Preston 3-2 Sheffield United

After a couple of defeats on the spin, Preston came into this one needing to pick up some points to avoid a decline becoming a spiral. Sheffield United had pretty much the exact opposite situation, with two victories in a row suggesting some positive momentum was building if this good form could be sustained.

With twenty minutes gone, it appeared that recent form would be an accurate barometer for what was to come. Just ten minutes had passed when United’s Tyrese Campbell sent Andre Brooks away to score his first of the campaign. Campbell would once again play the role of provider six minutes later, with Callum O’Hare latching onto Campbell’s pass and rounding the keeper for his third of the season. For Campbell, his first two assists of the campaign had come very quickly indeed. Preston were able to get one back just before the break, as PNE’s Lewis Dobbin curled in a precise effort. It would turn out to be a sign of things to come in the second half. Indeed, just one minute after the restart Preston were level. A deep-free kick into the Sheffield United box was headed against the unfortunate Japhet Tanganga, who saw the ball bounce off his knee and into his own net. The match would be won in the 58th minute, as a cross from Montenegrin left-back Andrija Vukcevic was powerfully headed home by former Blade Daniel Jebbison – his second goal of the season.

Preston return to the edges of the playoff places in 7th place. Sheffield United’s brief gasp of air outside the relegation zone ends, as they drop to 22nd.

Coventry City 3-1 Watford

What can you say about Coventry at the moment? If you didn’t know any better you would assume they were a parachute payment club. Five wins in a row going into this one. Top scorers in the division by far. Second best defence (Boro and Stoke share joint-first, so technically you can argue third best for Coventry, but still). The only club in the division yet to register a defeat. It could not be going much better, short of winning every single game. Watford, on the other hand, sacked their boss after nine games despite being mid-table and beginning to get a run of decent form going. Returning manager Javi Gracia had seen one loss and one win so far, in that order.

It’s now six wins in a row for the Sky Blues, and two defeats in three for Javi Gracia’s Hornets. Things could really not have started any worse for Watford. Only three minutes were on the clock when Brandon Thomas-Asante put the Sky Blues ahead after nodding in a floated ball from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto. Nine goals for the season for Thomas-Asante, who has scored six goals in his last four games. Watford failed to effectively clear their lines four minutes later, allowing Jamie Allen – in for the injured Victor Torp – to drill home his first goal of the season from the edge of the area. The game would end as a contest just before half-time. Firstly, Sakamoto netted after more poor defending from Watford to put the Sky Blues three ahead. Two minutes later, Watford’s James Abankwah – partially at fault for the third goal – brought down Haji Wright, denied him a goalscoring opportunity and was sent off. A converted penalty from Imran Louza in the 69th minute provided little comfort for Javi Gracia.

Coventry remain top of the table. Watford are 14th.

Ipswich Town 1-0 West Brom

One step forward and two back for the Tractor Boys at the moment. Just as they had started to look like the threat they had been tipped as being pre-season, two losses in a row – including a humbling 3-0 home reverse against Charlton – had stunted any progress made. West Brom’s good early season form has tapered off in recent times, with only two victories from their last seven games seeing distance begin to open up between the Baggies and the top six.

It would ultimately be a slice of luck that separated these two teams. They would cancel each other out for the majority of the game, with Ipswich’s attacking instincts nullified by a solid West Brom defence. It was the introduction of three substitutes for Ipswich that changed their fortunes. Ivan Azon and Jens Cajuste would combine with goalscorer Jack Clarke to give Ipswich all three points. Despite defending well throughout the contest, the Baggies were the architects of their own downfall in the end. In the 83rd minute, Albion keeper Josh Griffiths rolled the ball out to a defender who, under pressure, passed back to the keeper. Griffiths proceeded with a somewhat panicked lofted ball just outside his own area, which was intercepted by Cajuste and passed to Azon – whose shot was parried to Clarke to fire into the roof of the net. 

Ipswich creep up to 12th place. West Brom continue to drop, now 11th.

Portsmouth 0-1 Stoke City

Portsmouth came into this match having only picked up five points from the last fifteen available – meaning that they remain out-of-reach of the teams in the relegation zone, but are still hovering too close to the bottom three for comfort. One win in eight games is an alarming statistic regardless of league position. Stoke had only won one match in their last six games, and knew that they would need to improve with haste if their playoff aspirations were going to remain a reality. 

