Gabriel Sutton's EFL Weekend Picks

Bolton’s 2-2 draw with Shrewsbury in midweek dealt a serious blow to their automatic promotion hopes.

It means the Trotters will have to gain four points on Derby between now and the end of the season, or three points with a five-goal swing, and their rivals probably won’t drop any in the final two based on the fixtures.

Wanderers should have too much quality for their visitors – especially with the smooth right-sided combination play between Josh Cogley, Gethin Jones and George Thomason.

Port Vale’s back-to-back wins in late March gave them hope of staying up, but it’s just one point from the subsequent five leaving them three points and two places off 20th with an inferior goal difference.

Birmingham attained a crucial 3-0 victory over Coventry last weekend and draws elsewhere for Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday meant they climbed out of the drop zone ahead of the final three games.

Gary Rowett’s side still must go to Huddersfield, so if they win at already relegated Rotherham, the task will be to avoid defeat in West Yorkshire – fail to beat the Millers, though, and the pressure may be on to win the following week.

Blues can rely on the brilliance, though, of Jay Stansfield - the nippy striker who’s been able to stand out with 12 goals in a turbulent campaign.

Rotherham, on the other hand, have parted company with head coach Leam Richardson ahead of their rebuild in League One – the search for a new manager is already under way, and official communications suggest that person could be in place by Saturday’s game.

Much like Stansfield, Alfie May has been able to thrive in what has been an imbalanced, disjointed Charlton side for much of the season, as League One’s top goalscorer with 23.

May has flourished in a variety of forward roles, such is his ability to get involved in games wherever he operates – his selfless work rate, smart link-up play and potent finishing has made him one of the third tiers finest once again.

With the Addicks improved collectively since February’s high-profile appointment of Nathan Jones, the 30-year-old will be confident of getting on the scoresheet against Shrewsbury.

Paul Hurst’s side managed a point at Bolton in midweek, which represented a big stride towards securing their League One status, but Salop are also winless in five.

After significant defensive progress had been made in back-to-back wins over Harrogate and Walsall, Tuesday’s 5-2 drubbing by Stockport, crowned champions that night, served as another reminder of the need to fine tune those issues over the summer.

Notts County have been one of the best teams in League Two with the ball this season, and the inclusion of both POTY Jodi Jones and top goalscorer Macaulay Langstaff in the Team of the Year shows just how enterprising they’ve been in their first season up after promotion.

The Magpies, though, have conceded a whopping 85 goals, and their inability to ally their swashbuckling style with balance has destroyed what once appeared a highly promising promotion bid.

A big summer is in store for Notts, and visitors Colchester can start to look forward too – back-to-back victories over Crawley and Grimsby have taken some of the pressure off Danny Cowley’s side, and the result could be another high-scoring encounter at Meadow Lane.

It’s a three-way shootout between Burton, Cheltenham and Port Vale to stay up, and unusually perhaps for this situation, all of them are bang out of form.

The Robins had appeared to run out of steam - after an incredible five-month resurgence of midtable form under Darrell Clarke after a horrendous start under Wade Elliott – and had they lost at Burton on Tuesday, having trailed at half-time, their chances of staying up would have been slim.

Instead, Town turned it around to win 2-1 at the Pirelli, and now they’re two points off the Brewers, who are in 20th, with a game in hand against Peterborough on Tuesday – the great escape feels doable once again.

Visitors Lincoln won 1-0 at Play-Off rivals Oxford in midweek to take the gap to the top six back to two points, but absentees in midfield could be a problem as they seek to break down what is likely to be a determined, resolute, tight-knit Cheltenham unit.