Essential Stats: Aston Villa form, Leeds' loose grip & Josh Maja magic

From Leeds' loose grip atop the Championship to Aston Villa's current form - we pick five top EFL facts ahead of the weekend.

Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds

Table-topping Leeds travel to Sheffield Wednesday on Friday with only four points separating Marcelo Bielsa's team with 12th-place Blackburn.

It is the tightest table at this stage of the season since the Championship was re-branded in 2004 - only 13 points divide leaders Leeds and rock-bottom Preston.

Eighteen points is also the lowest total by a leader in any of those 15 seasons, suggesting this might prove to be one of the closest campaigns in recent times.

Sheffield Wednesday are unbeaten at Hillsborough this season and will once again turn to their midfielder Barry Bannan for inspiration on Friday evening.

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The Scot had a loan spell at Leeds seven years ago and tops the Championship in several categories, including touches and passes.

He is also in the top five players for creating chances - only Wigan's Lee Evans has created more this season.

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Bristol City v Aston Villa

Bristol City take on Aston Villa on Friday Night - a game you can see via the red button. Steve Bruce's side are struggling for form with just one victory from their last seven league games.

Despite a lack of wins this term, the Villans have made an identical start to last season - with 13 points and three wins from their opening nine games.

Last season, Villa won seven of their next 10 games to move from ninth to fourth in the table and Bruce will be hoping to start a similar run at Ashton Gate.

Coventry v Sunderland

Our live game in League One sees in-form Sunderland face Coventry at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday lunchtime.

Josh Maja has been in sparkling form for the Black Cats with seven goals in nine league appearances - despite being only 19 years old.

Maja is the joint-top League One scorer with Peterborough's Matt Godden, who has also found the net seven times.

In fact, Maja is the top-scoring teenager in English football this season. He has found the net four more times than his nearest challengers Mason Mount and Mallik Wilks.

Rotherham v Stoke

Our late Saturday game sees Gary Rowett's Stoke travel to Rotherham. The hosts will be happy to be back at New York Stadium, having lost all five away games this season - scoring only once and conceding 11 times.

The Millers have fared much better at home, winning three of their four games - while their only defeat came against Hull last month.

Interestingly, that loss is the only home defeat suffered by any of the three promoted clubs this season.

So your EFL weekend kicks off on Friday night with Sheffield Wednesday taking on top-of-the-table Leeds at Hillsborough.

At 7.40pm you have the option to watch live coverage of Aston Villa's trip to Ashton Gate via the red button.

Saturday's action gets underway from midday with Coventry against Sunderland live from the Ricoh Arena, while coverage of Stoke's trip to Rotherham begins at 5.15pm.

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