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Gab Sutton EFL Insider: Six-pointers and returning favourites
Sky Bet EFL Insider Gab Sutton picks out five talking points ahead of the weekend’s action, including a couple of six-pointers.
- @GabSutton is a football expert who specialises in the Sky Bet EFL
Pearson to stun former employers?
- Leicester vs Bristol City
- Saturday, 15:00
- Home 4/6 | Draw 3/1 | Away 15/4
The man who managed Leicester to two of their three league titles this century, and laid the groundwork for the historic third, is back at the King Power Stadium.
After getting a welcome reception at his old stomping ground, Nigel Pearson will be out to deny his former employers the seventh win in eight that could send them top.
Even against such strong opponents who have an embarrassment of riches at this level, Pearson has some reasons for optimism, after his side’s solid start of one defeat in seven with just six conceded.
After selling prodigy Alex Scott to Bournemouth this summer, City invested a portion of the £25M received wisely, especially in the acquisition of midfielder Jason Knight, with the Ireland international starting all seven league games and proving so strong in the press.
The visitors have an Open Play xG of 8.05, having scored six via that route as well as three from set pieces, which suggests they have potential to improve their conversion rate further.
Leicester are the heavy favourites, after victories at promotion rivals Southampton and Norwich, but the returning familiar face might just have a surprise in store.
Norwich to regret Mumba sale
- Plymouth vs Norwich
- Saturday, 15:00
- Home 12/5 | Draw 11/4 | Away evs
Bali Mumba could be the one that got away for Norwich.
The 21-year-old enjoyed a fantastic 2022-23 campaign on loan at Plymouth Argyle, helping them win League One as an attacking wing-back capable of playing on either side, leaving the Yellow Army excited.
In July, however, the Canaries cashed in for just £1M on Mumba, who has arguable potential to be worth £50M in 3-4 years with the right coaching – a call they may well live to regret.
In his second stint at Argyle, Mumba has been moved by boss Steven Schumacher onto the left of a front-three, bringing his outstanding ball-carrying and one-v-one ability into the top end of the pitch, where it can hurt opponents.
Quick, agile and with delightful balance, Mumba so often makes the right decisions when he gets into dangerous areas, and his execution is consistently on the money.
The former Sunderland academy graduate is likely to come into Schumacher’s XI, after the manager made a surprise seven changes for the no-show at Bristol City, where his side were thumped 4-1.
Mumba, though, will be itching to prove a point to his former employers, who travel to Devon off the back of Wednesday’s 2-0 home loss to promotion rivals Leicester, and could be ready to do damage.
A huge six-pointer
- Burton vs Fleetwood
- Saturday, 15:00
- Home 8/5 | Draw 12/5 | Away 6/4
Fleetwood’s fitness regime under Scott Brown had reportedly been insufficient, and the former Celtic legend was dismissed earlier this month.
Lee Johnson inherits significant challenges, therefore, as Brown’s successor as head coach, and after boldly claiming “there’s enough signs to start us shooting up the league quickly” in his first interview, the 42-year-old oversaw a flat 3-0 home loss to Oxford in his first game in charge.
Fitness issues are unlikely to be transformed overnight, so Town must do a lot of the work they should have done in early July, in late-September, while the pressure is still on for the team to get points on the board to avoid getting cut adrift.
A fair return from their next three – likely strugglers Burton, Leyton Orient and Cheltenham – is essential, because it’s then top half opposition in six of the following seven encounters, and they can’t afford to go into that run much more than the current gap to safety, four points.
It’s a precarious position for the Fylde Coast club, who could be vulnerable in this six-pointer, as hosts and relegation rivals Burton come into Saturday's meeting off the back of their first win of the campaign, a 3-2 victory at high-flyers Port Vale.
Royals impressing despite off-field turmoil
- Blackpool vs Reading
- Saturday, 15:00
- Home 5/6 | Draw 5/2 | Away 3/1
Reading’s biggest win in 122 years on Tuesday isn’t even their biggest talking point this week.
The Royals ran out 9-0 winners at Exeter in the EFL Trophy, but the rout served only as momentary relief from the wider concerns at the Berkshire club, who are sweating over their future.
Owner Dai Yongge is absent, likewise CEO Dayong Pang, amid reported late and non-payments of HMRC and player wages, with speculation that bills had to be footed by a sponsor, and funds must be found to avoid the threat of administration.
As such, fans have created protest movement Sell Before We Dai, calling on the owner to sell up to secure a sustainable future for the club.
The uncertainty undermines the work head coach Rubén Sellés is doing, after overseeing a 2-1 victory over promotion favourites Bolton in the previous league game.
Under-21 talents Tyler Bindon, Nelson Abbey, Charlie Savage, Kelvin Ehibhationham, Dom Ballard and Caylon Vickers are developing tremendously under Sellés’ guidance, and the team already has a relentless pressing identity in place.
With numerous talents of elite, international potential and significant resale value, Reading are an attractive proposition to potential buyers, even more so with an excellent coach in place, an experienced Head of Football Operations in Mark Bowen, and Director of Recruitment in Brian Carey.
The M4 club doesn’t need a benefactor, or wholesale changes, rather simply clarity, and financial stability, something the current regime simply can’t offer.
Supporters will continue to voice their feelings in Saturday’s trip to Blackpool, also relegated from the Championship last season, as Sellés and co. continue to give natives an antidote to the off-field strife.
Watt's the problem for Salford?
- Harrogate vs Salford
- Saturday, 15:00
- Home 15/8 | Draw 23/10 | Away 13/10
After four straight league defeats, Salford are languishing in 19th as some begin to question head coach Neil Wood.
There’s still a portion of the fanbase prepared to be patient, keen to avoid upheaval after a previous era of chopping-and-changing, but in either camp there’s frustration at the lack of progress.
There’s doubts over the operational aspect of the club, because they have a coach who wants to play possession football, yet the four centre-backs recruited during his 17-month tenure to date have been Ryan Leak, Richard Nartey, Adrian Mariappa, and Curtis Tilt, of which only Nartey is known to have ball-playing nous - he left in the summer.
The Ammies reached the Play-Offs last season, without always having the defensive personnel to implement the possession football Wood and the club desires.
Criticism could be levelled at the recruitment team for picking players who don’t suit the manager's ideas, or at Wood for asking defenders to do what they’re not good at, like playing centre-back Theo Vassell at right-back.
Either way, the result has been a team missing a coherent playing identity, with issues exacerbated further by the absence of Elliot Watt, one of the top deep-lying playmakers outside the Championship.
Last season, Salford had Watt collecting the ball from defenders to relieve a lot of the pressure which is why they were able to reach the Play-Offs, losing in the Semi-Final to Stockport.
The 23-year-old began 2023-24 injured, though, and looked understandably rusty when he came off the bench against Notts County last Friday for his first appearance of the campaign.
Without Watt acting as Salford’s release valve, the team has been exposed and hasn’t improve enough in other areas to offset the loss, other than the positive form of the versatile Ethan Ingram.
Wood’s side are already six points off the Play-Offs: the gap is still retrievable at this stage, but defeat at strugglers Harrogate on Saturday could be problematic, for both them and Wood.
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