EFL preview: Open-top buses booked as finish line comes into view

The open-top buses have been reserved for weeks, the local authorities have been put on notice for road closures, the fridges are stocked and you just know there are boxes of gaudy celebratory merchandise lurking in warehouses waiting for the green light to be shipped to a stadium.

We're approaching the finish line on the final straight of the marathon EFL race and there are podium places up for grabs this weekend.

There are also some huge games in the battle to avoid dropping through the relegation trapdoor in the Championship, League One and at the very foot of the EFL.

Calculators at the ready, here are five things to look out for this weekend.

Coventry began the Championship season with a 12-game unbeaten run, rising to the summit at the start of October and, despite a wobble early in 2026, have remained there ever since.

That run of 16 points from 13 games either side of Christmas allowed Middlesbrough to temporarily wipe out an eight-point deficit to go level on points with the Sky Blues in February, but a 3-1 win over Boro launched a run of eight wins in nine games and moved Frank Lampard's men 12 points clear and has fans counting down the days until their 25-year exile from the top flight comes to an end.

That could happen on Saturday. Should Millwall fail to win at West Brom on Friday (20:00 BST) then Coventry will host rock-bottom Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday (12:30 BST) knowing a win would mean Middlesbrough must beat Portsmouth at the Riverside at 15:00 BST to prevent the Sky Blues celebrating automatic promotion this weekend.

League One Lincoln became the first side to secure promotion this season on Monday, ending a 65-year wait to return to the second tier.

When the Imps suffered a last-gasp 3-2 defeat at Wycombe on 22 November they slipped out of the automatic promotion places.

But they have gone unbeaten in the 24 games since, winning 19 of them, including at long-time title favourites Cardiff on 7 March, which saw the Imps take over at the top and they have not looked back.

With promotion secured, they now have their sights set on being champions. A home win over Leyton Orient on Saturday (12:30 BST) coupled with the Bluebirds losing to Bolton would leave the Imps 15 points clear of Cardiff who would have five games to play.

When Bromley lost 3-1 at Walsall on 29 November they dropped to fifth in League Two while the Saddlers were sitting pretty at the top of the table.

But that only served to spark the Ravens into life and they strung together a run of 21 games unbeaten, 14 of them wins, before finally coming unstuck at lowly Barrow two weeks ago.

Tuesday's 2-1 win over Shrewsbury gave Andy Woodman's side a seven-point cushion over second-placed MK Dons, who they visit on Saturday (12:30 BST) with four games remaining.

Should Ian Holloway's fifth-placed Swindon fail to win at Colchester on Friday night then Bromley would secure a second promotion in three seasons with a win at Milton Keynes and could then seal the League Two title when Cambridge visit Hayes Lane next Thursday.

Southampton and Derby. Statistically the two worst teams in Premier League history, both have a chance of getting back there as they prepare to face-off on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Saints lost a record 30 top-flight games last season on their way to finishing bottom with 12 points, just one more than Derby managed in 2007-08.

The St Mary's hangover lasted until Bonfire Night, with 12 points from their opening 13 Championship games under Will Still leaving Southampton 20th.

But things changed when Tonda Eckert took charge and they mustered 53 points from the next 27 games, and he also guided Saints past Arsenal to book a Wembley date with Manchester City on 25 April in the FA Cup semi-final.

Their cup heroics certainly did not look like a distraction as Southampton swept aside Wrexham 5-1 at the Stok Cae Ras on Tuesday night to take a firm grip on the final play-off spot, two points ahead of the Red Dragons, with a game in hand, though the six-point gap to the automatic promotion places might prove too much to close with six games remaining.

Saints' 16-game unbeaten run in all competitions will face another test on Saturday from a resilient Rams side just three points behind them. Derby have taken 15 points from their past seven games and kept three clean sheets in four – only conceding in the last-gasp defeat at leaders Coventry on Good Friday.

Leicester fans, are you cup half-empty or cup half-full?

One defeat in six, just a point from safety and with a game against your nearest rivals looming on 18 April. Doesn't sound like the end of the world.

However one win in 15, still in the bottom three and having to snatch a late point on Monday against a Sheffield Wednesday side who were relegated on 22 February puts a different complexion on the situation.

Now the appeal over the Foxes' six-point deduction has been rejected, crystalising their predicament, the lunchtime trip to Pompey on Saturday week will be in the back of many minds, however there is a home game against Swansea to come first on Saturday (15:00 GMT) and the points on offer count just the same.

The 15th-placed Swans are precisely half as good on the road as they are at home, picking up just 18 points from 20 away games and losing a dozen of them.

Leicester's home form was the least of their worries with 22 points from their opening 13 at the King Power but four points from their past seven games has made this a very big fixture indeed for Gary Rowett's under-fire squad.

League One has been fantastic from start to finish this season - we're at the second weekend of April and every team still has something to play for.

While the EFL Trophy Final between Luton and Stockport on Sunday has limited us to 10 fixtures on Saturday, they all have something at stake.

Lincoln's march to the title will inch even closer if they beat Leyton Orient, while a win for Cardiff would go a long way to securing their promotion, though third-placed Bradford will seek to keep the pressure on when they host Stevenage in sixth.

Plymouth, who play local rivals Exeter at Home Park (12:30 BST), are waiting to pounce and leap into the top six should Boro lose, while Reading and Huddersfield are within striking distance of the play-offs ahead of their games at Doncaster and home to Wycombe respectively.

The Grecians remain in the drop zone in 21st, though after beating Doncaster on Monday eight teams are sitting nervously within five points of them. Blackpool host Peterborough and Burton welcome AFC Wimbledon in crunch clashes while third-bottom Rotherham entertain Barnsley.

Second-bottom Northampton's fate is out of their hands and despite having no game they cannot mathematically be relegated but might find themselves on the very brink by Saturday evening while rock-bottom Port Vale's clutch of games in hand keeps their slim hopes of survival alive for now.

On a weekend of big games none may prove more monumental than Newport v Harrogate at the foot of League Two.

Newport are seeking a 14th straight season in the division and sit third-bottom, one point outside the relegation zone, with the Sulphurites bottom on goal difference below Barrow, who have a game in hand.

Town were stung by a late Bristol Rovers comeback on Monday, having secured an eye-catching 3-1 win at Grimsby on Good Friday to boost their survival hopes.

The Exiles have lost four of their past five games with a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury sandwiched in the middle and tasted defeat in their last attempt at a relegation six-pointer at home to Crawley last Friday.

Tranmere and Crawley are within striking distance but it increasingly feels like one of these sides will be lining up in the National League come August, and Saturday afternoon (15:00 GMT) will go a long way to determining which of them it is.

BBC Sport will have live text coverage of all the weekend's EFL action, starting with West Brom v Millwall and Colchester v Swindon on Friday night, before the entire Saturday programme and the EFL Trophy Final between Luton and Stockport on Sunday.