EFL 5/1 Acca – Gab Sutton

Blackburn have begun Michael O’Neill’s stint as manager, sharing his duties with the Northern Ireland national team, with back-to-back wins over Play-Off outsiders QPR and Preston North End.

O’Neill has shown his organisational nous, both in his international career, and in his work at Stoke, whom he stabilized in a tight spot, and while he’ll credit much of his impact to Damien Johnson’s work in the interim period, he’s hit the ground running.

The 56-year-old has already got the best out of defender Eiran Cashin, who is dominant in the air and assured on the ball, even if his lack of pace has held him back from gracing the higher levels – the Irishman will be key to Rovers’ attempt to pull clear of danger.

Meanwhile, visitors Bristol City are another opponent aspiring to a top six finish, but their bid has been plagued by inconsistency, with Gerhard Struber’s side getting a different result to the last in every match they’ve played since Boxing Day.

Rotherham find themselves five points adrift of safety in League One; they might have games in hand on the teams above them, but they’ve lost 10 of their last 13 league games.

The amount of fight and togetherness in this group – something that should be a hallmark of any Millers side – seems to dissipate by the week, and the team look out of ideas.

Their game plan is often to pass the ball backwards, then lump it up to Sam Nombe, who is competitive in the air but not necessarily a target man – and when that doesn’t work, they rarely offer much else.

As such, this looks a favourable fixture for Bradford, who have made steps to cement their top six berth with three wins in their last five, thanks to some sparkling performances in midfield from Jenson Metcalfe.

To back Salford to beat Shrewsbury would be to go by the league table, which has the hosts 10 places and 17 points better off than their Salopian visitors with two games in hand, as opposed to the form book.

On recent results, the Ammies have lost their last three, while the Shrews look rejuvenated under Gavin Cowan, following up a draw and a defeat with a four-game winning streak that’s taken them nine points clear of the drop zone.

Karl Robinson’s side, though, have been exceptional for much of the season, though, delivering a high-energy style with an exciting group of up-and-coming players, and after a competitive display in the 2-0 FA Cup defeat at Manchester City, they should get back to winning ways.

Salford boast one of the best strikers in League Two in Ryan Graydon and, in Haji Mnoga, Jorge Grant, Kadeem Harris and Kelly N’Mai, they also have players who can really create for him.