EFL April preview: Championship promotion, Birmingham City crowning day, bumper L2 Tuesday involving Bradford City | OneFootball

FLW, in partnership with Betway, previews what is set to be a blockbuster month of EFL action ahead.

Teams up and down the EFL are strapping in for one last sprint to the finish, with the fates of so many clubs set to be decided in April.

Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United have capitalised on Leeds United’s wobble, and now sit in pole position in the Championship heading into the final seven games of the season, whilst the battle to stay in the division rages on for a host of clubs down at the bottom.

Birmingham City seemingly just need to dot the i’s and cross the t’s to claim the League One title, whilst a two-way fight for the second and final automatic promotion spot could go right down to the wire between Wrexham and Wycombe Wanderers.

Over in League Two, just six points cover the entire top six as March turns to April, with Walsall, Bradford, Port Vale, Doncaster, Wimbledon and Notts County all gunning for three automatic promotion places.

April looks set to hold so many twists and turns, with these next four weeks playing host to some mouthwatering clashes across the EFL pyramid.

We have taken a look at two standout clashes from each of the three divisions this month, courtesy of online sportsbook Betway.

Championship

Burnley v Sheffield United

Talk about a fixture that could define either sides’ automatic promotion fate; Turf Moor is the venue for one of the biggest games of the Championship season this month.

Burnley and Sheffield United will meet on Monday 21 April, with just three games of the campaign to go when these two promotion heavyweights square off in Lancashire.

The recent history books certainly lie in the Clarets’ favour too, with Burnley winning the last four league meetings between the two sides.

This has all the makings of being a Championship classic at Turf Moor, and with this fixture being the only game kicking off at 17:30pm on that Monday’s round of fixtures, all eyes will be on this superb clash in prospect.

Derby County v Luton Town

It’s not just the top of the Championship where the big games are happening this month, as Derby County v Luton Town is primed to have major relegation ramifications.

The two sides meet on Friday, 18 April in a 12:30pm kick-off, and as such, fans across the second tier will be tuning in to see how this one plays out.

Heading into the month, both the Rams and the Hatters sit locked together on 38 points, with County just edging out Matt Bloomfield’s side in 22nd thanks to their superior goal difference.

John Eustace is dealing with a number of injuries to key attacking players such as Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Kemar Roofe and Lars-Jorgen Salvesen however, whilst Luton have been finding a way to grind out results in recent times, with key wins over fellow relegation rivals such as Hull and Cardiff City respectively.

The outcome of this game could seal either one of these two sides’ Championship, or indeed, League One fate.

League One

Wycombe Wanderers v Charlton Athletic

It remains to be seen whether the meeting between Wycombe Wanderers and Charlton Athletic on Monday, 21 April will have automatic promotion implications, but it most certainly will have play-off ones.

Heading into April, both sides are separated by just five points, with the Chairboys sitting pretty in third, and the Addicks attempting to hunt them down in fourth.

Deciding which side finishes in that crucial third position will be vital, as with six points between fifth-placed Stockport County and sixth-placed Reading as of 1 April, getting that third-place finish could result in a considerably more favourable route to Wembley Stadium for that team.

With both teams possessing watertight defences, and boasting dangerous attacking weapons such as Richard Kone and Matty Godden respectively, this one looks very tough to call.

However, with Wanderers being at home, sports betting sites will likely have them down as favourites to claim what would be a massive win, and potentially hand them the psychological edge should both sides meet again in the play-offs.

Birmingham City v Crawley Town

Bookmark this fixture on the Friday 18 April Blues fans, as it could be the date your team officially secures promotion to the Championship.

With both Wrexham and Wycombe both being able to register a maximum points return of 98 points, Birmingham are now just four wins away from sealing their return to the second tier.

Sitting on 86 points with nine more games to play, Brum enter the month of April nine points clear of second-placed Wrexham on 77, and 12 clear of third-placed Wycombe on 74 respectively.

That means that four more wins will be all that is required to win automatic promotion at this stage, and that fourth and final one could come against Crawley Town should they win their next three.

League Two

Doncaster v Walsall

Both of our picks of League Two’s unmissable April clashes come on the very first day of the month, starting with Doncaster Rovers v Walsall.

Fourth-placed Donny welcome the current league-leading Saddlers to the Eco-Power Stadium on Tuesday night, with huge automatic promotion ramifications at stake.

Just five points separate the two sides heading into this one, and a win for Rovers would propel them firmly back into the League Two title discussion.

Likewise, an away win for Mat Sadler’s side could go a long way to helping them secure an automatic promotion spot at the very least, and critically, it would put an end to their remarkable seven-game winless run.

Port Vale v Bradford City

Meanwhile, a second mouthwatering clash at the top of the League Two table will be taking place at the same time on Tuesday night, and that’s Port Vale v Bradford City.

It’s a clash between second and third in the fourth tier at Vale Park, with the potential for Graham Alexander’s Bradford side to pull away from the play-off places, as well as the possibility of Darren Moore’s Vale side to pull themselves level on points with the visiting side.

With match-winners all over the pitch for both sides in the likes of Calum Kavanagh and George Lapslie for the Bantams, and Lorent Tolaj and Jayden Stockley for the Valiants, this one has all the ingredients of being a thrilling game of football.

It looks set to be a bumper Tuesday night of League Two action, with the promotion picture potentially being defined even further.