EFL predictions for three new managers as Preston, Peterborough and Bradford make appointments
International breaks are typically the bane of a football fan’s existence, especially when it comes to those who prefer domestic leagues.
Not only are the weekly accas gone, but a couple of weeks off the pre-match pints are sometimes enough to break a man.
For fans of a couple of sides, though, the drama has continued despite the lack of on-field antics, writes Sports News Blitz’s EFL expert Charlie Gardner.
SkyBet Championship side Preston North End confirmed their appointment of former club legend Graham Alexander at the end of September.
The decision served as a culmination of his success at Bradford City, where he won a shot at his self-professed dream job with the current strugglers in the second tier.
While Bradford City were searching for a replacement for their most successful manager in about a decade, Peterborough United were also seeking a new leader after giving former Notts County hero Luke Williams the chop after he failed to keep the club at the right end of the table.
The Posh found their man in former Manchester United and Leicester City player Robbie Savage, who they poached from fifth tier Forest Green Rovers – a controversial appointment among fans that aims to shake up the culture in the dressing room.
Meanwhile, the Bantams found their replacement in Michael Duff, announcing him on Tuesday.
The Championship Manager legend himself (those who know, know) was in work as recently as September, losing his job at Wycombe Wanderers.
How will each manager fare this weekend as they take to their first league matches in the dugout at their new clubs? Let’s take a look.
Graham Alexander, Preston North End – vs Millwall (H)
A Deepdale return beckons for Alexander in his first match as Alex Neil’s Millwall make the trip up to Lancashire after a solid start to the season, where the new gaffer will also reunite with already fan-favourite youngster Jenson Metcalfe who made the jump up a league from Bradford this summer.
Millwall have been pretty average away from home so far this season, having won only one of an admittedly tough set of away fixtures.
Preston have unsurprisingly had an all-round poor start to the season, which led to manager Paul Heckingbottom getting shown the door early on.
Slight favourites on SkyBet at 7/5, the visitors go into the game narrow favourites in what probably would have been a somewhat even affair regardless.
Alexander is credited at Bradford with building a culture that harnessed the energy and potential of the support at a rocking Valley Parade, and this is something I’d expect to happen at his new club too.
He also seemingly excelled in the high-pressure games where grit and heart were needed.
Deepdale is one of the more iconic grounds in the football league, with its intimidating lack of distance between stands and the pitch.
On an occasion where they welcome a club legend back against a team stereotypically known for their hostility, this could be the recipe for a fantastic debut atmosphere.
The new manager has also brought fellow Preston legend Chris Lucketti with him as assistant, and together the two will know how to convert an underwhelming back line into a unit.
After all, they’ve had a couple weeks to bed in and get down to training.
My feeling is that everything here will lead to a strong battling match that may not be pretty on the eyes but overflowing with passion and grit.
This is a massive day for Preston North End, and I think the combination of a Deepdale return for a returning favourite will have the place rocking.
Prediction: Preston North End sh*thouse a win against the grain after a tight game
Robbie Savage, Peterborough United – vs Leicester City (A)
There’s no questioning here that Savage has walked into a Posh side where results are needed and the pressure is high. Very high.
On top of that, they’re away at Leicester first up, dropped straight in it.
Peterborough are not the biggest club in terms of support in SkyBet League One, but in terms of EFL history, they’re a side that have become used to success in the division, yet they now sit second-favourite for relegation behind Bromley on SkyBet at 5/4 odds.
The first side ever to win the EFL Trophy (or whatever it was officially called that particular week) back-to-back, Peterborough have enjoyed a couple of spells in the Championship and for the most part have grown to expect success in League One, becoming play-off regulars throughout a lot of their tenures.
Shrewd signings and a business model built around finding the best talent in England are key, with the likes of Ephron Mason-Clark, Kwame Poku, and Ivan Toney (scored a halfway-line belter against Bradford back in the day) all seeing success after their time at the club.
Their heartbreaking play-off loss against Sheffield Wednesday in 2022/23, when the Owls pulled back a four-goal deficit to eventually gain promotion, was their last time as promotion pushers in the league, and it hasn’t been smooth sailing in the league since then.
The status quo needed to change at the club, and Savage could bring a lot more character and passion to the role, but fans are unsure about the appointment considering his struggles at Forest Green Rovers.
I maintain though that the National League is a hard one to gain promotion from and, despite FGR’s strong squad and budget, there’s a couple other sides in similar situations – it isn’t always that easy.
Peterborough certainly have a lot of talent in their squad and a fair bit of experience too, but where they’ve been falling short is grit and street smarts.
The side have often been bullied in matches, and everything has seemed pretty men-against-boys.
