EFL survival battles & unbeaten records - what to look out for

Christmas is long gone and the scramble of the transfer window is about to come to an end so it feels like we really are now at the business end of the season with teams' goals, be they promotion, survival or building for next year, programmed for the run-in.

In the Championship Middlesbrough might have quite fancied facing Norwich a month ago but the Canaries are a different proposition these days, while Portsmouth against West Brom has 'relegation scrap' written all over it.

No-one in League One has taken more points in their past six games than a resurgent Exeter City, and in League Two Cambridge United are closing in on a club record while the battle to avoid the drop heats up.

Here are five things to keep an eye on in the EFL this weekend.

Not that long ago a trip to Middlesbrough would have filled Norwich City fans with dread as their season threatened to dissolve in the direction of League One.

That is not to say sitting 18th in the Championship, four points clear of the relegation zone has those in Norfolk hanging out the bunting, but it could be a lot worse.

Philippe Clement replaced the sacked Liam Manning in mid-November with Norwich second from bottom, four points adrift of safety and with seven successive home defeats to start the campaign.

The Belgian's turnaround has been steady but is now gathering pace with wins over Wrexham and Coventry along with a 5-0 demolition of West Brom moving them away from trouble.

"I want more. I hope this creates, for everybody in the building, more hunger and more belief," Clement told BBC Radio Norfolk after victory over Coventry.

"I have the ambition to go to the Premier League with this club and the owners and sporting director have that."

Retaining their Championship status remains Norwich's only aim this season and a trip to second-placed Middlesbrough (15:00 GMT) is a good test of how far they have progressed.

Unthinkable as it may seem to West Brom fans, their side could finish the weekend in the Championship relegation zone.

Six defeats from their past eight games has cut the gap between them and the bottom three from nine points to only three, with new boss Eric Ramsay's three games in charge laying bare the task facing him.

Things came to a head after a 5-0 thrashing at home by Norwich 10 days ago.

"There's probably been a few strong words with each other that I won't go into detail about, but it was very much needed," midfielder Jayson Molumby told BBC Radio WM after they snatched a 1-1 draw at Derby last Friday.

"It's getting to the stage now where we all need to look at ourselves, ask ourselves questions and then demand more from our team-mates."

A trip to Fratton Park (15:00) is hardly what the Baggies would have ordered in their current run, particularly with Portsmouth having lost only one of their past eight league outings.

This time last season Pompey were two points clear of trouble and 12 months later are one point worse off - they know a thing or two about a relegation battle and how to get the job done.

A fourth season in League One is not to be sniffed at when you are Exeter City.

The fan-owned club had to make a second round of redundancies in November to cut costs with the supporters' trust having lent the Grecians £600,000 so far this season to help keep them afloat.

Despite all that here they are, up to 11th place, unbeaten in their past six league games and with no-one in the division having taken more points in the same period.

It is maybe more impressive given the fact that sandwiched in between this run is a 10-1 hammering at Manchester City in the FA Cup. When you consider Salford won only one of their subsequent 12 matches after suffering an 8-0 Cup loss to City last season, you see how well Exeter have done.

Rotherham head to Devon on Saturday (15:00) having ended an 11-game winless streak by beating Northampton on Tuesday, but have not won away for three months.

Neil Harris' return to Cambridge United in February 2025 failed to save them from dropping into League Two, and when a defeat by Notts County at the end of October left them 13th in the fourth tier, a season of consolidation seemed to beckon.

However, that loss at Meadow Lane has proved to be the last time they tasted defeat in the league with a 13-game unbeaten run, the longest currently in the top four divisions, powering the U's into third place with only seven goals conceded.

They are now three matches short of equaling their EFL club record of 16 matches unbeaten, which was set between March and August 1975, and they have a game in hand on the two sides above them - MK Dons and Bromley.

Oldham will try to stop them at Boundary Park on Saturday (15:00).

When your side is not involved, the battle to avoid dropping out of the EFL can make exciting viewing for those who like a touch of schadenfreude.

If you are into that sort of thing then you might want to break out the popcorn this weekend as four of the bottom five face off, while another has a new boss in town.

Of the strugglers, only Crawley and rock-bottom Harrogate are yet to change their manager and they meet on Saturday (15:00).

The Red Devils have stuck with Scott Lindsay who kept them up three seasons ago before earning promotion but then could not keep them in League One when returning in March.

Harrogate's situation is made a little more complicated (or should that be awkward?) with boss Simon Weaver's father, Irving, being the club's owner.

The Sulphurites' last win was on September 27, and they have lost 14 of their 18 games since - though the positive is they are only three points adrift.

Bristol Rovers brought in Steve Evans in December to try to halt their slide but the impact has been slow, with one win from seven league games and five defeats only heightening the fears of Pirates fans of a second trip to the National League.

There is surely a golden chance to create some breathing space with second-from-bottom Newport the visitors (12:30).

Rovers' only win under Evans came at Shrewsbury on New Year's Day and time ran out for Salop boss Michael Appleton this week with former player Gavin Cowan drafted in from Brackley to try to stop the rot, starting at home to Barnet (15:00).

Oh, and by the way, Crawley, Bristol Rovers and Shrewsbury were all in League One last season which could be seen as some sort of warning to those dropping down this year.

BBC Sport will have live text coverage of all the EFL action this weekend, starting on Friday with the Championship game between Bristol City and Derby County (20:00).