Tanmay Khanna is back with another 28/1 Acca consisting of five games across Saturday's EFL action.
Another packed round of EFL action throws up plenty of opportunities for an accumulator, and I have picked out five teams across the Championship, League One and League Two who look well placed to come away with three points based on recent form, defensive records, attacking momentum and some very favourable head-to-head trends.
Best odds of 28/1 at 10bet, Coral and Betfred at the time of writing.
Preston vs Millwall
Leg 1: Millwall to win
Best odds of 152/100 at 10bet at the time of writing.
Millwall have not enjoyed the start to the season they would have wanted, but the underlying context makes their current position more understandable, with injuries and a number of important departures leaving them trying to rebuild while still finding their best balance. There are nevertheless signs that the Lions are beginning to click, particularly after their impressive showing against West Ham, when they raced into a 2-0 lead before the Premier League side eventually fought back to secure a 2-2 draw.
That performance should provide plenty of encouragement ahead of a trip to Preston, especially given just how poor the hosts have been defensively. Preston have now gone 31 games without keeping a clean sheet, which is an extraordinary run when you consider how many opportunities that gives opposing attackers to find a way through. Millwall, meanwhile, have scored nine goals across their last four games, suggesting that their attacking players are beginning to find some rhythm at exactly the right time.
The historical record also favours the visitors, with Millwall unbeaten in their last 14 matches against Preston, and although head-to-head records should never be treated as a guarantee, that level of dominance becomes more relevant when paired with Preston's long-running defensive problems and Millwall's recent improvement in front of goal.
Millwall may not have produced the consistency expected of them so far, but this is exactly the sort of fixture that can provide the reset a team needs, and with Preston's inability to keep opponents out showing no signs of ending, the Lions look capable of finally turning promising performances into a victory.
Swansea vs Norwich
Leg 2: Swansea to win
Best odds of 148/100 at 10bet at the time of writing.
Swansea have made an excellent start to the Championship campaign and sit top of the standings with 17 points at the time of writing, giving Vítor Matos' side a level of confidence that should make them extremely difficult to oppose at home against a Norwich team currently going through a very different spell.
The Canaries have lost three matches in a row, and their defensive record is particularly concerning heading into this one, with Norwich having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 games. They have also been involved in a string of high-scoring matches, with Over 2.5 goals landing in five of their last five fixtures, and that combination of poor defensive solidity and an inability to halt the flow of goals makes this a particularly difficult assignment.
Swansea's own form gives them another clear advantage, as they have consistently shown the ability to produce results while keeping themselves near the top of the division. The home setting is also important here, with the Swans having won four of their last five head-to-head meetings with Norwich at this ground, a record that gives them further reason for confidence heading into a fixture where their superior momentum should prove decisive.
Norwich have enough attacking quality to make this uncomfortable for periods, but Swansea have been playing with considerably more consistency, and when you combine the league-leading position with Norwich's three-match losing streak, their 11-game clean-sheet drought and the recent home head-to-head record, the hosts look the obvious side to back.
Bradford City vs Leyton Orient
Leg 3: Bradford City to win
Best odds available of 3/4 at Coral at the time of writing.
Bradford City have emerged as one of the standout sides in the division during the early stages of the campaign, and their recent form makes it difficult to look past them against a Leyton Orient side that have struggled to match the Bantams' consistency.
Bradford have won four of their last five games and are now unbeaten in seven, a run that has established them near the top of the League One table and given Mark Hughes' side genuine momentum heading into another important fixture. Their recent defensive record has been particularly impressive as well, with Bradford conceding just once across the four victories that preceded this match.
Leyton Orient, by contrast, have lost four of their last five games, leaving them with far less confidence than their opponents and increasing the pressure on them to turn things around quickly. Their season has been inconsistent rather than disastrous, but the contrast between the two teams' recent results is hard to ignore, especially with Bradford now showing that they can win matches without needing to rely on high-scoring shootouts.
The head-to-head record provides another reason for optimism, with Bradford having won two of the previous three meetings, while they also famously won this fixture last season despite being reduced to 10 men, underlining the kind of resilience that has become a feature of this Bradford side.With Bradford carrying a seven-game unbeaten run into the match and Leyton Orient having lost four of their last five, the momentum is firmly with the hosts, and another Bradford victory would feel like the natural continuation of the form trend.
York City vs Northampton
Leg 4: York City to win
Best odds of 4/6 at Unibet while writing.
Sixth-placed York City welcome a Northampton side currently battling near the wrong end of the League Two table, and although the visitors have historically enjoyed the better head-to-head record, the current circumstances point towards the hosts having the stronger platform for victory.
York have taken two wins, one draw and one defeat from their last four fixtures, which represents a solid enough run heading into this home fixture, while their attacking numbers have been particularly encouraging. Only Barnet have scored more goals in League Two this season than York, while the Minstermen have continued to create chances and threaten opponents despite a relatively inconsistent defensive record. The EFL's own statistical preview earlier in the season also highlighted York's attacking output, with only Bristol Rovers matching their 29 shots on target at that stage and York sitting second for total shots and xG.
Northampton have taken only one win from their last four League Two matches, alongside two defeats and one draw, but it is their lack of attacking production that really stands out. They have scored just three goals across their opening seven League Two games, the joint-lowest attacking tally in the division, and that lack of firepower puts considerable pressure on their defence to keep games close. Current League Two statistics continue to show Northampton with only three goals scored, the lowest total in the division.The head-to-head history undoubtedly gives Northampton plenty of reason to believe they can cause problems, but these teams last met in League Two more than a decade ago and much has changed since then. York have also lost only once in their last four home meetings with Northampton, so with the Minstermen sitting sixth, carrying a stronger recent record and possessing one of the division's more productive attacks, home advantage could prove decisive.
Crawley vs Chesterfield
Leg 5: Chesterfield to win
Best odds of 7/10 available at Coral while writing.
Crawley are currently in a rut that has left them at the bottom of League Two, and it is difficult to make a convincing case for them reversing that trend against a Chesterfield side who are finding their rhythm and carrying considerable attacking momentum into this fixture.
The hosts have lost four of their last five League Two games, conceding 11 goals while scoring only four during that stretch, and that combination has understandably pushed them to the foot of the standings. Their defensive problems have become a recurring issue rather than an isolated blip, while the lack of goals at the other end means they are giving themselves very little margin for error.
Chesterfield, on the other hand, have won three of their last four games and scored nine goals across those victories, with their forward players currently looking particularly dangerous. Dilan Markanday scored and assisted in the 4-2 victory over Tranmere last time out, while Louie Marsh also found the net, and Chesterfield's official match analysis highlighted the volume of attacking pressure they have been producing, including 27, 27 and 26 shots in their last three EFL games.
The recent form of Markanday and Marsh gives Chesterfield an obvious attacking edge, and the numbers back that up, with Marsh currently their leading scorer on four league goals while Markanday has three goals and an assist. The previous meetings were much tighter, with both games ending in draws last season, but the circumstances are very different now, particularly with Crawley struggling at both ends of the pitch.
Chesterfield have already demonstrated that they can overwhelm teams when their attacking players click, and against a Crawley side that has conceded 11 times in its last five League Two outings, the Spireites look well placed to make it three wins from their last four and complete the five-fold.
