EFL preview: Friends reunited and relationships blooming

Mark Robins and John Eustace may receive different reactions when they face former clubs this weekend

The countdown is on, games are being ticked off, fixture lists are being studied and potential points totals calculated.

The EFL season is hurtling towards a thrilling climax across all three divisions but there are sub-plots to be considered within the simple stories of wins, draws and losses.

As Stoke boss Mark Robins prepares to return to the scene of past glories at a resurgent Coventry City, Derby County's John Eustace faces the Blackburn Rovers side he left in favour of a relegation battle.

Birmingham City's serene progress in League One hit a bump in the road in midweek while Walsall fingers might be hovering above the button marked 'panic' in League Two.

Red carpet for Robins?

Mark Robins won the League Two play-offs with Coventry in 2018

Break-ups can be painful and the parting of the ways between Mark Robins and Coventry last November shocked many and angered a few.

But while past loves can bring about pangs of regret Sky Blues fans have a shiny new relationship which has got off to a passionate start.

Rumours of the courtship between Coventry and Frank Lampard were met with, well, let's say a mixed reaction and leave it at that, but the marriage is made in heaven.... so far.

City have won eight of their past nine league games and since Lampard took over have jumped from 17th - 10 points outside the play-offs - to fifth position.

"He [Robins] deserves to come back and get the reception he'll be given because it shows the good work he did here," Lampard told BBC CWR.

"The mentality of our team which is fifth has to be different from that which was 17th - we've made big steps but the biggest steps are to come."

So, what sort of reception will Robins get when he takes his Stoke City side to the CBS Arena on Saturday?

His time with Stoke is still very much at the dating stage with two wins from 11 league matches, but the Potters have had four painful divorces in under three years and need to make a go of one of their partnerships.

But for a penalty shoot-out defeat by Luton, Robins would have led Coventry from League Two to the Premier League and there was also the near-miss in last season's FA Cup semi-final.

His focus though is on keeping Stoke in the Championship with only a five-point gap to the relegation zone.

Eustace seeks lift off at Derby

John Eustace has lost all three of his games in charge at Derby

Plenty of eyebrows were raised when John Eustace swapped a play-off challenge at Blackburn for a relegation dogfight with Derby last month.

But maybe we should not underestimate the pull of a former club, being closer to family and the promise of time to build something how he wants it.

Mind you, no-one is underestimating the task Eustace now faces as, after a harrowing 4-0 defeat by QPR in his first game in charge, the Rams have lost their subsequent two fixtures also without scoring and are bottom of the table.

The only way is up, right? Well, seven points adrift of safety also opens up the very real prospect of a swift return to League One.

"You've got to be professional. I had a fantastic time at Blackburn and left them in a better place than when I went there but I'm focused on one thing, which is doing my best for Derby County," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

You might forgive the Rovers fans if they have a bit of fun at their former boss' expense when they roll into Pride Park on Saturday, especially when only goal difference is keeping them out of the top six and they have taken seven points from a possible 12 since he departed.

Valerien Ismael is Eustace's replacement at Blackburn and started with a draw against Norwich last weekend and, speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, he has plenty of respect for his predecessor.

"For me it is more about the game being against Derby County - I know John was the manager here and did a great job last season and then to rebuild the squad and compete for the play-offs but he has his own issues at the minute - he needs the points and we need the points for a different reason," the Frenchman said.

Three into two doesn't go

Joel Piroe has scored 15 goals for Leeds United this season

Those of us old enough to remember (cough) will go back to when the top three in the second tier went up, no messing around, you finish third you're in the club.

The jeopardy of play-offs made it less sure that third place would be enough and how many times have we seen those finishing below sneak themselves a promotion?

Given that, you can understand why fans of Leeds United, Sheffield United and Burnley will be sweating until the maths tells them it's a done deal.

Leeds remain in pole position with their huge goal difference effectively giving them a four-point cushion although that could be reduced by the time they come to visit Portsmouth on Sunday.

Sheffield United recovered from their late defeat by Leeds to beat QPR last weekend and maintain the pressure not only on the West Yorkshire side but also their nearest challengers for second place, Burnley. The Blades host FA Cup quarter-finalists Preston North End.

