Bristol City 1-0 at Ashton Gate. Mihailo Ivanovic’s second-half strike and Zak Vyner’s late (incorrectly) disallowed goal were the headlines until a mass brawl broke out at full-time after Jason Knight pushed Alex Neil. Thankfully, the return fixture takes place at The Den in just over three weeks’ time. Spicy.

Elsewhere, Tonda Eckert celebrated becoming the permanent Southampton boss with a 3-1 victory over Birmingham. It’s now five wins in six games for the Saints, who climb into the top half. Sheffield United made it four wins in a row by beating Stoke 4-0 at Bramall Lane. Femi Seriki scored the pick of the goals for Chris Wilder’s upwardly-mobile Blades. Going one step further, Josh Tymon scored a Goal of the Season contender as Swansea beat Oxford 2-0 to give Vitor Matos his first win as Swans boss. Corner headed away, sent back with interest into the top corner. Check it out below in 5iveLights. The result also ended the Welsh side’s run of five consecutive defeats. Tidy.

Finally, there were two abandoned games in the Championship this weekend. For the second time this season, Blackburn Rovers led 1-0 at home before their game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Earlier in the day, Charlton’s game against Portsmouth was abandoned after 12 minutes due to an emergency in the crowd. Tragically, it was later confirmed that the supporter in question had passed away. Our thoughts are with the supporter’s friends and family at this incredibly difficult time.

League One

Ali Maxwell

Cardiff City beat Huddersfield Town 3-2 in a match full of special goals. Cardiff’s first is surely one of their most Brian Barry-Murphy goals of the season: goalkeeper Nathan Trott drew a man and shifted it to the centre back Will Fish. His punched progressive pass found the deep-dropping #10 Omari Kellyman. Flying down the left were left winger Chris Willock and the overlapping left back Joel Bagan, and the latter’s cross was headed in by the #9 Yousef Salech. Liquid.

After a smart corner routine saw Marcus Harness set up Leo Castledine for a deflected banger, Salech scored a mirrored version of his first goal and Isaak Davies cut in the curl home the sealer. Cardiff City: top of League One, the only team above 2 points per game, and off to 3rd place Stevenage midweek.

Between Cardiff and Stevenage in 2nd are Bradford City, who won in Plymouth on Saturday. A push in the back from Pleguezuelo, a tumble from Stephen Humphrys, a penalty scored by popular former Pilgrim Antoni Sarcevic — the sort of thing that happens in even games between a destitute side and one sitting pretty. 1-0 Bradford.

Here’s your top six.

League Two

Colchester 0-0 Gillingham was a match that happened.

FA Cup

Huw Davies

In an otherwise far-from-vintage FA Cup Second Round, we have to talk about a pair of League Two teams beating a pair of League One teams 4-0. That’s 4-0 each.

Swindon ended Bolton’s eight-match unbeaten run in some style. It wasn’t obvious which team is chasing promotion from League One and which from League Two. Make no mistake: this was a strong Bolton XI that Swindon swept aside. Aaron Drinan scored a perfect hat-trick – right foot, header, gorgeous left-footed lob – as Ian Holloway’s charges continued their own eight-game unbeaten run despite Billy Bodin putting this chance three yards wide:

Salford had already beaten Leyton Orient 4-0 on Friday night, giving Richie Wellens a rude welcome back to the club. Only an own goal separated the two for more than an hour, but Salford deserved their comfortable win as Daniel Udoh finished nicely, having already hit the post, before Fabio Borini wrapped it up and Kelly N’Mai added his name to the card.

Speaking of 4-0 wins, Exeter’s was very significant, and not just because they thumped a good Wycombe side. The pair share a division, yes, but not financial situations. With Exeter’s fan-run board having admitted that they’re struggling to keep the club solvent, the benefit of a money-spinning Third Round tie would be huge, so this was a great time to step up against fellow League One opposition. The rout was begun by Jack Aitchison’s excellent header, en route to a brace.

