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British Summer Time will end this weekend if I’m sorry to break it to you if I hadn’t looked out the window lately.

Nearly every EFL team will be almost a quarter of the way through its season by Sunday morning when the clocks turn back.

The upcoming five months of Bovril, bobble hats, and floodlit finishes will have a significant impact on who will advance and fall back when BST returns in March, despite the tables having been being prepared and giving fans a good idea of what the season may hold.

At the top of the betting for Championship promotion back in the summer, Ipswich Town, Southampton, and Leicester City were the three names.

In recent years, the transition from the EFL to the Premier League has become more of a revolving door, with all three teams having dropped out of the Championship after two straight seasons.

Two of the three top-flight teams that have been promoted have received parachute payments in each of the previous five seasons following a previous relegation.

However, two of those three teams, or Sheffield United, the only other Championship side receiving parachute payments this season, will need to find their feet fairly quickly if that pattern is to continue.

The teams that placed fifth, 10th, eighth, sixth, fourth, 18th, 21st, and 15th last season make up the current top eight.

The Blades did escape the drop-zone on Tuesday with a third victory in their first 11 games, but Saints only won once, the Tractor Boys three, and the Foxes four, making them the only relegated team to finish the weekend’s standings.

West Brom will visit Portman Road for lunchtime on Saturday at 12:30 BST, which Ipswich will do to kick off the program.

Town’s five-game unbeaten run at home was ended by Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat by newly promoted Charlton, with Kieran McKenna making seven changes from the side that lost 2-1 at Middlesbrough on Friday.

Leicester travel to Millwall (15:00 BST), where they have won one of their last seven games, while Saints have won just one of their last 10. They then travel to Blackburn (15:00 BST), trying to avoid the terrible shock of being dragged toward the drop zone.

It is important to note that Luton was the only relegated team that failed to return to the Premier League last year and that is now relegated to League One.

Only Cardiff in League One, one of the ten teams that have been relegated from the Premier League, Championship, and League One, currently occupies the top six spot.

Five of the Blades’ previous seven Sheffield United managers will technically be on the touchline as the Blades travel to Deepdale on Friday (20:00 BST) to kick off the EFL weekend.

Between 2021 and 2023, Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom held the first position as interim boss before Slavisa Jokanovic’s 22-game winning streak, playing more than 100 games.

A certain Chris Wilder, who is now in charge after Ruben Selles’ even shorter, but bye year, was his predecessor, and also his eventual successor.

The pair have managed more than 400 league games as Blades bosses, but Friday’s meeting will mark the first time in nearly eight years that the Lilywhites are comfortably above the Blades in the table. Despite their slow start to the season, the visitors are still the favorites to win this one.

Cardiff beat Stevenage 1-0 to move up the rankings on Saturday, thanks to Boro’s 1-0 defeat at sixth-placed Lincoln, while the Bluebirds came from behind to defeat Reading.

The result of Alex Revell’s side’s second-place showing against the Imps will give hope to Saturday’s visitors Bradford, who are third on goal difference alone, with games in hand against Cardiff and Bradford, and two against AFC Wimbledon and Stockport in fourth and fifth.

The Bantams, who recently received promotion from League Two, have since moved up to the third tier, where they have been called ducks to water, and won one of their games last Saturday with a pulsating 2-2 derby draw against Barnsley.

In their seven games since August, Graham Alexander’s side have only managed seven points, all of which were won in Yorkshire derbies, with draws with Rotherham and the Tykes followed by defeats to Doncaster.

Boro have the league’s worst defense in League One with only nine goals conceded, but they have eight goals coming from their four away games outside of Yorkshire and are the division’s top scorers with 22 goals.

Another fierce battle is taking place at the other end of the League One table, between two rival teams that many people believe are likely to at least try to make the playoffs this year.

Blackpool have lost all six of their away matches this season, and they haven’t scored on the road since Ashley Fletcher’s goal after 22 minutes at Exeter on August 9.

The dramatic equalizer from Wycombe at Bloomfield Road on Saturday caused them to fall to rock bottom.

On Saturday (15:00 BST), they will attempt to break their duck when they travel to second-bottom Peterborough.

You just have to love a division like League Two, which is almost a third of the way through the season in the fourth tier.

Five of the top eight teams lost on Saturday, while five of the bottom seven came out on top, with only the bottom two facing defeat from lowly Barrow and Accrington, respectively.

What new chaos will Saturday bring with it?

Can lightning strike twice against Walsall, second-placed Swindon, and Paul Warne’s third-placed MK Dons (can lightning strike twice)? while the race is just off the pace, with Crewe hosting Grimsby, Salford welcoming Gillingham, and Notts County hosting Cambridge United.

The table will undoubtedly have a very different complexion after the final fortnight of matches, with the FA Cup first round starting in November, where six points separate the top ten and only nine are currently in the top 16.

On the BBC Sport website and app, live text coverage of Preston vs. Sheffield United will start the EFL game on Friday, October 24 and will continue until the entire program is available.

Joao Pedro of Chelsea ranks third in the Fantasy Premier League, trailing only Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.

However, Joao Pedro’s form has stagnated while that talented pair is still producing.

In four of his previous games, the Brazilian has failed to make a comeback.

With Sunderland set to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, FPL expert Pras Singhal examines the arguments in favor and against moving forward in this regard.

Without a strong striker, he is required to play minutes in the middle, which is inconsistent with his play, which relies heavily on attacking half spaces.

Joao Pedro performed significantly better in the number 10 position when Marc Guiu was hired to lead the attack in Gameweek 8, and should that pattern continue, it will only increase the Brazilian’s ability to attack returns.