As for Burnley, with their clean sheet record ended by Cardiff City on Tuesday after 1,132 minutes without conceding, the only storyline left for them is to chase down one of the top spots starting by beating second-from-bottom Luton on Saturday.

The EFL weekend kicks-off on Friday night with Norwich City having the chance to move to within one point of the top six with a win over an Oxford United side who are edging towards safety.

Hatters and Addicks hot on the heels

Nathan Jones was appointed Charlton boss in February 2024

Such has been the form of Birmingham City, Wycombe Wanderers and Wrexham this season that the rest of League One might have felt a bit left out.

But this weekend two of the division's in-form sides meet with ideas of still breaking into the automatic promotion race.

I introduce you to Stockport County and Charlton Athletic - both with one defeat from their past 10 games and both close enough to second-placed Wycombe to harbour thoughts of bypassing the play-offs but also wary og the chasing pack behind them could still evict them from a top-six berth.

Dave Challinor's Hatters have taken well to life in League One and although the loss of top-scorer Louie Barry in January might have derailed their challenge, seven wins subsequently have kept them in the picture and with games to come next week against Bolton and Wrexham their destiny is in their own hands.

Charlton have burst out of mid-table obscurity with only a defeat by Birmingham blotting their copybook and boss Nathan Jones can feel something special is happening.

"It's relentless at the minute - we have to keep this momentum going and realise what's got us to this position and keep getting better," he told BBC Radio London.

"Every game is massive for us now and the bigger the stakes the better the game."

Leaders Birmingham will hope their midweek defeat by Bolton was merely a bump in the road and, after pulling into a lay-by and checking for damage, will look to hit the promotion highway again at home to Lincoln City.

Wycombe bounced back from their loss at St Andrew's last Saturday to beat Burton in midweek and stay two points ahead of third-placed Wrexham going into a trip to Peterborough.

For their part, Wrexham are at home to Rotherham.

At the bottom, Shrewsbury's trip to Exeter has a bit of a 'last chance saloon' feel about it, with Gareth Ainsworth's side eight points from safety and nine behind their opponents, who have been in freefall with one win from their past 10 matches.

"At this stage of the season we've got to start going for it - we're going have to start getting some goals if we want to stay up," Ainsworth told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"I believe we can stay up with the fixtures we've got."

Kevin Nolan takes his Northampton side to the scene of his final games as a player with a visit to Leyton Orient.

Bantams pecking at Saddlers lead

Bradford City have won four successive games in League Two

Bradford City, yes Bradford, the sleeping giant, the club who started the century in the Premier League, the one with the massive crowds in the fourth tier of English football.

And therein lies the problem, a Premier League stadium, big crowds, high expectation and yet still in League Two for a sixth successive season.

Whisper it but there are signs this could be their season as one league defeat since the turn of the year and 10 victories have propelled them from ninth, 17 points behind leaders Walsall, to within a couple of points of the Saddlers.

Tuesday's win over Cheltenham was a club-record 10th successive home victory and the Bantams will fancy getting the job done at Gillingham this weekend.

"We're still a long way from the end of the season so we have to stay strong and take it one game at a time," manager Graham Alexander told BBC Radio Leeds.

"We have to do the basics well and keep repeating it - if we look ahead that these games are any more important than the ones we faced before we'll trip ourselves up."

Walsall still hold a 10-point advantage over fourth-placed Notts County but two wins from their past 10 games is a concern as they host play-off chasing Grimsby Town.

Third-placed Doncaster Rovers will need to mind their work when hosting a Swindon Town side who ended Walsall's 12-match unbeaten home run last weekend.

Such is the nature of League Two, AFC Wimbledon and Notts County could either go up automatically, through the play-offs, or miss out altogether so their meeting at Plough Lane has plenty riding on it.

Mark Hughes has taken rock-bottom Carlisle United on a four-game unbeaten run and they are now only three points from safety with a game in hand as they go to Harrogate Town.

"We can feel the confidence growing," Hughes told BBC Sport. "We're four games unbeaten and sides at the bottom of the Football League don't normally go on runs of that length."

You can follow all of the weekend's EFL action on BBC Sport starting with our live text coverage of Norwich City against Oxford United on Friday night.