“One of League Two’s hottest striker’s Wrexham’s Paul Mullin
is up against his former side.
"Countdown to kick-off and it’s looking like a
full house. Noisy! And I am not just talking the seagulls circling overhead.
"Sidenote, with the away team’s links to Hollywood the press box is packed – we
are shoulder to shoulder – as tight as sardines – thankfully not actual - with
said seagulls above looking hungry."
Saddlers wannabe in the promotion race while Rovers just want survival
Forest Green v Walsall (15:00 GMT)
The Spice Girls were riding high in the charts with 2 Become
1 the last time Walsall went on a six-match league winning run.
Second-bottom Forest Green may yet be saying goodbye to the
EFL this spring and after five straight wins, what Mat Sadler’s men really, really
want is another victory against the strugglers to make it their best
winning run since February 1997.
As well as things have been going for their side, Saddlers
fans might yet feel a cold pang of dread when they see who is in the Rovers
dugout this afternoon, however.
Steve Cotterill has won four and drawn the other of his five
matches taking charge against Walsall, including an 8-2 win and a 2-0 success with
Bristol City in the EFL Trophy Final in 2015 on the Saddlers’ first ever trip
to Wembley.
They've won one of their last nine at home and if Rovers can’t stop the Walsall momentum then they’ll
strengthen their hold on a play-off spot this afternoon.
Red Dragons aiming to burn Shrimps for a second time
Morecambe v Wrexham (15:00 GMT)
Rex FeaturesCopyright: Rex Features
Wrexham players take a stroll on the pitch at MorecambeImage caption: Wrexham players take a stroll on the pitch at Morecambe
Though there might be only nine points between them, on
paper Wrexham might seem a banker to win at Morecambe this afternoon.
Thankfully, however, this one is being played on grass.
The Shrimps have had a torrid time against newly-promoted
sides, taking one point from four matches and shipping 14 goals.
Six of those came in the reverse fixture at the Racecourse
in November, when Paul Mullin bagged a hat-trick – just as he did last time out
in their 4-0 romp against Accrington.
Though they have won their last two to rise to eighth, Ged
Brannan’s men have taken just five points from their last six home games played
on a Saturday afternoon and have failed to score more than once in any of them.
Wrexham have won only one of their last seven on the road, failing
to keep a clean sheet in that spell, but know they could go joint top of League
Two with three points today and positive results elsewhere.
Robins seek to inflict more woe on Stags
Mansfield v Swindon (15:00 GMT)
Rex FeaturesCopyright: Rex Features
Blue skies ahead for Mansfield?Image caption: Blue skies ahead for Mansfield?
League Two leaders Mansfield will seek to make an immediate
return to form when they host Swindon this afternoon.
The Stags went down 2-1 against MK Dons at Field Mill on
Tuesday night and remain just three points clear of Stockport, who have a game in
hand, with Wrexham, Crewe and MK all waiting to pounce on any further slip-ups.
Swindon, led by interim boss Gavin Gunning, are by no means the best travellers, with just one win in 17
on the road, but they do have a good record against Nigel Clough’s men,
winning seven and drawing two of the last 11 meetings, including a 5-2 success
here last season.
They are also seeking to complete the double over Mansfield,
having won 2-1 at the County Ground on November 25, ending Town’s unbeaten
start to the season.
Can they inflict more damage this afternoon?
Vale and Shrews in scramble for safety
Port Vale v Shrewsbury (15:00 GMT)
Rex FeaturesCopyright: Rex Features
Both sides can be forgiven for feeling a teeny bit of tension ahead of this relegation six-pointer, but it’s Vale who arguably need the points the most.
They sit six points from safety in 22nd, while Shrewsbury hover one perilous place and four points above the relegation zone after one win in seven.
Wretched doesn’t begin to cover the Valiants' recent form with three points picked up in a winless 11-match run which stretches back to 29 December.
The new manager bounce has so far failed to materialise, with one point the sole return in five matches since Darren Moore took the hotseat last month, conceding 12 goals in that run.
But it could all be about to change as Vale’s leaky defence comes up against League One’s most goalshy attack.
They have found the net just 26 times in the league this season and have failed to find the net in three of their last four, so a trend will be bucked today.
Stuttering Bolton head to happy hunting ground
Exeter v Bolton (15:00 GMT)
The classic cliche of two sides with very different ambitions.
Bolton are sitting handily placed in the second and final automatic promotion berth, but have fallen six points behind leaders Portsmouth after a stuttering run of three wins from their last nine League One outings.
