League One leaders Portsmouth win at Shrewsbury to go seven points clear
Peterborough move into second after Bolton lose again
Oxford pick up first league win under Des Buckingham to go third
Stockport thrash bottom club Sutton 8-0 to stay six points clear at top of League Two
Wrexham and Barrow stay in the automatic promotion places after both win
Morecambe win 5-0 at Doncaster to record their record EFL away win
Swindon 0-0 Barrow
Barrow have gone close more than once in the opening exchanges, Sam Foley lofting over the bar from distance, Kian Spence volleying inches past the post and then David Worrall seeing a low shot deflected past the post.
Shrewsbury 0-0 Portsmouth
Portsmouth are unchanged for this one from the win over Bolton five days ago.
But they do have the luxury of having top scorer Colby Bishop back on the bench following his recovery from injury.
They hope it will be a gentle comeback for him.
Lincoln 1-0 Reading
Lewis Wing has a free-kick for Reading as they look for an immediate response.
It's a good effort and it gets Lincoln goalkeeper Lukas Jensen interested, but it's past the post.
Ryan Croasdale (6 mins)
It's been all Stockport from kick-off and they have their breakthrough, Ryan Croasdale getting up to nod home a free-kick from close range for his first goal of the season.
Dave Challinor getting the reaction he demanded after the FA Cup exit to Aldershot.
Elliot Lee (4 mins)
That's a dozen for the season for Elliot Lee and on his 29th birthday too. Lee tucks away at the second attempt after his initial effort was blocked.
Wrexham make the perfect start to their quest for a fifth straight home win.
Image source, Getty ImagesStockport 0-0 Sutton
Sutton keeper Dean Bouzanis is alert to deny the Hatters an opening goal from a corner inside two minutes.
Stockport starting on the front foot.
Nelson Abbey (3 mins og)
Disastrous start for the visitors!
Lincoln's first real attack and it produces a goal.
The ball is worked wide and a cross is swung in which takes a big deflection off Nelson Abbey and goes past David Button in the Reading net.
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The players are out, the tracksuit tops are off and the referees have got the whistles to their mouth.
Let's play.........dar...! Sorry, wrong sport!
Shourjo Sarkar
BBC Final Score
Since posting a club record 13th consecutive win across all competitions last month, League Two leaders Stockport have managed just one win in eight matches.
Sutton may be bottom of the table, but they are unbeaten in five league games and come here hoping to make the most Stockport's current wobble.
Image source, BBC SportLeague Two round up
Image source, Getty ImagesStockport's superior goal difference may have already all-but secured their position as top of the League Two Christmas tree, but the squabble for second is as tightly packed as a Christmas turkey.
Wrexham currently sit best of the rest, but in addition to Barrow in third, any one of Mansfield, Crewe, or Notts County could leapfrog the Welsh side with one game left before Christmas a week on Monday.
Nigel Clough's Stags lost their sensational unbeaten start to the season in their last away trip at Swindon, and will look to get back to winning ways against Crawley in Sussex.
Crewe, meanwhile, are also looking for a first win in three at home to Accrington. Joint top scorers Notts County will hope adding to their goal tally of 43 will see them past Harrogate today.
New Grimsby boss Dave Artell can make it three unbeaten since he took charge away at Newport, which could be a tall order as his side are yet to win away from home this campaign.
Meanwhile, there's likely to be a winner between Gillingham and Bradford. The Gills have drawn just one of their 20 league games this season, while Graham Alexander's outfit have drawn just one of their last 12.
AFC Wimbledon have quietly sneaked into the play-offs of late, and take the best away defensive record to Salford City this afternoon. They've conceded just eight goals away from Plough Lane.
The form table makes for pleasant reading for MK Dons fans. 11 points from the last 18 is the fourth best of any other side in that time and it will be up to Forest Green to slow that run down today.
Tranmere have also picked up 11 points in the last six, a handy sequence that has seen them inch away from the EFL trapdoor. It's a trip to Walsall for Rovers this afternoon.
One team not wanting to look at the form table is Morecambe. Four points from a possible 18 for Ged Brannan's side ahead of a visit to Doncaster this afternoon, but one of those was against league leaders Stockport last time out.
Nearly time to find out who'll be singing loudest come 17:00 GMT.
Swindon v Barrow (15:00 GMT)
Image source, Getty ImagesEngelbert Humperdinck was top of the charts the last time Barrow won at Swindon.
On Tuesday, 26 September 1967 you could get a pint for a couple of shillings, the average house price was under £4k, England were World Champions and BBC Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4 would not be launched until the following Saturday.
Fast forward to this afternoon and the upwardly-mobile Bluebirds are looking to end their poor run against the Robins by landing a sixth consecutive league win - something they have never previously achieved in more than 2,000 fixtures in the top four divisions.
It won’t come easy, Swindon have won six of their last eight league games in front of their own fans, have only failed to score once at home all season and, in Jake Young, have the division’s leading scorer, with seven of his 16 goals coming in his last seven appearances.
Barrow lie third, six points behind the leaders, with a game in hand, and with the division’s best defensive record.
