EFL Permutations This Weekend

Fri 22 Apr 2022 15.05

Fulham eased past Preston to seal their Premier League return as Aleksandar Mitrovic's double took his season's tally to 40 goals, after the Serbian striker netted twice in the first half.

The first of the 92 clubs to seal promotion, Fulham, faces second-placed Bournemouth this weekend, and though Bournemouth can’t confirm their promotion this weekend it seems that it will be only a matter of time for the Cherries, as they look to bounce back to the Premier League, after two seasons in the second tier. If Huddersfield were to defeat Barnsley they would also ensure themselves a play-off spot as they seek promotion back to the Premier League.

At the other end of the Championship, Derby County have already been relegated and it looks almost certain that Barnsley and Peterborough will join them. Derby were relegated from the Championship on Monday after suffering a dramatic late defeat at Queens Park Rangers. Luke Amos' 88th-minute winner for QPR, coupled with Reading's extraordinary 4-4 draw against Swansea, consigned Wayne Rooney's Rams to League One.

The fate of Peterborough and Barnsley is out of their hands, and a victory for Reading at Hull City will see the two teams return to the third-tier of English football, regardless of their own results. Even if Reading were not able to win, Barnsley would have to win away at third-place Huddersfield., and defeat for either team if Reading fails to win would also confirm their relegation.

Championship

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	Fulham	46	27	9	10	+63	90
2	Bournemouth	46	25	13	8	+35	88
3	Huddersfield	46	23	13	10	+17	82
4	Nottm Forest	46	23	11	12	+33	80
5	Sheff Utd	46	21	12	13	+18	75
6	Luton	46	21	12	13	+8	75
7	Middlesbrough	46	20	10	16	+9	70
8	Blackburn	46	19	12	15	+9	69
9	Millwall	46	18	15	13	+8	69
10	West Bromwich	46	18	13	15	+7	67
11	QPR	46	19	9	18	+1	66
12	Coventry	46	17	13	16	+1	64
13	Preston	46	16	16	14	-4	64
14	Stoke	46	17	11	18	+5	62
15	Swansea	46	16	13	17	-10	61
16	Blackpool	46	16	12	18	-4	60
17	Bristol City	46	15	10	21	-15	55
18	Cardiff	46	15	8	23	-18	53
19	Hull	46	14	9	23	-13	51
20	Birmingham	46	11	14	21	-25	47
21	Reading	46	13	8	25	-33	41
22	Peterborough	46	9	10	27	-44	37
23	Derby	46	14	13	19	-8	34
24	Barnsley	46	6	12	28	-40	30

The race for promotion in League One has arguably been the most exciting area of the Football League this year.

Wigan Athletic can confirm their promotion to the second tier this weekend, and if they defeat Plymouth and Rotherham lose to Oxford United, Wigan can be crowned champions.

Regardless of other results, a win for the Latics would guarantee their return to the Championship. While Rotherham will not mathematically get promoted on Saturday, a win against Oxford combined with their already superior +7 goal difference would give the Millers a huge advantage over MK Dons, who are level on 83 points.

MK Dons host Morecambe on Saturday and could go second if Rotherham fails to win, though they have played a game more than the Yorkshire club.

At the bottom of League One, while Doncaster Rovers are not mathematically relegated, Gillingham have a substantial goal difference lead, which means the Dons will likely play in League 2 next season.

The 21st vs 22nd match between Fleetwood Town and AFC Wimbledon is one of the most important games of the weekend. If Fleetwood win, they will relegate their opponents, however, if Wimbledon win they may be able to drag Fleetwood back into the relegation scrap, though Fleetwood have a better goal difference and a game in hand over their relegation rivals.

Bottom placed Crew Alexandra have already been relegated, and a distraught David Artell, apologised to fans after his Crewe side were beaten 2-0 at fellow strugglers Doncaster United, the result which confirmed their demise to League Two.

