James Mason's tips for Saturday's EFL action contain games from the Championship, League One and League Two.
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Middlesbrough to beat Birmingham @ 31/40
Burton to beat Bristol Rovers @ 8/5
Charlton to beat Reading @ 5/6
Under 2.5 goals in Bradford City v Wrexham @ 10/11
Over 3.5 goals in Salford v Swindon @ foo
Middlesbrough v Birmingham (15:00)
Wayne Rooney will take charge of Birmingham for the first time this weekend and he will be up against a familiar face in the opposition dugout in former Manchester United team-mate Michael Carrick, who has seen Middlesbrough enjoy an upturn in form of late.
Boro were rooted to the bottom of the Championship standings just a few weeks ago, but they have since won five matches on the spin across all competitions, culminating in a 4-0 success at Sunderland before the international break.
Rooney could certainly have been handed an easier first match in charge of Birmingham, who do head into the weekend sitting inside the top six, but they have lost their last three on the road and could begin life under their new big-name manager with another road defeat.
Burton v Bristol Rovers (15:00)
Burton Albion took just two points from their opening seven League One matches this season, but they have accumulated 14 from the six since and will head into their home clash with Bristol Rovers sitting two places above the Gas in the standings.
It has certainly been a remarkable turnaround for Dino Maamria’s side, who have also won their last three league games, while visiting Rovers will come into the contest looking to avoid a third-straight defeat on their travels.
Having only lost one of the previous seven meetings between the two sides, recent history in the fixture is also on Burton’s side and they can continue on their positive trend by registering a fourth-straight win.
Charlton v Reading (15:00)
Charlton are unbeaten in their six matches since appointing Michael Appleton as manager, while they have also avoided defeat in five games on the bounce at The Valley across all competitions, registering four wins and a draw.
That should stand the Addicks in good stead for the visit of struggling Reading, who are League One’s worst travellers as they have lost all six of their away matches in the division this season.
The Royals have not won a league match away from home since beating Hull in the Championship last November and it could be another tough afternoon for Ruben Selles’s side against Charlton, who are fancied to pick up all three points.
Bradford City v Wrexham (15:00)
Wrexham scored 116 goals on their way to the National League title last season and in their 13 matches in League Two this term there have been a combined 52 goals scored.
However, there is a huge quirk when looking at that record, as 41 of those 52 goals have come at the Racecourse Ground, with Wrexham’s away matches proving much tighter affairs.
The Red Dragons travel to managerless Bradford on Saturday, who have won all three of their matches under caretaker boss Kevin McDonald, with two of those successes coming by a 1-0 scoreline.
This could be another low-scoring contest between two good sides and under 2.5 goals in the match is a distinct possibility.
Salford v Swindon (15:00)
While the match at the University of Bradford Stadium may be low scoring, it should be anything but that when Salford and Swindon lock horns.
Hosts Salford have seen at least four goals scored in each of their last three matches, two of which were at home, while only Crewe (30) have scored more goals in League Two this term than Swindon (29).
Last season’s corresponding fixture between these two sides yielded three goals – a 2-1 win for Swindon – but given the attacking quality on both sides, there could be even more entertainment in the final third on Saturday.
