Gabriel Sutton's EFL Weekend Picks

Portsmouth ensured their cushion to third was cut to no fewer than nine points on Tuesday night, when the League One leaders came from behind twice to earn a point against second- placed Derby.

Visitors Shrewsbury could struggle to compete, so Paul Hurst’s side will be relieved that relegation rivals Port Vale, Burton, and Cheltenham all lost while they added to their points tally at Bristol Rovers, making Saturday’s trip south more of a free hit.

After a 3-1 victory over Play-Off outsiders Hull on Easter Monday, Leeds have now taken a whopping 41 points from a possible 45 in 2024.

The Whites went into New Year nine points off the automatic promotion places, following a 1-0 defeat at West Brom, with Southampton looking the likelier challengers to a Leicester and Ipswich top two.

Since then, though, Daniel Farke’s side have only dropped points twice, away to Huddersfield and Watford, showing their ruthless streak in all the other games.

Leeds have momentum on their side, whereas Play-Off contenders Coventry are having to bounce back from Monday’s 2-1 home defeat to Cardiff.

The Millwall recruit took his time to settle after joining permanently in January last season, scoring just three in the second half of 2022-23, but this year he’s up to 19 – only Macaulay Langstaff, Matt Smith and Will Evans better his return in League Two.

Quick, strong, and potent, Olaofe still doesn’t start every game due to the nature of competition, but he’s expected to come in at his old stomping ground of Gander Green Lane.

Stockport need a maximum of nine points from their remaining six league games to mathematically rubber-stamp automatic promotion, thanks to a three-game winning streak and an eight-match unbeaten run.

Charlton are the BTTS kings of League One, having seen both sides find the net in 73% of their matches in 2023-24.

Barnsley rank the second highest on that data point, though, at 68%, including a whopping 19 of their previous 22 encounters.

Hosts Charlton are making huge strides under new boss Nathan Jones, who has stamped out the local feeling of apathy that preceded his appointment.

The Addicks are 10 unbeaten, making them one of League One’s form sides, thanks to the contributions of Daniel Kanu and Alfie May in attack.

Stoke have found themselves in a hole since their 19 summer additions, many of whom young and from abroad, have struggled to gel, despite the likes of Wouter Burger and Bae Jun-Ho showing flashes of promise.

Ricky Martin was dismissed as Technical Director, having come in for a lot of criticism during his tenure, and the more popular Jonathan Walters replaced him in a temporary capacity, producing a rallying cry in his opening notes.

The Staffordshire outfit still have work to finish off, though, but victories over Play-Off outsiders Middlesbrough, PNE and Hull suggest they can compete with the better teams in the league in their current position – if not the very best.

Victory over West Brom is possible, then, with the visitors looking ropey on the road having won just one of their seven away games in 2024.