EFL five things: March wins could bring forth May flowers
The next time players step out of the tunnel after Saturday it will be British Summer Time, but who will spring forward and who will fall back as this marathon season enters the final straight? There are fascinating contests wherever you look in the second tier, while the promotion and relegation scraps in League One and League Two are shaping up to be among the best we've ever seen. Here are five things to look out for across the EFL weekend.
Saturday lunchtime could prove to be a pivotal couple of hours in the race to line-up in the Premier League for 2026-27. Any one of three teams could go into the international break occupying the second automatic promotion place, with Coventry sitting pretty once again with a seven-point advantage at the summit. Two of those meet at Portman Road as third-placed Ipswich, unbeaten in six, taking 14 points from those games, entertain Millwall (12:30 GMT), below them on goal difference alone.
The Lions had a four-game winning streak ended by a controversial defeat at home to Blackburn last Saturday. Alex Neil's men were a goal to the good when, just before the hour, Zak Sturge was shown a red card for denial of a goalscoring opportunity. Rovers went on to pinch three precious points in their own battle against relegation with two goals in the final 10 minutes, while Sturge's red card was overturned by the FA on Wednesday and he will be free to face the Tractor Boys as Millwall go in search of a fifth-straight away win.
If they get it Middlesbrough will need to pick up at least a point at Ewood Park at the same time to hold on to second spot, largely due to a run of four home games without a win - games they have largely dominated - culminating in a last-gasp leveller for Bristol City in a 1-1 draw at the Riverside last time out. It is not just the promotion and play-off races in the Championship hotting up, the scramble at the bottom is already a humdinger with five teams separated by just four points with two places to be filled. Third-bottom Oxford have the toughest ask as they head to Southampton (15:00 GMT), unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions after climbing into the top six for the first time since the opening day of the season, courtesy of Wednesday's 1-0 home win over Norwich.
The U's did, however, run-out 2-1 winners in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day and were within a whisker of making it four straight wins, only for a stoppage-time penalty to ensure Charlton a point at the Kassam on Saturday. Leicester lie a point below Oxford before their trip to Watford (15:00 GMT), who remain firmly in the play-off picture. The green shoots of recovery Foxes fans witnessed in the draw at Ipswich and home win over Bristol City were, however, washed out by QPR's comeback from a goal down to win 3-1 at the King Power Stadium last time out.