Gabriel Sutton's EFL Weekend Picks

The acid test for any promotion contender is their ability to grind out results, and not only respond well to setbacks, but even become stronger for them – and Portsmouth have done both those things.

It’s true, John Mousinho’s side have had the occasional home defeat, see 4-0 to Blackpool in November or 3-0 to Leyton Orient in January, that would have seen a team with a more fragile spirit shrink in confidence – but they didn’t.

Instead, Pompey responded to those results with ugly away wins at Burton and Fleetwood respectively, prompting subsequent unbeaten runs – the former of five league games, the latter, eight and counting.

Plus, the PO4 outfit have suffered injuries to key men like Regan Poole in defence and Alex Robertson in midfield that could’ve been costly, but they’ve merely created the space for others to shine.

It speaks volumes for both Mousinho’s coaching, and Richard Hughes’ recruitment, with the Sporting Director masterminding the acquisitions of defender Tom McIntyre, all-action midfielder Owen Moxon, creator Myles Peart-Harris and forward Callum Lang – the latter, especially, has helped bring them on another level.

As such, Portsmouth have an enviable six-point lead at the summit and will be hoping to ram home that advantage in Saturday's hosting of Oxford.

The U’s are only two points off the Play-Offs, but it’s been midtable form since Des Buckingham replaced Liam Manning in November – just five wins in 19, in fact.

Having looked likely champions for much of the season, Stockport’s two points from four games has introduced a small seed of jeopardy to their pursuit of promotion, let alone the cherry on top of that desired cake.

The Hatters’ 12-game winning streak over Autumn has given them some leeway to have a short winless run without too much damage, and 3-1 and 4-0 losses to Crewe and Tranmere respectively were ones they could afford.

Likewise, a goalless draw at Gillingham which steadied the defensive ship thanks to Fraser Horsfall’s return, and another at home to Swindon, when opposing goalkeeper Jack Bycroft happened to be in inspired form.

Nonetheless, the gap has been cut from eight points to four through this run, and their room for error has been used up if Dave Challinor’s side seek a smooth ascent to League One.

They do have the options in reserve to freshen things up though, and can bring flying left-back Ethan Bristow, left-sided midfielder Odin Bailey and target man Kyle Wootton into the starting XI which could make all the difference for the visit to Colchester.

The U’s have won just one of their last 11 league games and have work to do to secure their EFL status.

Sheffield Wednesday needed a striker in January to take some of the burden off Bailey-Tye Cadamarteri, who’d been a breakout star under Danny Röhl after coming through the academy.

The Owls might have found just the man in Iké Ugbo, who got his first goals for the club with a brace in the 2-0 victory over Birmingham, catalysing a return of five goals in four.

Ugbo might not get too involved in the build-up play, but he presses with the exuberance Röhl requires after joining on loan from Troyes, as well as bringing composure in front of goal, benefiting from excellent service from Ian Poveda.

Wednesday have won three of their last four league games and, in theory, Saturday’s trip to Rotherham is another good opportunity to create for Ugbo.

Their South Yorkshire neighbours have lost each of their last six league games, are winless in 10, and 16 points of safety with their season looking a foregone conclusion.

At the start of the season, QPR were playing with nominal attacking ambition under Gareth Ainsworth and Sheffield Wednesday endured the worst ever start to a second-tier campaign under Xisco Muñoz – but their subsequent respective turnarounds under Martí Cifuentes and Danny Röhl have shined a light on Stoke’s troubles.

The Potters’ 3-1 victory at Birmingham on Boxing Day highlighted where Steven Schumacher wanted to go with his side, with shades of his successful Plymouth Argyle side coming through, as the result sent them seven points above the drop zone.

Shortly afterwards, however, Schumacher’s side lost six in seven, showing a decline that could’ve been afforded were QPR and Sheffield Wednesday remotely resembling their early-season selves – but they weren’t.

As such, Stoke are paying for a poor January and have subsequently sacked Technical Director Ricky Martin as they look to galvanize for the dogfight.

The Staffordshire outfit do have individual quality, at least, in Wouter Burger, Bae Jun-Ho and André Vidigal, and will feel they can trouble an inconsistent Middlesbrough side.

Boro are oozing with creative potential, but they’ve not found the formula for efficiency, struggling at times with the basics of defending, whilst not always being as clinical as they’d like – hence they’re midtable rather than in the top six.

Nonetheless, Saturday’s game has the makings of one high on chances, and the result could be a game in which both teams find the net.

At their best, Blackpool are a match for any team in this league.

Their ceiling is sky high, when they get Karamoko Dembélé playing one-twos in the hole, and creating between the lines for Jake Beesley and Jordan Rhodes, or more recently Shayne Lavery or Kyle Joseph instead of the latter.

Neil Critchley’s side, though, are frustratingly inconsistent: their floor is far too low, and all too often a sparkling, star performance is followed by a glib no-show, hence a team of their potential finds itself six points off the top six.

As such, our traders regard Shrewsbury beating Pool as a would-be surprise result because of how good the visitors can be, but they’ve lost nine of their 17 away games and are yet to find a formula to grind out results on the road.

The hosts might have lost 3-0 at Lincoln in midweek, but they have taken a respectable eight points from seven games since Paul Hurst returned as manager, despite facing top half-performing sides in five of those encounters.

Hurst knows how to drill a team into shape, so if Jack Hinchy and Nohan Kenneh can block out the spaces for Dembélé to weave his magic, or for CJ Hamilton to drive infield from right wing-back, the visitors could run out of ideas.

Plus, Shrewsbury have found the net in five of Hurst’s seven games and can threaten in transition via the attacking quartet of Tom Bloxham, Tom Bayliss, Jordan Shipley and the athletic Dan Udoh, who may come in for Ryan Bowman.