The English Football League returns this weekend with several storylines worth following across the Championship, League One and League Two, ranging from surprise pacesetters to managers renewing acquaintances with former clubs.
West Bromwich Albion sit atop the Championship after a remarkable turnaround under interim boss James Morrison, who took charge in February when the club was second from bottom. Since then, Albion have gone on a 10-match unbeaten run that secured their survival, and they have carried that form into the new campaign. Their 1-0 victory at Derby in midweek, achieved despite playing over an hour with 10 men, marked a ninth clean sheet in 18 league matches under Morrison. Albion now face QPR on Saturday, with the Hoops sitting just two points behind them having also lost only once this season. Julien Stephan's QPR side endured a poor end to last term, taking just 11 points from their final 13 games, but a summer rebuild appears to have reversed their fortunes despite a growing injury list.
Derby, meanwhile, face renewed scrutiny after their midweek defeat to West Brom made it four losses in six games. John Eustace, who guided the Rams away from relegation trouble last season, now hosts his former club Birmingham City on Saturday. Eustace was controversially dismissed by Birmingham in 2023 despite leading them to sixth in the Championship at the time. His opposite number, Chris Davies, is under pressure of his own after Birmingham's first defeat of the season came at Norwich, leaving the club with just seven points from six matches - a modest return given the resources invested since their promotion from League One.
Elsewhere, Leicester City's struggles in League One continue to raise eyebrows. Russell Martin's side sit 18th with only five points from five games, seven adrift of leaders Sheffield Wednesday, and were beaten 4-0 at home by Oxford United in their last outing. Leicester travel to Stockport County on Saturday, a fixture that underlines just how far both clubs' fortunes have shifted over the years - Stockport were playing non-league football as recently as five seasons ago while Leicester competed in Europe.
Sheffield Wednesday's revival has been one of the division's most notable stories. The Owls suffered the earliest relegation in EFL history last season before a takeover by a US consortium coincided with their first win in seven months. Since then, Wednesday have won four of their first five league games this season and also beat Championship side Bolton in the EFL Cup. They host struggling Wigan Athletic, who have lost four of their five league matches and were beaten 4-0 by local rivals Stockport last time out, leaving them bottom of League One on goal difference.
In League Two, York City manager Scott Lindsey will come up against former club Swindon Town on Saturday. Lindsey had two spells at Swindon, including a brief stint as manager that ended after just six months when he left to join Crawley, later saying he felt he lacked support from the club's fans. Now in charge at York after replacing the departed Stuart Maynard, Lindsey has collected eight points from five games and could leapfrog Swindon into second place with a win, while the Robins could move top with victory of their own.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.