EFL 14/1 Acca – Gab Sutton

Just three points off the Play-Offs, QPR have made some real progress this season with a young, energetic side that have made Loftus Road a fortress once again: eight wins in 15 for the Rs, in W12.

With tricky, industrious wingers, a tenacious midfield and two athletic strikers that hassle all game, the West Londoners are back to some core principles.

Blackburn don’t have that same clarity in their playing identity and are in containment mode under the interim stewardship of Damien Johnson.

Rovers mustered just six attempts all game in Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Norwich, which left them inside the relegation zone.

Exeter boss Gary Caldwell has been heavily linked with the managerial vacancy at Wigan Athletic, the club with whom he won the FA Cup in 2013 and won the League One title with as a manager just three years later.

The Scot may well have his reasons for leaving St James Park, given numerous financial and operational challenges the Grecians currently have ahead of next season which, if in League One, will be a major struggle.

Esteemed journalist Pete O’Rourke is reporting that the Latics have stepped up their pursuit of Caldwell and aim to have him in place for Saturday’s game, which could make preparations messy for City.

Visitors Northampton, on the other hand, climbed out of the drop zone with a valuable point at Barnsley, and a 3-1 home victory over Stevenage, with five goals in two league games suggesting they’re starting to find some attacking productivity.

Colchester are four points off the Play-Offs in League Two with a game in hand, and after a fourth win in six against Shrewsbury at the weekend, Danny Cowley’s side are hoping to close the gap further.

The U’s aren’t quite at full strength – loanee Micah Mbick is absent, and with target man Will Goodwin down the middle they have to play a slightly different way – but they do have some of their players back from injury, crucially, including midfielder Arthur Read.

Hosts Barrow, on the other hand, are plummeting toward the drop zone; they gave caretaker Paul Gallagher the permanent gig off the back of a 3-1 victory at Tranmere just before New Year, but they’ve since lost six league games in a row, making that decision look a little premature.

It’s true, the strugglers have faced some good sides in that period, but they’ve also lost to Crawley and Shrewsbury, turning in some horrendous performances that, if repeated, Colchester are more than good enough to make them pay for.