It has also allowed the Trotters’ promotion rivals to close in - Derby are just a point behind, while Barnsley are three back with a game in hand, and fifth-placed Peterborough are also well in the hunt at five points adrift.
Exeter, meanwhile, are six points above the relegation places in 16th - part of a tightly-packed cluster of seven teams separated by just three points, all hovering perilously above the drop zone.
The Grecians are winless in four and have beaten Bolton just once at home in the league in all seven attempts. The priceless win came under Terry Cooper way back in 1991.
But Bolton’s recent away form may offer a chink of hope - they’ve picked up one point from their last three away outings.
Bogey side Blackpool await leaders Pompey
Blackpool v Portsmouth (15:00 GMT)
Rex FeaturesCopyright: Rex Features
Revenge may not be publicly admitted in the sub-plot, but Portsmouth’s early morning trip to the north west may be fuelled by more than diesel.
Pompey boast the best defensive record in the third tier, a factor which has helped take them six points clear at the top.
But they sank to their heaviest defeat of the season when these sides last met back in late November when the Tangerines handed out a 4-0 hammering at Fratton Park.
Portsmouth seem to be well and truly over their new year slump and seven wins in a nine-match unbeaten run has taken them seven clear of third-placed Derby in the race for automatic promotion with 10 games to come.
If Blackpool have designs on the Championship, it will be by the more circuitous route of the play-offs.
They sit two places and four points behind Stevenage who occupy the play-off spot after three wins from their last four.
They go into today’s match unbeaten in seven at Fortress Bloomfield where they have scored in their last 15 matches and seeking a fourth straight win over the south coast side.
League Two Fixtures
All games kick off at 15:00 GMT
Accrington v Bradford City
Barrow v Colchester
Doncaster v Crewe
Forest Green v Walsall
Gillingham v Tranmere
Harrogate v Crawley
MK Dons v Salford City
Mansfield v Swindon
Morecambe v Wrexham
Notts County v Wimbledon
Stockport v Newport
Sutton v Grimsby
League One Fixtures
All games kick off at 15:00 GMT
Barnsley v Lincoln
Blackpool v Portsmouth
Bristol Rovers v Derby
Burton v Peterborough
Cambridge vNorthampton
Charlton v Carlisle
Exeter v Bolton
Oxford Utd v Cheltenham
Port Vale v Shrewsbury
Reading v Wycombe
Stevenage v Fleetwood
Wigan v Leyton Orient
Here we go again!
#bbcefl
There's definitely a feel of the final furlong in the air as we dive into another packed Saturday afternoon schedule.
Our runners and riders are all but into the home straight, and for many today is the day their games remaining column ticks down into single figures.
The field is still tightly packed in the race for promotion and the scramble for safety in both League One and League Two, but who will make a run for the line and who will fade?
Live Reporting
Chris Harby, Alex Hoad, Harry Everett and Dan Wareing
All times stated are UK
Full house in the crowd - and the press box
Morecambe v Wrexham (15:00 GMT)
Nesta McGregor
BBC Sport at The Mazuma Mobile Stadium
“One of League Two’s hottest striker’s Wrexham’s Paul Mullin is up against his former side.
"Countdown to kick-off and it’s looking like a full house. Noisy! And I am not just talking the seagulls circling overhead.
"Sidenote, with the away team’s links to Hollywood the press box is packed – we are shoulder to shoulder – as tight as sardines – thankfully not actual - with said seagulls above looking hungry."
Saddlers wannabe in the promotion race while Rovers just want survival
Forest Green v Walsall (15:00 GMT)
The Spice Girls were riding high in the charts with 2 Become 1 the last time Walsall went on a six-match league winning run.
Second-bottom Forest Green may yet be saying goodbye to the EFL this spring and after five straight wins, what Mat Sadler’s men really, really want is another victory against the strugglers to make it their best winning run since February 1997.
As well as things have been going for their side, Saddlers fans might yet feel a cold pang of dread when they see who is in the Rovers dugout this afternoon, however.
Steve Cotterill has won four and drawn the other of his five matches taking charge against Walsall, including an 8-2 win and a 2-0 success with Bristol City in the EFL Trophy Final in 2015 on the Saddlers’ first ever trip to Wembley.
They've won one of their last nine at home and if Rovers can’t stop the Walsall momentum then they’ll strengthen their hold on a play-off spot this afternoon.
Red Dragons aiming to burn Shrimps for a second time
Morecambe v Wrexham (15:00 GMT)
Though there might be only nine points between them, on paper Wrexham might seem a banker to win at Morecambe this afternoon.
Thankfully, however, this one is being played on grass.
