EFL preview: Winter resurgences and winless runs

Has the English Football League ever mentioned how persistent it is? The games just keep on coming.

It all restarts for another on Friday after the final whistles go off on Wednesday to wrap up a midweek round of Championship games.

Add in League One and League Two’s excitement and spills after Thursday’s 1-1 “Hollywood derby.”

This weekend there will be a few games with sides with opposing immediate goals, some attempting to rise and others attempting to remain elevated.

Sheffield United will start off on Friday, hoping to surpass Leeds at the top of the table at least until they face Burnley on Monday.

Hull City hosts The Blades, who defeated Millwall on Saturday but suffered midweek defeat at home to QPR, with the goal of escaping the bottom three.

Following their 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough in Tony Mowbray’s first game as a new head coach, West Bromwich Albion will look to re-establish their bid for a play-off spot on Saturday.

Portsmouth travel to the Hawthorns on the heels of two straight victories, first over Boro last weekend and then against Stoke City on Wednesday.

If Pompey can carry their excellent home form on the road with them and move further back from the bottom three, they could soon find themselves out of the “basement battlers” category.

In just 11 days, things have changed from good to terrible for Plymouth.

Miron Muslic took charge of his first game on 14 January, just three days after Argyle’s memorable shock FA Cup third-round victory at Premier League side Brentford.

Before the Pilgrims were defeated 1-0 at home by QPR last Saturday, the team finished the match 1-1 away at Oxford.

But Wednesday’s 5-0 battering at the hands of Burnley only compounded Plymouth’s woes and put the size of the monumental task facing Muslic under the microscope.

That heavy defeat made it 14 league games (D6 L8) without a win for Plymouth, who have the least potent attack (25 goals in 28 games) and the worst defence in the division by some distance.

Their 60 goals conceded are 13 more than Luton’s 47 goals, which is their next leakiest backline.

Leyton Orient were 21st in League One, one point off safety in the relegation zone, and 12 points off the top six when they lost to Huddersfield 2-0 at home on November 26.

A play-off challenge sounded unthinkable, but a remarkable nine-game unbeaten run, including seven victories and two draws, propelled them to eighth place and Stockport’s position in sixth place, just three points away.

This weekend’s play-off matchup between Orient and fellow play-off contenders Reading will be a crucial one for the club.

Similarly, QPR have gone under the radar somewhat in the Championship.

Eight victories from their previous 12 games, including a playoff game against Sheffield Wednesday, have the Hoops moved up to 10th place, just four points clear of the bottom of the table as of November 23.

11 EFL clubs are currently unable to seem to secure a victory.

In the Championship, as well as Plymouth there are two other teams in freefall who will meet when 23rd-placed Luton welcome 17th-placed Millwall.

Matt Bloomfield has taken over as head steward, extending their winless streak to six games (D1 L5), but they have drawn one and lost one since then.

Perhaps something will have to give at Kenilworth Road given that the Lions have only won one of their previous 13 (D6 L6) and haven’t tasted victory in six games (D3 L3).

In a game between two teams that have seen both points dry recently, Exeter takes on Blackpool.

A run of five games without a win (D2 L3) has seen the Grecians slip to 14th, while Steve Bruce’s Blackpool, who are one place below, have now played six games since their last victory, albeit only one of those was a defeat, at high-flying Wrexham.

Prior to their trip to Lincoln, Peterborough only managed to win once out of 11 games (D3 L4).

Relegation strugglers Crawley are on a run of six games without a win (D2 L4) and travel to play-off challengers Stockport, while bottom side Cambridge are seven without a victory (D2 L5) and host Mansfield.

Gillingham have also been in freefall since winning six of their opening eight games on September 28 to claim the division’s top spot.

The Gills held on for the first time in a row in October, securing three victories and two draws from their subsequent seven matches.

However, they have had a particularly bad run since the Christmas holiday, losing four straight games to increase their winless streak to five games (D1) and falling to 16th place before making a trip to Tranmere, a struggling club.

What better way than to conclude this weekend’s EFL action with one of the biggest games of the season?

Leeds United, the championship leaders, travel to Burnley, who are currently third and three points adrift of the Whites.

Both teams are aiming to clinch promotion to the top two automatic spots and reclaim the Premier League. Both of them enter this excellently both.

The Clarets have the best defense in the Championship with only nine goals conceded, and they have won all 15 of their previous 15 games (W9 D6).

With 53 goals scored, Leeds have the best attack in the division and have won 10 of their previous 10 games (W7 D3).