Chelsea will have some of the best games in store, including Sunderland at home, Tottenham away, Wolves at home, and Burnley at home, all of which have some goals in store.

Additionally, Mateta won’t be playing for Arsenal this week, making that week not ideal.

After the top two meet at Tynecastle on Sunday at noon, Heart of Midlothian could be eight points clear of Celtic, who are currently the Scottish Premiership champions.

Tony Bloom, a heartthrob, made a mockery of the Edinburgh club’s ownership in August by claiming that they had a “very good chance of at least being second” this year because it was historically difficult to split the Old Firm from them.

His words now appear prophetic, almost a quarter of the way through the season. Hearts has since taken 22 of its 24 points, and the team seems to be growing more confident and reputable with each game.

Following Sunday’s defeat at Dundee, manager Brendan Rodgers publicly criticised the quality of his side, and Celtic’s fans are staging weekly protests against the club’s board.

Rangers are currently 13 points ahead of Hearts, but Danny Rohl, the team’s new head coach, will take the pieces that were left over from Russell Martin’s forgettable 123-day reign.

Rarely is a team as well-equipped to take on the role as Hearts, and Rarely is the Old Firm so susceptible to challenges from outside of Glasgow.

One only needs to recall the previous season to raise caution.

Aberdeen also had 22 points at this point, but a spectacular collapse led to their eventual fifth-place finish, 39 points behind Celtic.

If you look further, Hearts fans will recall their incredible 2005-2006 season under George Burley.

They once had a point advantage over Celtic, though they admittedly had played more. Hearts finished second, though Burton was quickly dismissed in the process.

The difference between then and now is that McInnes is failing, and few managers have better knowledge of Scottish football than the former Aberdeen and Kilmarnock boss, despite unanticipated circumstances.

Before their first match of the season, the top two of the Premiership square square square square square face off for the first time this year, it is difficult to get away from the divergent atmospheres.

The hype would explode if Hearts defeated Celtic in front of their own fans at Ibrox, where Rangers have already defeated them.

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton stated on the BBC’s Monday Night Club, “I think Hearts can win the title, I really do.”

“Partly because of the way they have hired, partly because of the manager, partly because of their form, and partly because of Celtic and Rangers’ playing style.”

“I don’t see a way out for Rangers and Celtic until January,” he said. There are many things to consider when it comes to European football, but hearts don’t have one.

(19) in the division, Hearts have allowed the league’s seven goals from set pieces.

They also have the best conversion rate (15.3%), and they have the second-most shots on target in the league with only 46 behind Hibernian.

Only Celtic (5. 5) and the reigning champions (6. 10) both defensively outperform Hearts’ expected goals against tally (6. 7) and only concede less conceded (5. 2).

In almost every department but possession and passes completed, they rank better than Rangers, who were held to a low by Norway’s Brann on Thursday in the Europa League.

The expectation is “we can do them,” ex-rangers forward Steven Thompson told Sportsound before the Celtic game next week.

That mental shift is fantastic. I don’t see it diminishing, and I believe they will continue to exist or be there for a while.

Michael Stewart is unsure whether his former club can pull off the improbable and win Glasgow’s title for the first time in 40 years despite the fervent optimism surrounding Hearts.

He said, “Hearts have got a wonderful opportunity to strike back and strike back.” It’s incredible what you can do to get eight points clear after nine games.

They do, of course, have a chance to win the title. Do they intend to do it? realistically speaking, I don’t believe so.

In order to support their recruitment strategy, Bloom’s investment and Hearts’ access to his Jamestown Analytics company have received a lot of positive feedback.

Total unknowns Alexandros Kyziridis and Claudio Braga both signed for Slovakia’s Aalesunds and Zemplin Michalovce, respectively.

However, they have completely transformed the game: Kyziridis leads the division’s assisters, and Braga is at the top of the scoring charts.

Stuart Findlay, a more well-known player, and fellow centre-back Craig Halkett, who both sported a goal threat from set pieces, seamlessly integrated into the backline.

Alexander Schwolow, who left Union Berlin on a free transfer, has now kept four consecutive clean sheets since Zander Clark’s replacement.

Former Scotland striker Thompson continued, “Players are desperate to get in that team.” They are brilliant defensively, but they are entertaining in the forward.

There are all the warning signs that Aberdeen won’t be as successful as they were last season when they capitulated. Although they will lose, I can’t see them going back and dropping like a stone in two or three games.

Because these kinds of events don’t occur too frequently, I believe they will strengthen once more once they enter January.

Fans and pundits have been consistently questioning Celtic’s transfer business, with the consensus that the champions are worse than they were last year.

Rodgers’ squad is a mixed bag, most notably out wide, with the majority of his wingers preferring to play left.

None of the summer arrivals have the same level of quality as Nicolas Kuhn and Kyogo Furuhashi, and Arne Engels has only started five of his previous 14 games this year. Jota is a long-term injury absentee.

Rodgers was already anticipating the end of the year when he complained about his lack of quality following Sunday’s defeat at Dundee. Kelechi Iheanacho and Alistair Johnston were both sidelined in the Europa League match against Austria’s Sturm Graz on Thursday, but Celtic made up the loss.

He claimed that the team lost a lot of firepower and goals.

There’s no way you’ll enter a race and say, “I want you to drive it like a Ferrari,” when given the keys to a Honda Civic. It won’t occur, in fact.

I must find the solutions until something fundamental changes.

Stewart isn’t certain that the January window will provide the solutions Rodgers needs, though.

Yes, they will have a window open for signings in January, but Stewart claimed on Sportscene that the summer transfer window was “absolutely debacle.”

It worries them, they say. The team’s performance and lack of synergy have been the result of the negative attitude, lack of synergy, and lethargy in the transfer window.