Five things to look out for in EFL with new records and derby delights

Like hanging around during that awkward period between Christmas and new year, the international break had many fans kicking their heels, but with players returning from all parts of the globe the EFL has a full programme this weekend.

There are 100% records to be protected, derbies with bragging rights up for grabs and new faces from deadline day to parade.

Of the league's 72 clubs, only Championship leaders Middlesbrough have a 100% record while Oxford and Leicester meet for the first time in more than 30 years and there's the small matter of Southampton against Portsmouth.

In League One, West Yorkshire neighbours Bradford City and Huddersfield face-off for a 50th time and in League Two an old master is painting brighter times for Swindon.

Four wins out of four under a head coach who knows how to get teams out of the Championship and some impressive deadline day business - there's a lot to smile about for Middlesbrough fans right now and history could be just 90 minutes away on Saturday.

Those of a superstitious nature on Teesside probably won't want me to mention that Boro have never won their opening five games of a league season but there, I've said it, and records are there to be broken after all.

A debut for Slovakia international David Strelec is on the cards at Preston North End on Saturday (12:30 BST) with the forward fresh from scoring in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Germany.

The arrival of the 24-year-old completed a solid transfer window for boss Rob Edwards as he looks to lead them back to the top flight after nine years away.

Opponents Preston are buoyed by two wins from two to open the campaign at Deepdale and have beaten Middlesbrough on each of their past five visits to Lancashire.

Heckingbottom will hope to have top scorer Milutin Osmajic back from a rib injury.

Thirty-one years have passed since Leicester City last visited Oxford United in the EFL, during which time the Foxes have been Premier League champions and played at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, while the U's have been relegated to the National League and played at AFC Sudbury in the FA Trophy.

The paths to Saturday's meeting (12:30 BST) have been very different as are both sides' ambitions for the season going by their respective starts.

Leicester have seen some of their top performers picked off in the transfer window but keeping forward Abdul Fatawu, the rise of 16-year-old Jeremy Monga and the addition of midfielder Aaron Ramsey will help.

While Leicester ponder the possibility of finishing the weekend top of the Championship, Oxford are in need of a first win of the campaign.

The U's have managed only four victories from their past 20 league games under Gary Rowett who replaced Des Buckingham last season following a sequence of four wins from 20.

Working with one of the smaller budgets in the division the U's have twice broken their transfer record this year with the signings of forward Ole Romeny and midfielder Brian De Keersmaecker but with the former currently out injured, things aren't getting any easier for Rowett.

Oh, and note to the Leicester coach driver, Oxford are at the Kassam Stadium these days, not the Manor Ground where these two last met...

You don't have to go quite as far back as Oxford and Leicester do for the last time we had a south coast dust-up between Southampton and Portsmouth in the league - it was 2012, in fact - but don't let 13 years get in the way of a rivalry which stretches back more than a century.

These are not neighbours who are popping round each other's for a cup of sugar or to borrow the lawnmower, this is a derby where fans will demand the players put their bodies on the line and the atmosphere will be cranked up to 11.

Pompey have won only four of 16 visits to Southampton. It's been so long since they last tasted a league victory at their neighbours it was at The Dell, 37 years ago - before Saints boss Will Still was born and opposite number John Mousinho was yet to reach his second birthday.

Former England striker Jermain Defoe scored 15 league goals in a one-year stint with Portsmouth and told BBC Radio Solent it is one of the biggest derbies in the country.

"It's definitely up there - I had a conversation with Harry Redknapp about it - he loved them and even though I didn't play in it I still get comments from Southampton fans because of my time at Portsmouth."

It won't be a quiet, relaxing Sunday lunchtime when these two meet (12:00 BST).

Derbies can be described as many things but when a former player calls the West Yorkshire rivalry between Bradford City and Huddersfield Town "a bear pit", no further words are really required.

The Bantams and Terriers are even closer neighbours than Southampton and Portsmouth with only 13 miles separating them although they've been apart for 18 years in the EFL.

It's 21 years since Bradford beat Huddersfield in the league - a 2-0 victory when Andy Cooke (not that one) was on the scoresheet.

While a passionate and frenetic affair awaits on Saturday (12:30 BST), there should be plenty of quality on offer with both clubs making strong starts: Bradford are fifth with 14 points on their return to the third tier while Huddersfield are a point and two places better off.

Goalkeeper Matt Glennon played for both clubs, featuring for the Terriers when they doubled their rivals in the last league meetings.

"It's all action. It was saves, it was shots, it was tackles, it was elbows, it was stamping and it was an absolute bear pit," he told BBC Radio Leeds. "I'm hoping it's going to be really tasty."

Not one for the faint-hearted then, Matt?

Ian Holloway spent his four years away from management brushing up on his artistic skills with the 62-year-old becoming an accomplished painter having taken up the hobby during lockdown.

The former Blackpool and Crystal Palace boss is now framing a brighter future for Swindon Town.

Having taken over in the thick of a League Two relegation battle last season he has guided the Wiltshire club to second place on the back of three successive victories as Harrogate head south on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The signing of striker Ollie Palmer to replace the injured Harry Smith is a signal of intent from Holloway who is also instilling a sense of togetherness in his squad.

"I will not tolerate anything other than us being totally and utterly successful- it's about really and truly becoming a squad and it's starting to happen," he told BBC Radio Wiltshire.

You can follow the EFL on BBC Sport across the weekend starting with our live text coverage of Ipswich Town v Sheffield United on Friday, 12 September (20:00 BST)