BBC Sport looks at five key talking points before the weekend's Championship, League One and League Two action.

The English Football League returns this weekend with a blockbuster slate of fixtures across the Championship, League One, and League Two, headlined by high-stakes promotion battles and intense relegation scraps. Championship leaders Leicester City travel to face Southampton at St Mary's in a crucial match that highlights the fierce competition at the top of the second tier. With only a handful of matches remaining in the grueling 46-game calendar, every single point carries immense weight for clubs striving to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League or claw their way out of the drop zone before the dramatic conclusion of the regular campaign.

At the summit of the Championship, Leicester City currently sit firmly in the automatic promotion hunt alongside Ipswich Town and Leeds United, reviving memories of their incredible top-flight title charge under Claudio Ranieri back in 2016. Meanwhile, down in League One, Portsmouth are mounting a formidable charge to finally escape the third tier after several heartbreaking playoff near-misses in recent seasons. League Two is equally unpredictable, with Stockport County leading the charge for the title following their impressive resurgence under manager Dave Challinor, who guided the club back into the Football League through the National League playoffs back in the 2021-22 campaign.

As the final whistle blows on this weekend's encounters, the landscape of the EFL promotion and relegation races will shift dramatically, setting up an unforgettable run-in for fans across the country. Clubs facing the drop will need to dig deep into their reserves of resilience, especially with the financial windfall of Premier League football dangling as a carrot for Championship contenders. Supporters can expect nail-biting finishes on matchday, where historical rivalries and modern tactical masterclasses will collide to write the next thrilling chapter in the storied history of the English professional football pyramid.