Returning to shocks between divisions, Fleetwood and Cambridge won on penalties against Luton and Stockport respectively. Manchester United loanee Ethan Ennis scored twice in Fleetwood’s 2-2 draw, including a t’riffic trivela (see 5iveLights), and Teden Mengi’s fine strike only delayed Luton’s loss. Cambridge’s largely merited shootout triumph at Edgeley Park means Stockport still haven’t won any game since Ollie Norwood was injured at the start of November – just a trio of cup stalemates to go with one point from three league fixtures, including two 3-0 defeats. Ugly. Cambridge, meanwhile, haven’t lost since October. Comely.

On Sunday, Newport County went to Boreham Wood of the National League as massive (or tiny) underdogs. Bookies gave the non-league outfit an implied probability of around 73% to win the tie, and the potentially soon-to-be-non-league Newport just 33%. Newport lost 3-0, and that’s why you don’t see a bookie on a bike.

There were nearly more upsets. Wigan needed an 89th-minute equaliser and penalties to beat Barrow on home soil, with three of the four goals – and most of the other big chances – coming from corners. Accrington led Mansfield twice in a monsoon before damply losing the shootout 3-1. Cheltenham trailed non-league visitors Buxton 2-1 at half-time but recovered to win 6-2. Shrewsbury also survived a potential shock, scoring in stoppage time (an Ismeal Kabia rocket) and extra time (a Kai Jennings cock-up) to come from behind against Sutton United in a match that featured three red cards and 11 yellows.

I say, steady on.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Josh Tymon channels 2010 Gareth Bale.

2. Andre Brooks channels 2010 Lionel Messi.

3. Ethan Ennis channels 2008 Ricardo Quaresma.

4. Joe Whitworth channels 1963 Lev Yashin.

5. Aaron Drinan channels 1997 Ronaldo Fenômeno.

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

👶🏻 Punching up — There will be more League Two teams than League One teams in the FA Cup Third Round for the first time since 2021.

🔪 Sharpened — Sheffield United have won four successive league games while scoring 3+ goals each time for the first time since April 2017 in League One, and for the first time in the second tier since October-November 1985.

👊 Nine lives — Wrexham are now unbeaten across their last nine Championship matches (W4 D5), their longest ever such run in the second division of English football and joint with Rotherham for the longest current unbeaten run in the EFL.

👬 Twin Saints — Since the start of November, Southampton pair Finn Azaz (6 goals, 2 assists) and Adam Armstrong (5 goals, 3 assists) have been involved in more league goals than any other players in England’s top four tiers (8).

🪖 Insecticide — Josh Sargent has scored seven career goals against Watford, three more than he has scored against any other club.

🎯 Beep Beep — Only Michael Cheek (21) has scored more league goals in the EFL in 2025 than Rumarn Burrell (20 goals).

🐔 Great Bantams — Bradford City’s 34 points is their highest tally after 18 league games since 1987-88.

❌ Lone furrow — Slough Town have now made ten FA Cup Second Round appearances without ever making the 3rd Round — an FA Cup record.

🤫 Revenge — By beating Bolton 4-0 in the FA Cup, Swindon Town finally avenged their 4-2 defeat at the hands (trotters?) of Wanderers 112 years ago, their only other FA Cup meeting.

💫 Dream — National League South side Weston-super-Mare have made the third round of the FA Cup for the first time in their 138-year history.

SkyBet Championship

Blackburn A-A Sheffield Wednesday
Bristol City 0-1 Millwall
Charlton P-P Portsmouth
Derby 1-3 Leicester
Hull 1-4 Middlesbrough
Ipswich 3-0 Coventry
Preston 1-1 Wrexham
QPR 3-1 West Brom
Sheffield United 4-0 Stoke
Southampton 3-1 Birmingham
Swansea 2-0 Oxford
Watford 3-2 Norwich

Sky Bet League One

Cardiff 3-2 Huddersfield
Plymouth 0-1 Bradford

Sky Bet League Two

Colchester 0-0 Gillingham

Thanks for reading!

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Championship

Matt Watts

Four 3-2s… No, we’re not counting down awkwardly to Christmas lights being turned on – we’re saying four games finished 3-2 in the Championship this weekend.

Sheffield United made it three wins (and nine goals scored) in a week by beating Leicester at the King Power. Sydie Peck’s volley put the Blades 3-0 up at half-time, before Stephy Mavididi and Jordan James gave Leicester false hope in the second half. The pressure on Martí Cifuentes continues to grow after back-to-back defeats.

