5 things to watch for in the EFL – Matchday 6

We’re five matchdays into the EFL and things are already hotting up in all three divisions. With the transfer window set to close next week, managers are scrambling to finalise their squads for the rest of 2022, so expect plenty of movement in and out over the coming days. Plenty of teams will surely decide to stick or twist based on how they fare this weekend, so it’s a big round of fixtures for the 72 teams.

It’s Matchday 6 of the EFL Championship, League One and League Two – here’s five things to watch for this weekend, starting on Friday night.

Hatters to hold off the Blades?

It’s a match-up between last season’s two beaten play-off semi-finalists in the Championship, as Luton Town host Sheffield United on Friday night. The Blades top the table after five games, although they are yet to win away from home this campaign and have not won at Kenilworth Road since December 1994. United are 7/5 to get their first away win of the season, while a home win for Luton is 2/1.

Sheffield United’s Iliman Ndiaye scored twice off the bench in their previous game, taking him to three for the season. We have Enhanced Odds of 15/2 on the Senegalese international to score the first goal of the game against Luton.

Luton have failed to score in their last two home league games, and a clean sheet for Sheffield United is 9/5.

Black Cats feeling lucky

It’s the first league meeting between Sunderland and Norwich since April 2018, and both sides are feeling good about themselves heading into this one. Norwich are within a point of the play-offs after winning two in a row, while Sunderland are 5th after a resolute away win at Stoke at the weekend.

Ross Stewart was the matchwinner last week and the Sunderland striker has been involved in 32 league goals for the Black Cats since the start of last season, scoring 27. A Sunderland win with Ross Stewart scoring at any time is 19/5.

The Black Cats’ boss Alex Neil faces off against his former club for the sixth time, but he has won only one of the previous five against Norwich in his career. A third straight win for the Canaries is 13/10 – if they do so, it will be their first time winning three in a row since March 2021.

Burnley to break away duck against Wigan?

Only four teams remain unbeaten in the Championship heading into Matchday 6, and newly-promoted Wigan are one of them. The Latics face heavily-fancied Burnley on Saturday, but sit above the Clarets in the table after taking six points from their first four games.

Burnley are 11/8 to win at Wigan, but the home side have an outstanding record against Vincent Kompany’s side. The Latics have never lost a home league match against Burnley, a run that stretches for 10 previous games. Wigan are 21/10 to extend the streak with a win, while a seventh draw in 11 meetings here is also 21/10

Tractor Boys to roll on in League One?

Ipswich are the form side in League One, and deservedly top the table after the first five games. The unbeaten Tractor Boys have won four in a row, and are now looking for five straight victories in the league for the first time since 2003.

Kieran McKenna’s side will like their chances of picking up three more points against a Barnsley side who are struggling to adjust to life back in League One. The Tykes have lost both away games so far this season, and an Ipswich win is 8/13. The Tractor Boys are unbeaten in their last 11 league meetings with Barnsley, and an Ipswich win with both teams scoring is 14/5.

Can Salford City stop Stevenage?

There are some tasty matches in League Two this weekend as a host of sides with promotion aspirations face-off up and down the country. At Salford, 6th-placed City host 2nd-placed Stevenage, and the home side will leapfrog their visitors with a victory.

Since Steve Evans took charge of Stevenage in March, only Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday and Leyton Orient (all 9) have won more games in the top four tiers than they have. Salford, though, have won five of six Football League meetings with this weekend’s opponents. Something has to give this weekend: Salford are 29/20 to get the win, while Stevenage are 15/8 to continue their brilliant form under Evans with victory.