It had been two months since Stoke had won an away match, but they finally managed to bring back three points from their travels here – albeit via a fairly late own goal. Sorba Thomas was a threat throughout this match, and it was his pacy cross which came off Pompey defender Hayden Matthews’ head and into his own team’s net. Overall Stoke deserved their victory here, and Portsmouth will look to put this one behind them.

Portsmouth are now 18th, whilst Stoke rise to 5th.

Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Southampton

A truly abysmal run of form had seen Rovers fall into the relegation places for the first time this season. After beating Watford on the 13th September, Rovers had proceeded to gain just one point from the next fifteen available – and it had not been a run of fixtures that would have been considered difficult. Things haven’t been going too much better for Will Still at Southampton. Just two wins thus far this season meant that his Saints side had won four of their last fifty overall league games – a truly harrowing statistic. Not that Southampton have been losing too many this season, but draws have been a regular feature and kept them from gaining any serious momentum.

Before I begin, just to note that all goalscorers here scored their first of the season – and indeed, their first in English football. Southampton’s Brazilian winger Leo Scienza was first, capitalising on confusion within the Rovers’ defence and punishing them for this mistake with a cultured finish. It was a dire first half display in general from Rovers, with keeper Toth excepted, but there was a marked improvement in the second half. Nonetheless, it took until the 76th minute for Ryan Alebiosu’s cross to cut through the middle of the Southampton penalty area and into the corner of the net. Unlikely that this was intentional, but the Ewood faithful certainly didn’t care about that. Ten minutes later Andri Gudjohnsen would seal Rovers’ first home victory of the season from close-range, pouncing on a saved effort from Ryan Hedges. Southampton’s miserable afternoon was capped off when substitute left-back Welington decided to elbow Gudjohnsen in the face and promptly get sent off in the 94th minute.

It would be remiss not to highlight Balazs Toth – Rovers’ goalkeeper was the difference between three and zero points, with an excellent performance.

Rovers claw themselves back out of the relegation zone, now 21st. Southampton are one place above them in 20th.

Bristol City 1-0 Birmingham City

After losing steam recently, Gerhard Struber’s Robins have bounced back with two wins on the trot and continue to keep themselves comfortably in the division’s top six. They boast the second-best attack in the division, sharing that accolade with Hull. Birmingham came into this campaign with momentum and optimism after a triumphant League One campaign which saw them easily crowned champions, but the reality of the Championship has put a dampener on those early season expectations. Big Club did win their last game, but that was their only win in the last five games.

Just the one goal separated these two teams. Robins’ striker Scott Armstrong raced through after being set away by centre-back Rob Atkinson, and a composed finish gave Armstrong has first goal in eleven months just a few minutes before half time. Just one shot on target from either side meant that this was not a game for those who enjoy attacking quality, but Bristol City fans will be pleased to see their side win three in a row for the first time since December 2023. Birmingham’s form remains erratic.  

Bristol City are 4th, whilst Birmingham are 15th.

Derby County 1-0 QPR

After a rough start, things look to be improving for John Eustace at Derby. Despite only winning one of their last five games going into this match, the Rams had also only lost once – slowly but surely hauling themselves away from the relegation zone. QPR’s form had generally been solid and steady, with eight points gained from the last fifteen available.

Another match where just one goal separated the sides. In fact, there was only one game this weekend where there was more than one goal difference between the teams – unsurprisingly, Coventry were the reason for that. Carlton Morris’ had been given the captain’s armband for Derby this weekend, and he duly responded by scoring in the 10th minute to ensure Derby would take six points from Pride Park in four days. His close-range effort is his fifth goal since arriving from Luton in the summer. Overall it was a poor performance from QPR, and Julien Stephan admitted post-match that his team were second-best in this encounter.

Derby continue to climb upwards, now 17th. QPR fall to 9th.

Hull City 1-1 Charlton Athletic

So far, so good for both of these clubs. It must be said that Hull are quite a bizarre team, however. Joint-second top scorers in the division, but also joint-second worst defence in the division. Twenty scored, twenty conceded. Tigers’ matches are surely entertaining, at the very least. Three wins in a row saw them going into this one with confidence, regardless of their tendency to concede goals. Charlton have, unexpectedly, been the best performing promoted team so far this season. Ten points from the last fifteen available had seen them enter the playoff positions.

After a goalless first forty-five, Leeds loanee Joe Gelhardt gave the Tigers the lead within a minute of the restart. His precise finish from inside the area was his third in three games, and overall his fifth of the campaign. Hull looked set to claim all three points, but once again their defence would find itself breached. In the 91st minute substitute Luke Berry, in just his second appearance, turned in a corner to rescue a point for the Addicks.  