The Den hosted a strong contender for game of the weekend as Millwall beat Southampton 3-2. Femi Azeez and Caleb Taylor’s strikes were ‘goals worthy of winning any game’ (especially Taylor’s, which had Alex Neil going full Jose Mourinho down the touchline), but it was Tristan Crama who won it for the Lions in the 97th minute. It’s a first defeat for Tonda Eckert, who’s still waiting to see if his interim spell will be made permanent.

West Bromwich Albion edged another five-goal thriller in a game of two halves with Swansea. Vitor Matos’ charges raced into a two-goal lead with Zan Vipotnik opening the scoring after 11 seconds, but a quadruple half-time change from Ryan Mason had the desired effect. An Aune Heggebø brace restored parity seven minutes into the second half, then Jayson Molumby – going from villain to hero after the previous weekend’s costly red card – secured a vital win for the Baggies and their young gaffer.

The final 3-2 saw Preston come from behind twice to beat Sheffield Wednesday, who are now 12 without a win and 21 points from safety. It could have been oh so different, had Charlie McNeill stuck away his second-half penalty to complete his hat-trick and put Wednesday ahead for a third time. But Daniel Iversen denied him and, three minutes later, Mads Frøkjaer-Jensen scored what proved to be the winner. Ouch.

Elsewhere, Coventry scored their 48th, 49th and 50th goals of their Championship season in coming from behind to beat Charlton 3-1. Raise your bat, Sky Blues, but remember we’re only 18 games in and there’s still work to be done. Middlesbrough also came from behind to beat Derby 2-1; they returned to 2nd off the back of this victory, in Kim Hellberg’s first game in charge, and Stoke’s 2-1 loss at home to Hull.

Philippe Clement picked up his first win, too, as Norwich beat QPR 3-1 to end a 13-match winless run and secure their first competitive home win since 3rd May. No doubt the Carrow Road faithful were delighted to see Ipswich lose on Friday night – they just wish that it wasn’t to their relegation rivals, Oxford…

League One

Sam Parry

Cardiff beat Mansfield to stay top. In fact, no team in the top six lost. In fact, the whole top half went undefeated, so instead we’re going to focus on what a big day it was at the other end of the table, where the bottom six all lost and by a combined score of 14-1.

Rock-bottom Port Vale made a fist of it at Lincoln, but Reeco Hackett separated the sides with a beauty from the edge of the box. Vale really should have equalised with their only shot on target. As usual, they did not.

In 23rd, Plymouth Argyle took a 3-0 hammering at home from Northampton. It began with a penalty awarded and then rescinded, which is rare. Rarer still is Argyle keeping the ball out of their net, and they didn’t bother with that, either. Tom Eaves opened the scoring with a gravity-defying header before Argyle’s Lorent Tolaj delivered the harbinger of doom with an elbow that earned him a simple red. He then leathered a ball off a cone into a fan and fell over. Exquisite. After that, the Cobblers helped themselves to goals from Elliot List and Jordan Willis. Is Tom Cleverley’s time up?

Blackpool, 22nd after two straight home wins, slipped back into Gloomfield Road mode thanks to Reading picking them off. Hayden Coulson and Andy Lyons should’ve put the Seasiders ahead before Kamari Doyle struck for Reading. The wide men were a menace all afternoon, and after Michael Ihiekwe brought down Daniel Kyerewaa in the box, Lewis Wing did the rest. Kyerewaa was involved again when Randell Williams – sold to Reading by Blackpool boss Ian Evatt – made it 3-0.

Peterborough look a more coherent outfit under Luke Williams but nonetheless slumped to back-to-back defeats as Doncaster finally won a game after 10 without victory. Jordan Gibson scored six goals in all competitions last season; he’s already on five for 2025/26 following a brace here, with a lovely outside-of-the-boot pass from Luke Molyneux setting up the first. Posh pulled one back in the second half but Thimothée Lo-Tutala’s late save protected the 2-1 scoreline.