The Shrimps have had a torrid time against newly-promoted sides, taking one point from four matches and shipping 14 goals.
Six of those came in the reverse fixture at the Racecourse in November, when Paul Mullin bagged a hat-trick – just as he did last time out in their 4-0 romp against Accrington.
Though they have won their last two to rise to eighth, Ged Brannan’s men have taken just five points from their last six home games played on a Saturday afternoon and have failed to score more than once in any of them.
Wrexham have won only one of their last seven on the road, failing to keep a clean sheet in that spell, but know they could go joint top of League Two with three points today and positive results elsewhere.
Robins seek to inflict more woe on Stags
Mansfield v Swindon (15:00 GMT)
League Two leaders Mansfield will seek to make an immediate return to form when they host Swindon this afternoon.
The Stags went down 2-1 against MK Dons at Field Mill on Tuesday night and remain just three points clear of Stockport, who have a game in hand, with Wrexham, Crewe and MK all waiting to pounce on any further slip-ups.
Swindon, led by interim boss Gavin Gunning, are by no means the best travellers, with just one win in 17 on the road, but they do have a good record against Nigel Clough’s men, winning seven and drawing two of the last 11 meetings, including a 5-2 success here last season.
They are also seeking to complete the double over Mansfield, having won 2-1 at the County Ground on November 25, ending Town’s unbeaten start to the season.
Can they inflict more damage this afternoon?
Vale and Shrews in scramble for safety
Port Vale v Shrewsbury (15:00 GMT)
Both sides can be forgiven for feeling a teeny bit of tension ahead of this relegation six-pointer, but it’s Vale who arguably need the points the most.
They sit six points from safety in 22nd, while Shrewsbury hover one perilous place and four points above the relegation zone after one win in seven.
Wretched doesn’t begin to cover the Valiants' recent form with three points picked up in a winless 11-match run which stretches back to 29 December.
The new manager bounce has so far failed to materialise, with one point the sole return in five matches since Darren Moore took the hotseat last month, conceding 12 goals in that run.
But it could all be about to change as Vale’s leaky defence comes up against League One’s most goalshy attack.
They have found the net just 26 times in the league this season and have failed to find the net in three of their last four, so a trend will be bucked today.
Stuttering Bolton head to happy hunting ground
Exeter v Bolton (15:00 GMT)
The classic cliche of two sides with very different ambitions.
Bolton are sitting handily placed in the second and final automatic promotion berth, but have fallen six points behind leaders Portsmouth after a stuttering run of three wins from their last nine League One outings.
It has also allowed the Trotters’ promotion rivals to close in - Derby are just a point behind, while Barnsley are three back with a game in hand, and fifth-placed Peterborough are also well in the hunt at five points adrift.
Exeter, meanwhile, are six points above the relegation places in 16th - part of a tightly-packed cluster of seven teams separated by just three points, all hovering perilously above the drop zone.
The Grecians are winless in four and have beaten Bolton just once at home in the league in all seven attempts. The priceless win came under Terry Cooper way back in 1991.
But Bolton’s recent away form may offer a chink of hope - they’ve picked up one point from their last three away outings.
Bogey side Blackpool await leaders Pompey
Blackpool v Portsmouth (15:00 GMT)
Revenge may not be publicly admitted in the sub-plot, but Portsmouth’s early morning trip to the north west may be fuelled by more than diesel.
Pompey boast the best defensive record in the third tier, a factor which has helped take them six points clear at the top.
But they sank to their heaviest defeat of the season when these sides last met back in late November when the Tangerines handed out a 4-0 hammering at Fratton Park.
Portsmouth seem to be well and truly over their new year slump and seven wins in a nine-match unbeaten run has taken them seven clear of third-placed Derby in the race for automatic promotion with 10 games to come.
If Blackpool have designs on the Championship, it will be by the more circuitous route of the play-offs.
They sit two places and four points behind Stevenage who occupy the play-off spot after three wins from their last four.
They go into today’s match unbeaten in seven at Fortress Bloomfield where they have scored in their last 15 matches and seeking a fourth straight win over the south coast side.
League Two Fixtures
All games kick off at 15:00 GMT
League One Fixtures
All games kick off at 15:00 GMT
Here we go again!
#bbcefl
There's definitely a feel of the final furlong in the air as we dive into another packed Saturday afternoon schedule.
Our runners and riders are all but into the home straight, and for many today is the day their games remaining column ticks down into single figures.
The field is still tightly packed in the race for promotion and the scramble for safety in both League One and League Two, but who will make a run for the line and who will fade?
Welcome to the fun.