It was The Bee Gees that eventually knocked Engelbert off top spot back then, but you can be sure the Cumbrians hope to be Stayin' Alive in the promotion race well into the new year.
Image source, Getty ImagesWrexham v Colchester (15:00 GMT)
Image source, Rex FeaturesTitle-chasers will host survival-scrappers at the Racecourse where Wrexham and Colchester face-off in an EFL game for the first time in nearly 19 years.
Wrexham have mustered 124 shots on target in their 20 games in League Two, 10 more than any other side and it's no surprise they average more goals per game than anyone else too.
Phil Parkinson's side lie second, with a game in hand, and are seeking to close the six-point gap to leaders Stockport with a fifth straight home win against a Us side who have lost their last four and sit third-bottom having conceded more goals (42) than any other side in the division and having lost more games (13) than any else too.
Colchester have enjoyed their most recent visits to Wrexham, converting the 480-mile round-trip into a win and two draws from their last three visits but can they upset the odds and dent the Reds’ quest for back-to-back promotions?
By 17:00 GMT we'll know if it's to be another Hollywood ending or whether the only way really is Essex...
Stockport v Sutton (15:00 GMT)
Image source, Getty ImagesLeaders Stockport will be looking to get over their recent blip when they welcome basement-boys Sutton to Edgeley Park this afternoon.
The memories of the Hatters' 12-match winning streak are fading fast as County have since gone three League Two matches without a win and were unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup in dramatic fashion by National League Aldershot in midweek.
Sutton are bottom of the pile in the entire EFL with only three wins all season and 14 points from their 20 games thus far to lie six points adrift of safety already.
United have however drawn their last four matches - all by the same 1-1 scoreline - and won the game before that for a five-match unbeaten run in the league and also progressed to book an FA Cup third round trip to Plymouth.
They have scored in eight of their nine league away games but lost both their previous encounters with County without scoring last season.
Will Dave Challinor get the response he called for from his Stockport players or will Matt Gray’s men turn the blip into a real wobble?
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League One Round Up
Image source, Getty ImagesAs well as our feature games, there's plenty of storylines to get stuck into elsewhere in League One.
Burton look to snap a four-game losing streak in their first game since sacking Dino Maamria last week, and they'll try to do that at promotion-chasing Oxford.
Back in March 2020, Stevenage nearly dropped out of the EFL. Today they could move into the automatic promotion places in League One.
Steve Evans' men have the best home record in the division and they'll hope to maintain that against struggling Exeter City at the Lamex. Second place will be theirs tonight should they better the result of Bolton - the Trotters play host to Bristol Rovers.
There should be goals at Fleetwood today, as the hosts have the joint-leakiest defence in the division, and they welcome the league's best attack in Peterborough.
The Cod Army, who have conceded 16 in their last five games in all competitions, will hope to not get battered today. The Posh, too, could move into second if results go their way.
Wigan will look to continue their impressive climb up the table following an eight-point deduction at the start of the season. The Latics, who would be on the brink of the play-offs with those additional points, travel to Port Vale.
Barnsley (at home to Charlton) and Blackpool (at Cambridge) will continue their play-off push this afternoon, while the only way is up for Carlisle and Cheltenham, who host Northampton and Leyton Orient respectively.
The Robins could move off the bottom of the table, but they'll need just a third home win from 10 games in 2023/2024 to do so.
So, plenty to follow and keep track of this afternoon.
Lincoln v Reading (15:00 GMT)
Image source, Getty ImagesThis year has carried little cheer for Reading fans.
Relegated in the first half of it and now stuck in the relegation zone in the division below, with points deductions in both seasons.
Throw in an FA Cup defeat at non-league Eastleigh and ongoing anger and disgruntlement towards Chinese owner Dai Yongge and it is not a happy camp.
Head coach Ruben Selles is fighting a tough battle with a young team, but they need results.
Reading cannot climb out of the bottom four today, but three points from their trip to Lincoln would at least lift the morale heading into the Christmas programme.
Derby v Wycombe (15:00 GMT)
Image source, Rex FeaturesFor however long Derby remain in League One, there will always be expectation on them to be competing for promotion.
After seventh place last season, manager Paul Warne knew what was at stake this time.
Now after a sticky start, five straight wins have the Rams in sixth, but only three points behind Bolton in second.
They did manage six consecutive victories just after new year last season, but they could not keep that form going as they eventually fell out of the play-offs.
Struggling Wycombe have lost their last four, so Derby will be confident of three more Pride Park points to put pressure on the teams above.
Shrewsbury v Portsmouth (15:00 GMT)
Image source, Rex FeaturesPortsmouth's 2-0 win over Bolton on Monday night was the biggest result in League One so far this campaign.
It has given Pompey a six-point lead at the top of the table and in prime position to make a promotion assault for the Championship in the new year.
Just one more point will guarantee top spot when they sit down for Christmas lunch, but John Mousinho's team will want to keep up their momentum.
It is three wins with seven goals scored and none conceded since a shock 4-0 loss to Blackpool three weeks ago.
They face an old Pompey hero today in the form of Shrewsbury boss Matty Taylor, whose team is a different animal in the surrounds of the Croud Meadow.
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