League 1

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	Wigan	46	27	11	8	+38	92
2	Rotherham	46	27	9	10	+37	90
3	MK Dons	46	26	11	9	+34	89
4	Sheff Wed	46	24	13	9	+28	85
5	Sunderland	46	24	12	10	+26	84
6	Wycombe	46	23	14	9	+24	83
7	Plymouth	46	23	11	12	+20	80
8	Oxford	46	22	10	14	+23	76
9	Bolton	46	21	10	15	+17	73
10	Portsmouth	46	20	13	13	+17	73
11	Ipswich	46	18	16	12	+21	70
12	Accrington	46	17	10	19	-19	61
13	Charlton	46	17	8	21	-4	59
14	Cambridge Utd	46	15	13	18	-18	58
15	Cheltenham	46	13	17	16	-14	56
16	Burton Albion	46	14	11	21	-16	53
17	Lincoln	46	14	10	22	-8	52
18	Shrewsbury	46	12	14	20	-4	50
19	Morecambe	46	10	12	24	-31	42
20	Fleetwood	46	8	16	22	-20	40
21	Gillingham	46	8	16	22	-34	40
22	Doncaster	46	10	8	28	-45	38
23	Wimbledon	46	6	19	21	-26	37
24	Crewe	46	7	8	31	-46	29

Forest Green Rovers look destined for promotion this weekend, and they’ll confirm their promotion with a singular point from any of their remaining four fixtures, they face a tough game away to inform Bristol Rovers on saturday.

If for whatever reason Forest Green are unable to win any of their remaining fixtures, they still look at odds on favourites to go up as they have a five-point lead on second-placed Exeter City, and a further two-point lead on third-placed Port Vale.

Forest Green can be promoted this weekend, if Port Vale loses, or if Northampton and or Sutton fail to win. It’s just a matter of time now for Rob Edwards’ team.

Exeter will also be promoted if they win at home to Rochdale and other results go their way. No play-off places can be confirmed this weekend due to Mansfield’s game in hand. As it stands, every club down to Crawley Town in 12th can still mathematically make the play-offs.

At the other end of the table, Scunthorpe United have already been relegated and will finish bottom, and Oldham Athletic could join them this weekend. Oldham faces Salford at home this weekend, in a Greater Manchester Derby. If they lose to Salford and Stevenage beat Mansfield Town away, Oldham will be relegated from the Football League. Stevenage are four points clear of the drop, and have a game in hand over the bottom two clubs, they face Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

League 2

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	Forest Green	46	23	15	8	+31	84
2	Exeter	46	23	15	8	+24	84
3	Bristol Rovers	46	23	11	12	+22	80
4	Northampton	46	23	11	12	+22	80
5	Port Vale	46	22	12	12	+21	78
6	Swindon	46	22	11	13	+23	77
7	Mansfield	46	22	11	13	+15	77
8	Sutton Utd	46	22	10	14	+16	76
9	Tranmere	46	21	12	13	+13	75
10	Salford	46	19	13	14	+14	70
11	Newport	46	19	12	15	+9	69
12	Crawley	46	17	10	19	-10	61
13	L Orient	46	14	16	16	+15	58
14	Bradford	46	14	16	16	-2	58
15	Colchester	46	14	13	19	-12	55
16	Walsall	46	14	12	20	-13	54
17	Hartlepool	46	14	12	20	-20	54
18	Rochdale	46	12	17	17	-8	53
19	Harrogate	46	14	11	21	-11	53
20	Carlisle	46	14	11	21	-23	53
21	Stevenage	46	11	14	21	-23	47
22	Barrow	46	10	14	22	-13	44
23	Oldham	46	9	11	26	-29	38
24	Scunthorpe	46	4	14	28	-61	26

Smart Acca Picks: France, Belgium & Serbia Providing Good Value

Here we take a look at Smart Acca Picks for Friday’s action, with this one being a long shot at around 48/1 chosen by Smart Acca via the Free FA Betting Hub App.This is a Match Res......