5 things to watch for in the EFL – Matchday 27

The transfer window is open, so there’s a fresh wave of optimism for clubs hoping to attract players to achieve their pre-season targets or stave off relegation.

After a weekend of FA Cup drama that saw Championship Coventry lose to National League Wrexham and League One Sheffield Wednesday knock out Premier League high-flyers Newcastle, the clubs return to their bread and butter.

Ahead of the action, we’ve picked out five key things to look out for in this weekend’s Football League games.

Check out all the latest Football League betting at William Hill.

Blackburn to enhance their promotion push?

The Championship action gets underway in front of the Sky cameras as Rotherham welcome promotion-chasing Blackburn to the New York Stadium.

It’s been a torrid run for the Millers, who have just one win in their last 12 league games (D3 L8), leaving them just one point above the drop zone. Meanwhile, they exited the FA Cup at the hands of League One Ipswich last weekend.

Matt Taylor’s side have been reliant on home comforts, picking up 16 of their 27 points in front of their home faithful. They’re 12/5 to pick up three valuable points.

Blackburn sit third and are in the hunt for at least a play-off place. Rovers have only lost one of their last 12 league meetings with Rotherham (W7 D4) and are 11/10 to continue that run with a victory.

Interestingly, Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side are the only team across England’s top four divisions without a draw. It’s 23/10 that this is the first Rovers game to end level this term.

The race for the play-offs at the Riverside

Middlesbrough’s revival under Michael Carrick has seen them climb from relegation threatened to play-off contenders – it’s been some transformation that has seen Boro climb into fifth in the Championship table.

Boro have won seven of 10 league games under Carrick and are 19/20 to continue their fine run against Millwall. One common trend in recent Boro games is goals. Their last eight in all comps have seen over 2.5 goals and a repeat here is 21/20.

Millwall beat Middlesbrough 2-0 back in October and can complete their first league double over them since the 2012/13 season. Gary Rowett’s side are 29/10 to claim victory and overtake their hosts. While the draw is 23/10.

Zian Flemming has been one Millwall’s stars this season. He struck twice in the reverse fixture. The Dutch forward has 10 league goals in his first season in the Championship and is 16/5 to score anytime.

Hull have ‘new-manager bounce’

Liam Rosenior was appointed Hull manager at the start of November and since then they’ve lost just once in eight league games (W3 D4).

The Tigers picked up an emphatic, and important, 4-1 win at Wigan at the beginning of this month to climb to 16th in the table and seven points from danger. It’s 19/20 that they win and continue their excellent recent run.

No Championship side has picked up fewer points in away games than Huddersfield (8) this season. However, the Terriers will take a crumb of comfort from the fact that they’ve won their last five games against Hull, conceding just one goal. Get 3/1 on the away side making it six on the bounce against the Tigers.

Looking for a player to find the net? Oscar Estupinan has three in three in the league for Hull, taking him to 11 for the season. The Colombian forward is 4/1 to strike first or 9/5 to score in the game

League One promotion rivals collide

It’s third versus first as Ipswich entertain Plymouth at Portman Road in the standout clash in League One.

Argyle are five points clear at the top of the table and beat the Tractor Boys 2-1 in September. It’s 5/1 that Plymouth complete their first-ever league double over Ipswich. Steven Schumacher’s side are unbeaten in their last 11 away league games (W5 D6) – they are 7/5 Double Chance.

Ipswich beat Championship opposition in the FA Cup 4-1 last weekend and have only lost once at Portman Road this season (W7 D4). And they’ve won eight of their last 12 home games against Plymouth (D3 L1).

That’ll be part of the reason that Kieran McKenna’s men are odds-on favourites to record an important home win as they aim to keep tabs on the automatic promotion spots. Conor Chaplin could be one to help with that objective. The forward has seven goals in his last eight games in all comps and is 11/8 to score in 90 minutes.

League status on the line at Priestfield

There’s a fresh wave of optimism around Gillingham after Brad Galinson completed his takeover of the Kent club. Now attention must return to keeping their Football League status after a torrid run.

The Gills put in a dogged performance despite losing 1-0 to Premier League Leicester in the FA Cup last weekend. But with league football looming, they’ve got to snap out of a 12-game winless run (D4 L8).

Tom Nichols has arrived from Crawley to try and solve their goalscoring problem. The striker looks set to make his debut and is 5/1 to put Gillingham 1-0 up. While the hosts are 23/20 to pick up a massive three points in their bid for survival.

Hartlepool occupy the other League Two relegation spot. Keith Curle must pick his side up from their 3-0 FA Cup defeat against Stoke, where Euan Murray and Rollin Menayese both put through their own net.

Pools will take confidence from winning their last two away games. They’re also unbeaten in their last four against Gillingham (W2 D2). Curle’s men are 5/2 to win, with a share of the spoils priced at 21/10.

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