Exeter, in 20th, gave high-flying Bradford a proper test, out-shooting their hosts and forcing Sam Walker into four good saves. This 1-0 defeat isn’t where their season will be decided. Jayden Wareham had a goal chalked off for offside and should have equalised after a loose back-pass, but Bradford’s charmed goal stayed untouched. That ended their six-game winless run – only Arsenal and Coventry have lost fewer matches in the top four tiers this season.

And Burton Albion (19th) suffered Brewers’ droop as Leyton Orient ended a five-match winless away run, with Aaron Connolly leaving tyre marks all over the Pirelli. He kicked things off with a solo run from the left and a tight-angle finish, before turning provider for Dom Ballard. Connolly then laid off another for Azeem Abdulai’s laser from distance, and Charlie Wellens finished it from the edge of the box: 4-0, and another lovely Sunday dinner in the Wellens household. They are four points off the play-offs and will hope to build something, having struggled on the road up to now.

League Two

Huw Davies

Goals! Goals everywhere! A John Buchaneering 39 strikes across League Two, one shy of the Championship’s 40 (though there’s another Championship fixture tonight). Shrewsbury drew 3-3 with Gillingham but Salford v Crawley went one better, and in proper ding-dong fashion each side had the lead twice: 0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, 4-3. Young Matty Young saved a Harry McKirdy penalty in the middle of all that, too. Leading 3-2 late on, Crawley conceded twice in a minute and very nearly let in another, which is broadly why they’re 19th.

Walsall v Bromley was 1st v 3rd, and when Ben Krauhaus scored, Bromley spent a pleasant hour atop League Two. Omar Sowunmi even swapped thumping headers for an audacious assist attempt:

But after Michael Cheek’s tap-in for ‘2-0’ was ruled offside (useful angles there be none), Walsall showed their mettle. Two deep crosses from set pieces were headed back across goal for 1-1 and 2-1, then in the 100th minute, goalscorer Ryan Finnigan and supersub Uncle Albert Adomah pressed Bromley back to London from their own corner, allowing Courtney Clarke to make it 3-1. Walsall stay top, with Swindon a point behind them following a lively 2-1 win in Chesterfield.

Elsewhere, Notts County had Tyrese Hall sent off after 35 minutes and still won 1-0 at Bristol Rovers. Oh, Gas. Gas, Gas, Gas. They’ve been poor for a while – you don’t lose eight league games in a row by accident – but this, the eighth, was just one of those days. They hit the crossbar once, the post twice, and Kelle Roos four times all from central positions in the box, then Matthew Dennis’ shot at the other end took a huge deflection and looped in. For the second successive match, Rovers lost 1-0 to their opponents’ only shot on target (indeed, in their last 5 games they’ve conceded 14 goals from just 10 goal-bound efforts). Whatyagonnado? Sack Darrell Clarke, say some.

Cambridge dominated an injury-ridden Crewe but needed a 97th-minute freebie to win 2-1. Trailing to Emre Tezgel’s fifth goal in five games, the U’s fought back through a pair of substitutes, Ben Knight’s wayward shot being turned in by Mamadou Jobe before Knight himself placed his late penalty to perfection. Fittingly for a university town, Cambridge are quietly going about their business: they’ve snuck into the play-off places.

Finally, or rather firstly, Tranmere won 2-1 at Grimsby on Thursday with a goal in the 96th minute. Charlie Whitaker and Darragh Burns each picked their spot expertly from 20 yards for 1-1, and a trio of saves from Joe Murphy – two from very close range, including one in 5iveLights below – gave Tranmere the opportunity to steal an extra two points at the death. Sure enough, the ball fell to Kristian Dennis in the box and he could not, would not, did not miss. Grimsby are 12th and winless in five, yet calm heads must prevail: they had the better chances in three of those games and would be 6th right now if they’d won this. It’s tight.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

1. Millwall’s Caleb Taylor gives it the Cantona celebration after his first career goal.

2. The Watchmen: Sydie Peck and Sorba Thomas get a good look before striking.

3. Just Jamming — Jordan James smacks in a wobble-seam for Leicester.

4. Just a proper striker’s header from Tom Eaves for Cobblers.

5. Tranmere’s Got A Save Machine — Joe Murphy at 44, ladies and gents…

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

🔟 Ten for Ten — In the Championship, 10 players have made 10 goal contributions already. They are:

1. Brandon Thomas-Asante — 13 (10G, 3A)

2. Anis Mehmeti — 12 (6G, 6A)

3. Sorba Thomas — 12 (5G, 7A)

4. Joe Gelhardt — 11 (9G, 2A)

5. Adam Armstrong — 10 (7G, 3A)

6. Jay Stansfield — 10 (8G, 2A)

7. Imran Louza — 10 (6G, 2A)

8. Carlton Morris — 10 (10G)

9. Callum O’Hare — 10 (4G, 6A)

10. Victor Torp — 10 (7G, 3A)

⚽ Gelhardt or go home — Hull’s Joe Gelhardt has 9 goal involvements in 9 Championship matches (7G, 2A), scoring the winner in all five of Hull’s victories in that run.

⚡ Lightning Start — Žan Vipotnik’s goal for Swansea after just 11 seconds was the second-fastest in Championship history (since 2013/14), behind Yakou Méïté’s 9-second strike for Reading in 2020.

🔥 Stop it now Cov — Coventry have hit 50 goals in 18 Championship games, the quickest a second-tier side has done so since Sheffield Wednesday in 1958/59.

🔴 Out of the Wilderness? — Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United have won three in a week; it’s the first time they’ve scored 3+ in 3 consecutive games since January 2019.

🕰️ Owl Drought — Sheffield Wednesday are winless in 11 home league games, their longest such run since 1975.

🧱 Millers Marching — Despite injury issues, Rotherham have put together an unbeaten run of 9 matches in League One.

🏟️ Dons Delight — MK Dons have won 4 consecutive home league games – more than in their previous 18 at Stadium MK (W3 D5 L10).

🔴 Crawley Chaos — Crawley’s 3-4 reverse at Salford was their fifth defeat despite scoring 3+ goals since the start of last season.

💪 Col U believe it — Colchester have won 6 of their last 8 league games (D1 L1), double their total from the 19 before that (W3).

⬇️ Argyle Angst — No League One team has lost more league games in 2025/26 than Plymouth, with only Sheffield Wednesday and Newport County (12 each) racking up more across the EFL as a whole.

❌ Exiles on Skid Row — On that note: Newport have played 18 home games in all competitions since they last won one (3-0 against Harrogate Town on 15th March).

SkyBet Championship

Blackburn 1-1 Wrexham
Coventry 3-1 Charlton
Leicester 2-3 Sheffield United
Middlesbrough 2-1 Derby
Millwall 3-2 Southampton
Norwich 3-1 QPR
Oxford 2-1 Ipswich
Portsmouth 0-1 Bristol City
Sheffield Wednesday 2-3 Preston
Stoke 1-2 Hull
West Brom 3-2 Swansea

Sky Bet League One

Blackpool 0-3 Reading
Bradford 1-0 Exeter
Burton Albion 0-4 Leyton Orient
Cardiff 3-0 Mansfield
Doncaster 2-1 Peterborough
Huddersfield 3-3 AFC Wimbledon
Lincoln 1-0 Port Vale
Luton 1-1 Bolton
Plymouth 0-3 Northampton
Rotherham 1-1 Wycombe
Stockport 1-1 Barnsley
Wigan 0-0 Stevenage

Sky Bet League Two

Accrington Stanley 1-0 Oldham
Barnet 1-1 Harrogate
Bristol Rovers 0-1 Notts County
Cambridge 2-1 Crewe
Chesterfield 1-2 Swindon
Colchester 2-0 Cheltenham
Grimsby 1-2 Tranmere
MK Dons 2-1 Fleetwood
Newport County 2-2 Barrow
Salford 4-3 Crawley
Shrewsbury 3-3 Gillingham
Walsall 3-1 Bromley

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Thanks for reading!

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🚨 Features: Weekend Notes | 25/26 Transfer Window | Season Previews

🖋️ Writers: Ali Maxwell | George Elek | Huw Davies | Sam Parry | Guests

🎙️ Podcasts: Under The Lights | Dear Ali & George…