Hull remain just outside the playoff places in 8th, two places below Charlton in 6th.

Middlesbrough 1-1 Wrexham

Rob Edwards’ Boro side have still only lost one game so far this season, and after a brief lull in form had got back to winning ways with two victories on the spin going into this one. Wrexham on the other hand had just arrested a poor run of form with a victory in their last game, giving them a much-needed boost.

Wrexham went ahead after just seven minutes, stunning the crowd at the Riverside. A short corner found its way to Josh Windass outside of the Boro penalty area – he fired in a hopeful shot, and a wicked deflection took the ball past the bemused Sol Brynn in goal. Boro struggled to recover from this early setback, and went into the break behind after an insipid first half that saw them fail to have a shot on target. Unhappy with his side’s display, Rob Edwards made four changes at half-time, which somewhat improved the situation. It took until the 80th minute, however, for the Teesiders to draw themselves level. A deep cross from summer signing Callum Brittain met the head of Hayden Hackney, and the midfielder’s second goal of the campaign was enough to ensure Boro came away from this one with a point.

Middlesbrough stay in 2nd, but are now three points behind Coventry. Wrexham are 16th.

Millwall 1-0 Leicester City

Millwall have been consistently orbiting playoffs in recent seasons, and this season they appear to be set for another attempt to crack the top six. Alex Neil’s men had won their last three games, and recent good form had seen them surge into third place. Leicester have been going in the opposite direction, as form under Marti Cifuentes continues to spiral.

I’ve been mentioning Femi Azeez often in these reports, and he was the main man again here as his effort gave Millwall a narrow win against a Leicester side who are increasingly underachieving. Azeez’s powerful effort in the 44th minute is his fourth goal in seven appearances – having scored once in each of his last four games. Not content with just scoring, Azeez won his team a penalty as well, but Serbian striker Mihailo Ivanovic saw his spot-kick saved. Despite late pressure from Leicester, the Lions were able to hold on and claim a fourth straight league win.

Millwall stay in 3rd place, now just two points behind Boro. Leicester drop to 10th position.

Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Oxford United

Typically the announcement of a club going into administration is not met with celebration, but Sheffield Wednesday fans saw this as a sign of light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. With most of their fans having realistically given up on the season before it even began, a 12-point deduction is something they will happily accept if it means new ownership at Hillsborough. Dejphon Chansiri’s increasingly doomed reign looks set to come to its inevitable, painful conclusion very soon. Wednesday fans will be hoping it gives the club a chance to rebuild from the ashes of what Chansiri has left behind. Having only won twice this season, Oxford would have been looking at this game as a crucial three-point requirement – but would need to be wary of a club on a bizarre, albeit understandable, high.

Despite cautious optimism returning to Hillsborough – in front of a record-high 27,261 fans this season – reality soon imposed itself upon the division’s crisis club. Spurs loanee Will Lankshear headed in from a Cameron Brannagan cross in the 12th minute to give Oxford the lead and dampen the mood early on – his fourth of the season, and Brannagan’s first direct assist. Brannagan would then go on to double the U’s lead in the 36th minute, with a low shot from outside the area beating Owls’ keeper Joe Lumley. Wednesday’s 20-year-old midfielder Sean Fusire halved the deficit for his first senior goal shortly after the restart, but a comeback was not on the cards, and the result was a stark reminder of how much work needs to be done to reverse the damage caused by Chansiri.

Sheffield Wednesday stay bottom of the division. Oxford are in 19th place.

Swansea City 2-1 Norwich City

The Swans have seen their form dip recently, and just one win from their last five matches had seen them begin to fall back to an all-too-familiar mid-table position. Norwich, on the other hand, would likely snap your hand off if mid-table obscurity was offered at this point. A dreadful run of four defeats in a row – and no win in seven (no prizes as to guessing who they last won against) – meant that the Canaries were now unexpectedly occupying a place in the relegation zone.

There would be no respite here for Liam Manning. It took just six minutes for Swansea to go in front. Zan Vipotnik hadn’t scored in four league games after a bountiful start to the season, but he returned to form here with a powerful drive that put his team ahead. Norwich would equalise just before the break, with Canaries’ striker Josh Sargent setting up Jovon Makama to bundle in his third of the season from close range in the 42nd minute. Slovenian Vipotnik wasn’t finished, though, and a low long-range solo effort in the 69th minute saw him reach six goals for the campaign and condemn Norwich to a fifth league defeat on the spin.

Swansea rise to 13th position. Norwich sink to 23rd.

League table c/o BBC Sport