The 2023/24 EFL season rumbles on this weekend with several big games taking place in the Championship, League One and League Two.
The Championship promotion race heats up with Blackburn Rovers taking on Leeds United in a highly anticipated clash at Ewood Park on Saturday.
Portsmouth will aim to further their promotion bid when they take on Bolton Wanderers in a tantalising League One encounter at Fratton Park.
The latest round of games in League Two offer Mansfield Town the chance to climb into the top three as they welcome MK Dons to Field Mill.
With an action-packed round of EFL fixtures on the horizon, we analyse the three big games worth keeping a close eye on this weekend.
Blackburn Rovers vs Leeds United – Championship
Blackburn will be eager to bounce back from a deflating 3-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday when they welcome in-form Leeds to Ewood Park on Saturday.
The home side head into the weekend contest in decent form, having won three of their last five games (L2), but they can be under no illusions about the challenging task on the horizon.
They have only triumphed over Leeds once in their last seven meetings, but they can ill-afford any more slip-ups in the promotion race, with two points separating them from sixth-placed Hull City.
Republic of Ireland international Sammie Szmodics will be instrumental to Blackburn’s chances of victory, having scored 14 times in 19 games to lead the division’s goalscoring chart.
He can be backed at odds of 13/5 to get on the scoresheet this weekend, which will likely attract plenty of interest from punters in the UK and Ireland.
Regardless of which betting app they use to wager on Szmodics, the former Peterborough United star may well deliver a winning return with another dominating performance.
Leeds travel to Ewood Park as 3/4 favourites to emerge victorious thanks to their excellent recent record against Saturday’s hosts.
Daniel Farke’s side are also unbeaten in their last six Championship games (W5, D1) and face Blackburn on the back of a 3-2 victory over Middlesbrough.
Portsmouth vs Bolton Wanderers – League One
Monday night football pits first against second in the English third tier as Portsmouth take on Bolton in a high-stakes fixture at Fratton Park.
Only three points separate both sides at the summit of League One, although Bolton have a game in hand and head into the mouth-watering contest in better form.
Portsmouth have won three of their last six games across all competitions, but they’ve built up a head of steam ahead of the Bolton clash, winning their last two in a row.
They dispatched Burton Albion and Northampton Town by a combined scoreline of 5-0, with goals from Paddy Lane (2) and Sean Raggett handing John Mousinho’s side all three points in their most recent outing.
Portsmouth head into Monday’s contest brimming with confidence and have been tipped at 13/10 odds to oust their title rivals on home turf.
While Bolton are far from pushovers they face an uphill task, considering they have failed to beat Portsmouth at Fratton Park since emerging 3-2 victors in September 2009.
The most recent clash between both sides saw Portsmouth secure a 3-1 home win, but a victory for Bolton would catapult them to the top of the League Two standings, level on points with the hosts.
Mansfield Town vs MK Dons – League Two
Mansfield will be keen to return to winning ways when they host MK Dons at Field Mill on Saturday afternoon after an entertaining 2-2 draw against Tranmere Rovers last time out.
The Stags appeared to have shaken off a three-match losing streak in early November when they picked up back-to-back wins against Salford City and Newport County.
However, they’ve once again fallen off the wagon, failing to win any of their last three games across all competitions (D1, L2), including a 2-1 defeat to Burton Albion in the EFL Trophy.
Mansfield take on MK Dons as 13/12 favourites, but it could turn out to be another tricky affair for them, considering they’ve failed to beat Saturday’s visitors in their last two meetings (D1, L1).
MK Dons travel to Field Mill keen to preserve their five-match unbeaten league run, but they’ll need to shake off an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion Under-21 in their recent EFL Trophy outing.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief at The Real EFL, Gary is a passionate Lincoln City fan with extensive content creation across the Championship and EFL. He also shares expert football betting tips.
