EFL preview: League One goes Hollywood... again
Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds bought Wrexham in 2022, while former NFL star Tom Brady took a stake in Birmingham City in 2023
- Published
The touted 'biggest night in the EFL' is back, and this time it's heading to Welsh soil.
Birmingham City and Wrexham's last League One encounter in September was watched by a bumper crowd of almost 28,000 at St Andrew's including David Beckham, Tom Brady and Gary Neville.
The reverse fixture sees the two sides face off at STOK Racecourse, a place that has drawn the presence of actors Hugh Jackman and Will Ferrell in recent times.
It promises to be a star-studded night no matter the outcome, but for two sides competing for the title, both sets of players will be ready to show that it's them who are the main attraction.
The third-tier blockbuster is the only place to be for EFL fans on Thursday (20:00 GMT) but there's plenty to warm things up before the film stars descend upon north Wales.
Birmingham City forward Jay Stansfield scored twice in Blues' 3-1 victory in September
'Hollywood Derby': round two
In the blue corner is Birmingham City - a team top of the league and on a 14 match unbeaten streak.
Chris Davies' side have stormed to the summit of League One in their attempt to regain a place in the Championship at the first time of asking, in part thanks to the investment its American owners - including NFL superstar Tom Brady - have put into the squad.
Birmingham would go eight points above their Welsh counterparts with victory, and still have a couple of games in hand.
In the red corner, Wrexham.
Under the ownership of Hollywood's Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the Red Dragons are eyeing a third straight promotion and are three points behind second-placed Wycombe.
Wrexham lost the reverse fixture 3-1 in September despite going a goal up in the third minute, but this time around they will be at their beloved Racecourse Ground where they have yet to lose this season.
Crunch time
As we approach the end of January it's pretty clear for most sides if you're involved in a relegation battle or striving for promotion.
Play-off chasing Middlesbrough host West Brom in arguably the pick of Tuesday's eight Championship games.
Boro's surprise defeat by lowly Portsmouth on Saturday saw them drop to seventh, while new boss Tony Mowbray led Albion to their 14th draw of the season against a struggling Stoke City to take them up to sixth.
With the top four pulling clear, it appears only two play-off places are now available for fifth downwards and so neither Boro nor the Baggies will want to lose any ground.
At the bottom, Portsmouth could climb out of the relegation zone with victory over Stoke on Wednesday.
The Potters are four places ahead of Pompey but precariously, only two points clear.
The Hampshire side are all but guaranteed to escape the drop zone if they take all three points at Fratton Park, while Stoke could find themselves in the bottom three if other results go against them.
Miron Muslic was appointed Plymouth Argyle head coach earlier this month
Argyle look to beat Burnley barricade
Plymouth are five points from safety at the bottom of the Championship, but things are not set to get any easier on Wednesday when Burnley visit Home Park.
The Clarets have the best defensive record across the top four leagues, conceding just nine goals in their 27 Championship matches and are 14 games unbeaten.
Contrastingly, Argyle's defence is... not so good.
Plymouth have by far shipped the most goals in the second tier conceding 55 - 10 above the second leakiest defence in Portsmouth.
The Pilgrims are now without a win in 13 league matches and might not fancy their chances of ending that streak against Scott Parker's side.
Derby County head coach Paul Warne led the side to promotion back to the Championship last season
Derby in freefall
Derby County are in a spot of bother.
The Rams won five of their first six matches at Pride Park this season, bolstering some poor away results with solid home performances.
But they have now only won two of their past eight home league matches, seeing them drop to 19th place with a single point separating them from the bottom three.
The East Midlands side have also lost all of their past four league games and suffered an FA Cup defeat at the hands of League One side Leyton Orient.
On Tuesday, they face surprise title challengers Sunderland.
Warne has said he is sure he is "still getting the best out of his players", but another defeat will only pile on the pressure.
Where else to cast your eye
It's a relatively quiet midweek in League Two, with only four teams in action on Tuesday.
A resurgent Harrogate Town will be looking to make it three wins in a row as they welcome Colchester United.
Harrogate would go above 15th-placed Colchester with victory.
MK Dons will be looking to stay in touch with the play-off places with a visit to 14th-placed Fleetwood who also have games in hand on the surrounding teams.
As for League One, while most eyes will be on Thursday's showcase at the top, Tuesday features the side struggling at the bottom.
Burton Albion have not tasted victory since 9 November and are now 11 points from safety. They'll be hoping for a change of fortunes when they visit 17th-placed Wigan.
Elsewhere in the third tier, Bolton host Charlton with both sides looking to mount a play-off push, and freefalling Peterborough face out-of-form Exeter City.
You can follow all the EFL action live on the BBC Sport website with all three leagues kicking off from 21 January at 19:45 GMT.