EFL preview: Dark horses and nightmare starts

Halloween is upon us, but who will emerge from the darkness to cause a scare in the EFL?

And which managers might need a trick or two to treat their fans and end the nightmares?

It is all happening across the Championship, League One and League Two.

BBC Sport has picked out five key talking points to look out for this weekend...

"I didn't want to be the bearer of the reality, but we've got a game on Saturday..."

Fleetwood Town boss Matt Lawlor described the penalty shootout win over Premier League champions Arsenal in the Carabao Cup as the "biggest night in the club's history".

There was indeed something poetic - or "surreal" as Lawlor put it - about a team in red and white beating Arsenal at Highbury, and the Cod Army are rightly riding the wave of their incredible achievement.

But Lawlor also knows there are perhaps bigger fish to fry in terms of the club's long-term future as they return to League Two action this weekend.

Bristol Rovers are the next visitors to face a Fleetwood side who may have reached the EFL Cup quarter-final but are languishing in 18th, just two points clear of danger.

The Fishermen have won only one of their past eight league games (D2 L5) and will hope the victory over the Gunners will provide the shot in the arm they need to kick on.

"It's a completely different challenge [to Arsenal]. We have to get better in the league," Lawlor told the 72+ EFL podcast.

"It's a big task to go after Tuesday, but I promise you I'll be watching Bristol Rovers and coming up with something.

"We've been amazing at home. We've only lost one game at home since March, and that includes Arsenal now, which is crazy."

Fleetwood left-back Jake Batty told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Why can't we replicate that and get 5,000 fans behind us every game and give us that momentum?"

A team finishes 21st in the Championship, narrowly avoiding relegation on the final day on goal difference, and then goes on to win promotion to the Premier League the following season against all the odds after sneaking into the play-offs.

That is not a tale of fiction. It is exactly the path Hull City took to the top flight. And perhaps it is a reason why Portsmouth can dare to dream.

Since their return to the second tier after a 12-year hiatus, Pompey have battled through two seasons in which they have flirted with danger but survived the drop.

After losing the south coast derby 1-0 at Southampton on 11 October, Portsmouth were 19th and readying themselves for another dogfight at the bottom.

But 19 days is a long time in football.

A four-game unbeaten run with three wins and a draw later and John Mousinho's side are up to 11th and within two points of the play-off places.

It is of course a long shot at this stage and nobody is expecting Pompey to finish in the top eight, but it is all about aiming big in this sport.

Portsmouth forward Adrian Segecic certainly thinks so.

"We can definitely achieve where we want to be - play-offs and competing at the top of the table," Segecic told BBC Radio Solent.

"There's no reason we shouldn't believe we can, and we have shown it now. We have to just keep performing and believing. I think belief is the biggest thing about us, and with hard work I definitely feel like it can push us to the top."

Pompey travel to Burnley on Saturday, and victory would only increase belief they can be a dark horse in the play-off race.

Being the underdogs might not always be the worst thing. Just ask the Tigers fans.

One team who were not meant to be underdogs this season is Burnley.

The Clarets were among the favourites to challenge for promotion following their relegation from the Premier League.

But they are in the drop zone after just one win from 12 games, and Nicky Hayen has paid the price with his job only three months after arriving in Lancashire.

His replacement is former Basel boss Fabio Celestini, who will be trying to mastermind a first home win for Burnley for more than a year when they host Portsmouth.

"I look at Burnley, and I see a club with big potential and players with real quality who can help us achieve our supporters' ambitions," Celestini said.

"I know the situation we are in, and I have lived it before. Our supporters deserve to see a team playing with belief from the first whistle."

Burnley will need to improve if they are to avoid following in the footsteps of Luton Town and Leicester City, who both suffered back-to-back relegations to League One in the past two seasons respectively.

This is not where Derby County wanted to be, only five months on from missing out on a Championship play-off spot by just four points.

With just one win from their opening 12 games, the Rams are second from bottom and four points adrift of safety.

There are some caveats to Derby's disappointing start with a lengthy injury list to contend with and the possible off-field hangover from a failed takeover bid in the summer.

Key players including Matt Clarke, Eiran Cashin, Sondre Langas, Craig Forsyth, Charlie Taylor and Patrick Agyemang are still out.

Meanwhile, last season's top goalscorer Carlton Morris missed four games, as did number one goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

Head coach John Eustace said before Saturday's 1-1 draw at Sheffield United that he has the "full support" of owner David Clowes.

Was that the dreaded vote of confidence before the inevitable manager exit, or can Eustace turn things around at Pride Park?

Next up is a trip to 13th-placed Millwall, who have also struggled for results with just two wins from their past 10 games (D3 L5).

"Turbulent."

That was the word former Huddersfield Town defender Tommy Smith used to sum up the past seven years at his old club since their relegation from the Premier League.

During that time, the Terriers have been through 12 permanent managers, an ownership change in 2023 and plenty of turnover in the playing squad.

They also dropped down to League One in 2024.

But Martin Drury landed the head coach role permanently after taking over from Liam Manning in March and has enjoyed a strong start to the season, with Huddersfield top of the table and unbeaten in their past five games (W4 D1).

"There's a very expectant fanbase. Martin Drury's a very intense manager; he knows what he wants," Smith told the 72+ EFL podcast.

"They're playing good football; they've got good individuals. Everything seems to be clicking for Huddersfield; they're in a very good spot."

Dutch winger Derensili Sanches Fernandes in particular has impressed since arriving from Eredivisie club Excelsior with six goals and five assists in 12 games, while striker Joe Taylor has netted eight times in 11 appearances.

"I've been really impressed. Going back to last season, everyone had a lot of high hopes for them and it didn't materialise," said former Luton striker Sam Parkin.

"It's been a terrific start. You never know how it's going to go when a manager takes a team for the first time in the EFL.

"But I've heard a lot of good things about him as a coach and his his team look like they have all the credentials to get promoted this season."

Huddersfield will be tested on Saturday when they visit promotion rivals Bradford City, who are fourth and just three points behind the leaders following an eight-game unbeaten run (W4 D4).