EFL five things: Rescue acts and derby delights

It is a weekend of derbies, returning managers and potential relegations in the EFL.

Sheffield Wednesday's fate could be sealed in Sunday's Steel City derby at Bramall Lane while Coventry are back at the top of the Championship as they make the short trip to West Bromwich Albion.

Away from those two issues, Saturday promises to bring us so much entertainment.

Here are five things you may want to keep an eye on alongside the fortunes of your own team.

Gary Rowett's phone number may not have three nines in it but it seems these days he is some kind of emergency service for clubs in strife.

"We're in trouble, get me Gary Rowett on the phone now!" You can almost hear the cry from boardrooms. A blue light on top of his car as he screeches into the car park with the theme of 'The Sweeney' blaring out of his stereo might complete the effect.

Leicester broke the glass and called for Rowett this week as they slipped into the Championship's relegation zone on the back of four successive league defeats and a six-point deduction (pending an appeal).

A reputation built on rescue jobs at Birmingham (the first time), Millwall and Oxford is nothing to be sniffed at - he knows how to dig teams out of holes and the Foxes are in a deep one.

"Gary is a manager with deep knowledge of the Championship and experience of the situation we now face in these final 14 games of the season - a fight for survival in the division," said Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha.

His first assignment on Saturday (12:30 GMT) takes him back to a former club in Stoke who, but for their excellent start to the season might have been casting envious glances at Leicester's new man, with a six-game winless run having dropped them five points off the top-six pace.

By his own admission Nathan Jones' 95 days in charge of Southampton were not great, let's face it, it was 95 days.

Nine defeats in 14 games sealed his fate - "I want to be brutally honest with this - I have let the players down," he said in his final interview before being consigned to the list of ex-Southampton managers.

Almost three years to the day since leaving St Mary's, the Welshman is back at the scene of the crime on Saturday (15:00 GMT) with the Charlton side he guided into the Championship last season.

The Addicks' 3-1 home defeat by Portsmouth on Tuesday means they are seven points clear of the drop zone - a decent gap but not enough to have them sitting comfortably.

Southampton's three-game winning run has pushed them back into the play-off frame and, having thumped Charlton 5-1 in London in November, Jones can expect an interesting reception when he sets foot back on the south coast.

The competitive nature of the Championship means you could probably make a case for any team from 16th place to reach the play-offs.

To do that will require a run of consistent form, you know, the kind of run Birmingham City have hit.

One defeat from their past 10 league games has Blues tucked nicely into 11th place, two points short of the top six but with a big test coming in the next nine days.

Trips to in-form Norwich and third-placed Millwall will be followed by a home meeting with Middlesbrough, who are second.

"We look like a team that's ready to fight and we've got quality, so we just have to keep believing and keep pushing," said boss Chris Davies.

A visit to Norwich on Saturday (15:00 GMT) would not have caused too many issues for Birmingham a couple of months ago but the Canaries are suddenly flying with five wins from their past six Championship outings, pulling them seven points clear of trouble.

Philippe Clement's side are 17th, nine points adrift of the play-offs themselves, surely too far short for a surprise late challenge?

Derbies always bring their own unique attractions before you even consider the relative league positions of those involved and what the points would mean.

In south Yorkshire the mood of Rotherham United and Doncaster Rovers fans may well match the weather on Saturday as they meet at New York Stadium (12:30 GMT) with League One survival on the line.

Both clubs have held their nerve by retaining the services of their respective managers - Rotherham keeping faith with the Millers-supporting Matt Hamshaw and Doncaster holding onto promotion-winning boss Grant McCann.

Hamshaw's reign has been feast or famine - an opening run of only two wins from 10 games followed by eight unbeaten and then seven successive defeats which has them second from bottom, three points short of safety.

Tuesday night's 1-0 reverse at fellow strugglers Burton Albion feels like a huge body blow to their survival hopes.

Doncaster's return to League One opened with five wins from their first seven matches but consistent inconsistency has kept them hovering around the bottom four - two points clear as things stand.

"It's a setback every time you lose a game of football," said Hamshaw after Rotherham's most recent loss to Burton.

Defeat on Saturday may bring greater consequences than a lack of bragging rights.

Taking down the Christmas decorations can come as a relief to many - time to get on with life again and the hopes of a new year ahead.

That will not be the case in the homes of Tranmere Rovers supporters who may well be heading back up to the loft to get the tree out again.

Only Sheffield Wednesday (9) have lost more games than Rovers (8) since Christmas Day which includes a six-game losing streak only ended by a 2-0 victory over an equally inept Crawley side.

Normal 2026 service was resumed at Prenton Park on Tuesday as Accrington Stanley left with three points from a 1-0 win.

By any stretch, Tranmere's run is relegation form and the fact they are 10 points clear of trouble is testament to their pre-Christmas results as well as the failures of those below them.

Mind you, trips to promotion-chasing Notts County on Saturday (15:00 GMT) and Crewe next weekend will not help those of a nervous disposition in Birkenhead, especially if they lose both those meetings before visiting relegation-threatened Newport.

BBC Sport will have live text coverage of all the weekend's EFL action, starting with Blackburn Rovers v Preston North End on Friday night.

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