The Dugout Gazette, 5 October

Weekend briefing

The international break changed the shape of the weekend.

The Premier League and Championship played no fixtures on Saturday 3 or Sunday 4 October, leaving the top two tiers quiet while League One and League Two continued with shortened programmes. Several EFL matches were postponed because of international call-ups, but a number of lower-league clubs still had to manage the usual Saturday demands.

At international level, England produced a statement result with a 0-7 win over Croatia. Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane scored twice each. Viktor Gyökeres also scored in three games during the break and became the first player to score in six consecutive UEFA Nations League matches.

The Premier League’s last action was Matchweek 5. Matchweek 6 begins with Arsenal v Leeds United on Saturday 10 October, followed by Liverpool v Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.

Results board

League One

All matches were played on Saturday 3 October.

  • Burton Albion 1-3 Huddersfield Town
  • Leyton Orient 0-2 Plymouth Argyle
  • Reading 1-1 Bradford City

The following fixtures were postponed:

  • AFC Wimbledon v Stevenage
  • Barnsley v MK Dons
  • Bromley v Wycombe Wanderers
  • Luton Town v Doncaster Rovers
  • Peterborough United v Notts County
  • Wigan Athletic v Mansfield Town

League Two

  • Accrington Stanley 2-0 Cheltenham Town
  • Chesterfield 4-2 Tranmere Rovers
  • Crewe Alexandra 3-1 Bristol Rovers
  • Exeter City 1-0 Rotherham United
  • Gillingham 0-0 Newport County
  • Grimsby Town 1-2 Shrewsbury Town
  • Rochdale 1-0 Swindon Town
  • Salford City 1-0 Fleetwood Town

Postponed fixtures:

  • Colchester United v Port Vale
  • Northampton Town v Oldham Athletic
  • Walsall v Crawley Town

In the EFL Trophy, Colchester United drew 1-1 with Luton Town in Southern Group D. Luton won 4-3 on penalties.

Post-match report screen from The Dugout

Key decisions

Plymouth take the League One lead

Plymouth Argyle’s 0-2 win at Leyton Orient moved them to the top of League One on 16 points from nine matches.

The result also kept their away form moving in the right direction. Bradford City remain level on points, but Plymouth now lead the division after another efficient performance on the road.

Huddersfield climb to third

Huddersfield Town’s 1-3 win at Burton Albion lifted them to third on 15 points.

Three goals away from home gave Huddersfield room to control the afternoon, while the result strengthened their position among the early promotion contenders.

Salford go top in League Two

Salford City’s 1-0 win over Fleetwood Town took them to the top of League Two on 16 points from nine games.

It was a narrow result, but exactly the type of match that can shape an early promotion race. Salford protected the lead and collected another three points while several clubs around them had fixtures postponed.

Crewe remain unbeaten

Crewe Alexandra stayed unbeaten with a 3-1 win over Bristol Rovers. They are now third in League Two on 15 points.

The more revealing detail is the number of draws. Crewe have drawn six of their nine league games. That record shows consistency, but it also highlights the tight margin between building a promotion challenge and drifting into mid-table.

Shrewsbury win away for the first time

Shrewsbury Town won 1-2 at Grimsby Town for their first away win of the season.

George Lloyd scored against his former club, giving Shrewsbury a result that could become an important reference point as the campaign develops.

Chesterfield provide the goals

Chesterfield 4-2 Tranmere Rovers was the highest-scoring game of the weekend.

Six goals made it the clearest attacking contest across the League One and League Two programmes, with Chesterfield taking the points after a match that never settled into a low-scoring pattern.

Table and form notes

The Championship table was unchanged because of the international break.

  • Swansea City lead on 17 points from eight matches.
  • West Ham United are second on 15 points.
  • Middlesbrough are third on 15 points.
  • Wolverhampton Wanderers are fourth on 14 points from seven matches.
  • West Bromwich Albion are fifth on 14 points.
  • Burnley are bottom on four points and remain without a win.
  • Southampton are 13th on 10 points after a four-point deduction for breaches of EFL regulations.

The division remains tightly packed, with around seven points separating the top 15.

