Gabriel Sutton's EFL Weekend Picks

West Brom might not have gained the territory they wanted in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at a Stoke side fighting for their lives, but you could still see in the chances they created the quality of coaching on display.

Carlos Corberán’s side are well-organised, which is why they’ve kept 16 clean sheets this season with only Leeds managing more in the Championship, but they also produced some good patterns of play and know how to create chances organically.

The front-four of Jed Wallace, Grady Diangana, Mikey Johnston and Brandon Thomas-Asante is looking dangerous, rotating and interchanging superbly in an attack that has found the net in each of the previous nine games.

As such, Albion should have the tools to beat Sunderland, who had been hoping to rival them for a Play-Off spot but instead look bound for another season in the second tier.

Norwich’s 1-0 victory over Ipswich last Saturday continued their 15-year unbeaten run against their East Anglian rivals, but it can’t be underestimated what that result did for their Play-Off prospects.

The Canaries enter the business end with great momentum, a sturdy defensive unit, and a sprinkling of game-changers in Gabriel Sara, Borja Sainz and Josh Sargent.

Hosts Preston North End had hoped to be in the top six conversation themselves, but a 1-0 loss at Birmingham and goalless draw at Watford put pay to those ambitions for Ryan Lowe’s side.

Paul Mullin hasn’t quite hit the numbers that might have been anticipated from him this season, after a stunning 47-goal return in all competitions in 2022-23, 38 coming in the National League.

While step back up to League Two hasn’t exactly been seamless for the 29-year-old, he’s still grabbed 20 goals with four to play – and that’s despite missing the first month through injury.

Springy, powerful and unpredictable, Mullin is a midfielder’s dream with his bold, confident movement that can make decisions for them, and he’s a ruthless, sniper-like finisher.

Mullin should be able to fire Wrexham to the victory that would send them one giant step closer to League One, against a Forest Green side set to finish their seven-year EFL journey.

Barnsley and Reading rarely fail to bring the drama in League One.

The Reds have seen both teams score in 68% of their league matches, the Royals, 64%, sitting 2nd and 3rd respectively in those metrics.

The hosts are an attacking side that, with advanced wing-backs, a freed up number 10 in Adam Phillips and two strikers, rarely give adequate cover to a suspect back-three, despite the South Yorkshire outfit still being in a good position to secure a Play-Off spot due to their forward play.

The visitors, meanwhile, have a talented side oozing with potential, but they also have a centre-back at left-back (Jeriel Dorsett), a right-back at centre-back (Amadou Mbengue), and a 19-year-old alongside him (Tyler Bindon).

None of the above are older than 22, and in the absence of an experienced holding midfielder in front of them, defensive chaos is rarely far away.

Colchester have lost just four of their 15 league games under Danny Cowley, and that sort of solidity normally gets a team out of relegation trouble in League Two – bearing in mind it’s just the two sides going down.

In this instance, they’re not quite home and hosed just yet due to the unexpected form of Sutton, who recently won four on the spin before losing to Stockport on Saturday, so the U’s still have work to do.

Cowley’s side were excellent against a top side in Wrexham for 60 minutes in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat, though, with converted midfielder Jay Mingi outstanding in the back-three.

Crawley are in excellent form and are thus favourites for a Play-Off spot ahead of outsiders Walsall, but the visitors could pull off a surprise with the right targeted game plan.