By the end of the month, the club’s that have fulfilled all their scheduled fixtures will have played 13 games.
Some, such as Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday will be lagging a game behind, whilst Wigan will have three games to catch up on.
Currently bottom are Barnsley on five points. The Tykes have two home games, against Middlesbrough and local rivals, Sheffield Wednesday, before the end of the month. Barnsley fans will expect to take something from both games.
Whilst Barnsley are perennial favourites for relegation, Yeovil will be the side many think are certainties for the drop this season. Like the Tykes, the Glovers have the advantage of finishing the month with two home games. They face Brighton this Saturday, with Nottingham Forest visiting Huish Park a week later. Brighton are not at their best at the moment and they lost their last game, 1-3 against Forest at the Amex.
Wednesday are the other club currently in the drop zone and they have two away game games to negotiate before the month draws to a close. As well as the South Yorkshire derby match at Oakwell, the Owls will have to travel to the Reebok to face Bolton. Both games can be considered to be the proverbial six pointers and with Bolton beginning to find some form, it could be a difficult end to the month for Wednesday.
Charlton are hovering immediately above the drop zone, a point ahead of the Owls and two points ahead of Barnsley and Yeovil, though they do have a game in hand of the bottom two.
The trip to Blackburn looks really tough, particularly if the Addicks have to travel with a depleted squad. They will then have an extra day to prepare for the visit of Wigan. The game has been put back 24 hours until 27 October, as the Latics play Russian Premier League outfit,Rubin Kazan, in the Europa League at the DW Stadium next Thursday. Chris Powell will be hoping that the European competition will take its toll on Owen Coyle’s side.
Bolton are another team lucky enough to finish the month with two home games, and Dougie Freedman will be looking for a six point haul from his team. Ipswich will visit the Reebok a week after Sheffield Wednesday and Bolton will expect to be clear of the relegation zone going into November.
Birmingham are the club that are currently heading the bottom six but they have a difficult end to the month. The Blues have to travel to Leeds and Derby, though they will be hopeful of taking advantage of the turmoil at Pride Park. If they don’t, Birmingham could enter November nervously looking over their shoulder.
The international break gives Championship managers the opportunity to take stock and work on new ideas. For some, things improve dramatically. Chris Powell will be hoping that is the case at The Valley.