5 things to watch for in the EFL – Matchday 11

With an international break looming after this next round of fixtures, teams will be taking stock of their starts to the season and pondering what the future might hold when their players return from international duty.

We’ve already seen some owners make the move to replace their managers, with Danny Schofield departing Huddersfield this week – will anyone else be feeling the pressure this weekend?

We start our weekly roundup of things to watch out for in the EFL Championship, League One and League Two with two other bosses who could really do with a positive result on Saturday.

Crunch time for Chris Wilder’s Boro?

Nine games into the season and Chris Wilder’s Middlesbrough are scuffling down near the Championship drop zone rather than the top places. Wilder is a promotion specialist, and his side were among the favourites to go up this season, but they have work to do and a midweek defeat to Cardiff City was a new low point for the season.

Boro do at least have another home game this week, but the visitors Rotherham United have made a fine start to the season. However, the Millers are yet to win on the road, making this a “must win” game for Wilder’s Boro. Middlesbrough are 13/20 to get three points, and 14/5 to win with both teams scoring. An away win would really ramp up the pressure on the home side’s manager, and Rotherham are 9/2 to leave the Riverside with victory.

Bruce’s Baggies looking to bounce back at Norwich

Boro might be struggling, but just above them in the table sit another promotion favourite: West Brom. Steve Bruce has a strong squad at his disposal and performances have been solid on the whole, but one win from nine isn’t the start to the season that Baggies fans were hoping for. Like Boro, West Brom suffered a disappointing midweek home defeat, as Scott Hogan’s hat-trick saw Birmingham beat them 3-2.

It doesn’t get much easier for the Baggies, who play high-flying Norwich at Carrow Road on Saturday. West Brom are yet to win on the road this season, but have a historically good record at this ground, winning on six of their last seven visits in the league. Bruce’s Baggies are 21/10 to pick up a vital win this weekend, while a seventh draw of the season is 12/5. Norwich are aiming to bounce straight back to the Premier League and have had Teemu Pukki and Josh Sargent firing in the goals in recent weeks – Pukki is 4/1 to open the scoring on Saturday, and so too is his American team-mate.

Free-scoring City looking to end Burnley’s home streak

Let’s turn to two managers who are feeling plenty of goodwill so far this season. Vincent Kompany has turned Burnley into a team that loves to dominate possession on their way to wins, while Nigel Pearson has Bristol City exceeding all expectations so far. City are 7th in the table but level on points with Burnley heading into a clash at Turf Moor on Saturday.

Burnley are unbeaten in their last 17 home Championship matches, and are 4/6 to get another three points on Saturday. The Clarets’ defence will need to be on its toes, however: Bristol City are the Championship’s top-scorers (18), averaging two goals a game. A scoring draw is 19/5, while a home win with both teams scoring is 12/5. City are looking for their first win here in the league since December 2007, and are 15/4 to pull it off.

Owls to claw back the leaders?

The big game in League One takes place at Hillsborough on Saturday, as table-topping Ipswich travel to 4th-place Sheffield Wednesday. Ipswich are unbeaten, but Wednesday would close to within one point of the Tractor Boys with a win – the Owls are 13/8 to do just that, and have won three of their last four league meetings with Ipswich.

Wednesday did lose their last home game, against Barnsley, but haven’t lost consecutive home league games at this level since 2011. Can Ipswich grab another win and strengthen their position at the top? They are 13/8 to leave Sheffield with three points.

Home advantage to help Bradford?

The biggest crowd of the day in League Two will undoubtedly be found at the University of Bradford Stadium. The home side, Bradford City, have an average attendance over 17,000 and might see their largest crowd of the season as 2nd-place Stevenage come to town on Saturday.

Bradford have won five of their last six Football League meetings with Stevenage, including a 4-1 win here last season – the home side are 6/4 to win this one and pull to within two points of the visitors. Stevenage have won as many road games so far this season as they did in the whole of the last campaign (2), and are 19/10 to claim consecutive away wins on Saturday.