Sunderland and Leeds face off as five sides chase first win

The grind of the EFL is very much in effect with a hectic few days leading into the second international break of the 2024-25 campaign, encompassing three matches inside a week.

The midweek action witnessed Tom Cannon jumping for joy as his four-goal haul allowed Stoke City to thrash Portsmouth, Preston North End's Milutin Osmajic punishing a lethargic Watford - something he won't be doing for a while - and Sunderland claiming top spot in the Championship from West Brom.

In League One, Birmingham City look dominant but there are a host of teams in a compressed chasing pack behind them while Gillingham have kept their noses in front in an equally tightly-contested League Two.

And now we've got even more football fun for you to enjoy - here's what's coming up in the EFL this weekend.

A Friday night showdown between two big clubs kicks off the schedule as Leeds United head to league leaders Sunderland.

This season's Championship didn't start with the kind of oomph Leeds would have wanted after the departures of Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray and Georginio Rutter - but they seem to finding their feet as they make their ascent up the table.

Though Daniel Farke's men only managed a 1-1 draw on their midweek trip to Carrow Road, Sunderland enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 victory against Derby County that saw them take top spot.

The Black Cats are riding high and boast an impressive record at the Stadium of Light with four wins from four, but have been fallible of late, having lost to Watford and Plymouth on their last two away trips.

Aside from that, from a purely entertainment perspective, two of the Championship's best attacking units will face each other: Jobe Bellingham, Patrick Roberts, Wilson Isidor and Romaine Mundle for Sunderland against Willy Gnonto, Mateo Joseph, Brenden Aaronson and Largie Ramazani for Leeds.

The Whites also face the challenge of stopping Sunderland's attacking threat without the services of midfielder Ilia Gruev and captain Ethan Ampadu, with both regular starters absent for "months" due to knee injuries.

Portsmouth, Burton Albion, Cambridge United, Morecambe and Accrington Stanley are the only teams without a win across the EFL - and the latter two play each other on Saturday.

It took the Shrimps six league games to finally score a League Two goal this season and while finding the net hasn't proved a problem since, frustratingly, they have emerged from each of their remaining four matches with a draw.

Accrington aren't faring any better as their search for a win also continues and they find themselves right at the bottom of the table, one point below the visitors to the Wham Stadium this weekend.

A victory here will mean a lot to either team and a loss will carry an added sting - as will another draw.

As for the others, Pompey need to rebound from their midweek thrashing at Stoke as they host Oxford United at Fratton Park, Burton host Bristol Rovers and Cambridge travel to Exeter City.

After Scott Lindsey departed for MK Dons last week, Crawley Town had to quickly find somebody new to try to lift them away from League One's bottom four - and they have chosen former Gateshead boss Rob Elliot as the man for the job.

Elliot's first task as the new Reds boss isn't an easy one - an away fixture against eighth-placed Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.

The Chairboys have double Town's seven points and are unbeaten in six league games, whereas Crawley have lost their last three and haven't won in the league since 17 August.

The former Newcastle United goalkeeper has enjoyed some success with Gateshead, having won the FA Trophy and reached the National League play-offs last season, but League One is a step up and he will be eager to show he's ready for the challenge.

Aside from an in-form Birmingham City, whose big spending during the transfer window increasingly looks sound investment with a notable gap - five points - between them and the rest of the pack, it's pretty tight at the top of League One.

Wrexham and Mansfield Town are the Blues' closest challengers on 17 points while there are four teams just behind them on 15.

Among those are Blackpool, whose run of four successive league wins was ended by Lincoln City after Tom Hamer fired in a header in the 95th minute to dampen Bloomfield Road's celebrations in Tuesday's 1-1 draw.

The Seasiders will be hoping to pick themselves up and get back to winning ways but they will have to do so against Mansfield, who are on a run of four league wins in a row and hunting for a fifth.

With so many teams in and around the upper portion of the table, results between promotion-seeking rivals could take on extra significance, even at this stage of the campaign.

The fall back into the Championship has played out very differently for relegated teams Sheffield United and Luton Town.

Rob Edwards' Hatters have struggled to settle back into life in the second tier, having only won twice so far this season, while they surrendered a two-goal lead to draw with Oxford in midweek.

But Sheffield United have shed their old demons in impressive style and appear revitalised under Chris Wilder.

The Blades are undefeated so far this Championship campaign, having kept five successive clean sheets and accrued the same points tally in their first eight games as the entirety of their brief spell in the Premier League last season - and that doesn't include the two points they were deducted for defaulting on payments.

If United had kept their additional two points, it would have seen them level on points at the top with Sunderland.

The two relegated clubs will play each other on Saturday as Luton visit Bramall Lane for what should be an intriguing encounter.

You can follow live text action of all the EFL action across this weekend on the BBC Sport website, starting with Sunderland v Leeds United from 19:45 BST on Friday.