There are signs of life from Wigan, which will please Shaun Maloney.

Danel Sinani has a strike from outside the box which Ben Wilson has to dive down low for to palm behind for a corner.

At the other end though, Matt Godden sees a header go just over the bar.

Image source, Rex Features

Middlesbrough continued their promotion push by coming from behind to ease to a 3-1 win at Swansea on Saturday.

In striker Chuba Akpom Boro boast the division's top scorer and January loan additions Aaron Ramsey and Cameron Archer, both from Aston Villa, are proving to be capable foils.

A win for Michael Carrick's men tonight will see them close the gap on second-placed Sheffield United to just one point before the Blades travel to Sunderland tomorrow.

Victory is no foregone conclusion though, with Stoke having won three of their past four games to climb away from relegation trouble.

Alex Neil's men claimed a 5-1 in the north east just last month when they hammered the Black Cats.

Not a great start for Wigan with Ben Amos called into action only three minutes in to palm away a good strike from Gustavo Hamer, who curled a free-kick from distance towards the far corner that the Latics keeper had to dive for and palm wide.

The players have emerged at Accrington's Wham Stadium with thick snow falling from the skies!

The hardy Portsmouth fans stood up on the open terrace behind the goal could be in for a cold evening.

They will need everything from hat, gloves, scarves and a good few layers to try and keep warm!

Golden opportunity for the struggling hosts!

Rob Dickie is adjudged to have handled in the area.

We're under way in our 19:45 GMT games.

Let's hope the action on the pitches is hotter than the temperature on an absolutely freezing night across much of England and Wales.

Third-placed Stevenage have the chance to go second and as many as six points clear of fourth-placed Northampton should they beat Crewe and the Cobblers lose at play-off hopefuls Mansfield.

FA Cup quarter-finalists Grimsby head to in-form Sutton in search of a victory before Sunday's trip to Premier League side Brighton.

Walsall, without a league win since 1 January, host a Swindon side who really need three points to boost their play-off bid and AFC Wimbledon will look to end their run of four successive losses when they visit Newport.

• Newport County v AFC Wimbledon
• Northampton Town v Mansfield Town
• Stevenage v Crewe Alexandra
• Sutton United v Grimsby Town
• Walsall v Swindon Town

Portsmouth's revival under John Mousinho has hit the buffers with successive losses and they travel to struggling Accrington with hopes of a play-off push looking slim at best.

Burton have climbed five points clear of the bottom four and another win over inconsistent Peterborough would go a long way to securing their place in the division.

Morecambe start the night in the relegation zone and without a victory in four but a win over Charlton would leave a few of the teams above them nervously looking over third shoulders.

Elsewhere, Wycombe are six points off the play-off places but, with two games in hand, still have a good chance of getting back amongst it. They host midtable Bristol Rovers.

• Accrington Stanley v Portsmouth
• Bristol Rovers v Wycombe Wanderers
• Burton Albion v Peterborough United
• Morecambe v Charlton Athletic

It’s not been a week to remember for Wigan who remain rooted to the bottom of the table after a 1-0 loss to Burnley, announced losses of £7.7m for the year to June 2022 and who admitted there had been a delay in paying wages due to “liquidity issues”.

On the pitch, things need to turn around quick if the club is going to survive the drop, with six points separating them from safety as it stands. The reality is though that they haven’t won in six games and have just one victory stretching all the way back to 12 November in the league.

Mark Robins’ Coventry stand in their way tonight, a team who started the season in Wigan’s position right at the bottom of the table.

Currently they’re on a run of seven games without a loss and are up to ninth, just four points outside the play-off places.

Chris Wilder’s tenure at Watford started with a defeat by strugglers QPR on Saturday.

The 55-year-old – who was appointed as head coach for the rest of this campaign only last week – has just 10 games to get Watford back into the play-off places, with the club currently in 11th place, six points behind Millwall in sixth.

The Hornets have only won once in their last nine games but comfortingly the team are unbeaten in their last five at home.

They host a potentially revived Birmingham, however, who significantly boosted their survival hopes with a win over fellow strugglers Rotherham on Saturday.

Birmingham are now 10 points clear of the drop zone in 18th place.

Image source, Rex Features

Two wins in their past four league games have helped to keep Rotherham clear of the bottom three.

However, Saturday's 2-0 defeat at previously out-of-sorts Birmingham showed the Millers still have some work to do to stay in the second tier.

Tonight's opponents Preston enjoyed a 2-0 win over Cardiff on Saturday to keep their slim play-off hopes alive.

Ryan Lowe's men are unbeaten in five but if they're to trouble the top six it's wins not draws that they need between now and May.

Millwall manager Gary Rowett said this week that he wants his team to “enjoy and embrace” the chase for the play-off places, with his team sitting in sixth place after their 1-0 win at Reading on the weekend.

The Lions have one of the best records at home of any club in the Championship this season, having only lost three games at The Den, and tonight they face the first of two matches on their own ground against Swansea.

The Swans by contrast have been slipping down the table, on a run of only one win in their last nine games. Worryingly for fans tonight, they have also not scored on their last three away outings.

Head coach Russell Martin has laid this week down as a marker for the team to get a win before the international break, and with a derby against Cardiff on the horizon on the other side. "We need it for everyone to just feel positive," he said.

It's pretty easy to see how Blackpool find themselves six points adrift of safety in the Championship.

The Tangerines have won just one league game since 29 October and matches are quickly running out for them to avert a return to League One.

As well as boosting their ailing survival hopes, Mick McCarthy's men would make a small piece of history with a win over the R's this evening as they have never previously done a league double over the west London side.

Gareth Ainsworth's men had been slipping towards trouble after a wretched run of their own but a 1-0 win over Watford on Saturday gave them a first victory since 17 December.

• Blackpool v Queens Park Rangers
• Millwall v Swansea City
• Rotherham United v Preston North End
• Watford v Birmingham City
• Wigan Athletic v Coventry City
• Middlesbrough v Stoke City (20:00 GMT)

Image source, Rex Features

Good evening and welcome to this midweek EFL live text.

All eyes will be on our late kick off, where Middlesbrough have the chance to cut the gap on second-placed Sheffield United to just a point if they can beat improving Stoke City.

Elsewhere in the Championship, struggling Blackpool and Wigan both have home games that they really need to take maximum points from if they're to keep their survival hopes alive.

If that wasn't enough, we've also got four games in League One and five in League Two.

Let's get going.