League One’s leading positions are:

  • Plymouth Argyle: first, 16 points from nine
  • Bradford City: second, 16 points from eight
  • Huddersfield Town: third, 15 points
  • Sheffield Wednesday: fourth, 14 points from seven
  • Stockport County: fifth, 13 points

League Two’s leading positions are:

  • Salford City: first, 16 points from nine
  • Barnet: second, 15 points from seven
  • Crewe Alexandra: third, 15 points
  • Cheltenham Town: fourth, 15 points
  • Bristol Rovers: fifth, 15 points

The postponed fixtures mean the tables will continue to carry uneven numbers of matches. Barnet’s second-place position, for example, has come from only seven games, while several clubs will have ground to recover when their rearranged fixtures are played.

Transfer market screen from The Dugout

Fantasy desk

Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 6 has an 11:00 BST deadline on Saturday 10 October.

The main theme is injury uncertainty following the international break.

Players to monitor

  • Joao Pedro, Chelsea, £7.7m: The knee concern has made him the most-sold player of the Gameweek, with more than 380,000 managers moving him on. Xabi Alonso expects him to be back for Bournemouth, but his availability still needs checking.
  • Cole Palmer, Chelsea, £9.7m: Palmer withdrew from the England squad with a minor muscle injury.
  • Alexander Isak, Liverpool, £9.1m: Isak returned from Sweden duty with a thigh problem.
  • Cody Gakpo, Liverpool, £7.2m: Gakpo is carrying an ankle injury.
  • Brian Brobbey, Sunderland, £5.7m: Brobbey was forced off for the Netherlands after his hat-trick at Manchester City and has a hamstring concern.
  • Antoine Semenyo, Manchester City, £8.4m: Semenyo withdrew from Ghana duty with an ankle injury.
  • Nico O’Reilly, Manchester City: O’Reilly missed England’s final two games with an unspecified injury.

Kai Havertz, priced at £7.6m for Arsenal, also picked up a hamstring injury against the Netherlands. Reports suggest he could be out for up to four weeks.

That could change Arsenal’s forward structure. Saka, priced at £9.5m, has taken penalties while Havertz led the line. If Havertz is absent, Gyökeres, priced at £7.1m, could return to the starting XI and take back spot-kick duties.

Captaincy

Erling Haaland remains the reliable premium captaincy option for managers protecting rank.

He scored twice against Denmark and once against Portugal during the break. His goalless appearance in Norway’s 2-1 defeat to Wales was only the second time in his last 18 competitive internationals that he has failed to score.

The fixtures should still be considered carefully. Arsenal v Leeds United opens the Gameweek on Saturday, while Liverpool v Manchester City follows on Sunday.

Second Chance League

The FPL Second Chance League begins scoring in Gameweek 6.

New and existing managers are entered automatically, and the winner receives Premier League match tickets. With the international break creating so many fitness doubts, the competition begins with a fresh opportunity for managers who want to reset their season.

Line-up screen from The Dugout

Manager’s view

Reading’s 1-1 draw with Bradford City looked like a useful point for a side sitting seventh in League One, but the wider news is more difficult. Reading’s top scorer Jack Marriott is expected to miss several weeks with an injury.

Reading have scored 17 goals in eight matches, so losing their main striker changes the balance of the squad. The immediate decision is not simply who replaces Marriott. It is whether the team changes its shape, asks another forward to carry more responsibility, or tries to spread the goals across the midfield and wide areas.

Crewe offer the other side of the same problem. Their 3-1 win over Bristol Rovers kept them unbeaten and moved them into the top five, but six draws from nine matches leave little room for another stalemate. A few more goals could turn a steady record into a promotion push. A few more dropped points could leave them surrounded by clubs with fewer matches played and more room to gain ground.

That is the calculation managers face during an international break. Squad depth matters more when call-ups remove players, postponed fixtures disrupt momentum, and an injury to one important striker changes the plan for the next month.

Tactics settings screen from The Dugout

Final whistle

The weekend belonged to the clubs that kept playing while the Premier League and Championship paused. Plymouth and Salford took the biggest table positions, Reading lost their main source of goals, and Crewe showed how narrow the line can be between promotion form and a sequence of draws.

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