I think Savage will fix that, but it’s about whether he can handle a two-league jump tactically.
Forward Harry Leonard is a decent player but hasn’t hit the numbers yet this season, so one of the key things Savage will need to do is make sure he’s getting the service necessary.
Leicester away is a tough one, though.
One-time Premier League champions, they now sit 14th in the league and Russell Martin has not yet convinced fans he’s the one for the job.
They’re awful at home too, but Peterborough are also the worst away team in the league.
Leicester still do have one of the better squads in the league despite their position, and I’m personally of the belief that they will eventually click.
For the Cambridgeshire outfit, I can’t see anything happening but a loss.
Neither can SkyBet, who are holding the home side as considerable favourites at 8/15, and Savage can’t be expected to turn things around at this short notice.
It could be worse, to be fair, and it’s a low-pressure game and essentially a free hit that allows him to bed in.
Prediction: Leicester City to win comfortably but keep the scoring low
Michael Duff, Bradford City – vs Leyton Orient (H)
It has been an incredibly turbulent period for Bradford City over the past couple of weeks.
Losing the manager that has, brick-by-brick, taken the League Two whipping boys on a journey that has seen them looking upwards for the first time in a long time is tough.
After a dramatic promotion in 2024/25, the Bantams defied the odds and returned triumphantly to League One, securing a spot in the play-offs before losing to eventual winners Bolton Wanderers.
The summer window as a Bantam was somewhat difficult, losing midfield duo Jenson Metcalfe and captain Max Power, who left the club to get closer to home at Wigan Athletic.
Then, manager Graham Alexander also moved closer to home when Preston came knocking, although there was more to it than that.
The side have been left to try to rebuild after overachieving for a year, finishing high despite a mid-table budget, something that’s largely been credited to a project centred around their manager Alexander, who left them top of the league, sitting at 9/4 on SkyBet for promotion now.
Duff was finally announced on Tuesday, but one point of contention has been that he’s believed to be based down south, and given recent events this has been a concern, but the club and Duff have confirmed he will be staying locally while in the job.
More concern came from his recent CV – fresh from a sacking at the start of the season, he was sacked by bitter rivals Huddersfield Town prior to that and sacked from Swansea before that.
But those clubs have been somewhat volatile in recent years, with Wycombe being 20th when he came in last season (he got them to 11th) and Huddersfield not having finished in the play-offs since they sacked him.
Duff’s time at Barnsley in 2022/23 was a resounding success too, finishing with 86 points and getting to the play-offs in an unbelievably strong league was some achievement, but he hasn’t replicated it since.
Bradford City’s head of football David Sharpe has spoken on the appointment recently, saying the move was continuity focused and that Duff was the standout candidate when considering someone who can do things as similarly as Alexander did.
Bradford beat Rotherham with ease on Tuesday in the Jersey Mike’s (EFL) Trophy and were technically managed by Duff on the day, but he was serving a touchline ban and will have had limited time with the squad.
His first league game will be against Richie Wellens’ Leyton Orient, who visit Valley Parade in its first match since Alexander left.
Bradford are comfortably SkyBet favourites for this one at 8/13 odds for a win, and their home record has been outstanding so far for yet another season.
While both Alexander and Duff play a similar style and formation, Duff is maybe a bit more forward thinking, usually opting for two up top.
This might prove beneficial for new arrival Jake Beesley, who enjoyed the best record of his career playing in a front two at Burton last year and has only netted once this campaign.
It may also prove beneficial to Duff that this whole story has focused on his predecessor rather than him.
He doesn’t have to change much and has walked into a team already capable of succeeding.
Orient are a great side that sits 11th right now, but they are nine places behind City, who beat them 3-1 in the Carabao Cup in September.
While I rate Wellens and his style, I really think that the home fans will back the manager and the players will continue to want to prove they are equally responsible for the club’s success and can kick on without Alexander.
Prediction: Bradford City to win after Leyton Orient put up a good fight
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Writer’s opinion
It’s of course hard to be impartial when two of the fixtures on here are so relevant to my own club.
Alexander certainly has a task on his hands at Preston and fans from both clubs are sceptical as to whether he can get a tune out of a Championship side.
That said, though, we were all underwhelmed when he took over at Valley Parade, and he’s proven time and time again that he can defy expectations and rise to a challenge.
I really do think this is the best appointment Preston could have made, but it’s still a massive career gamble leaving arguably the most secure job in football right now, but he always was an audacious manager full of ambition.
Duff is an interesting appointment, one that underwhelmed me, but when I focus on the facts, it’s hard to see who else we realistically could have appointed.
If what the people in charge say is true, then a continuity choice is probably the best way to go, and if he can get us scoring more goals, then I will welcome it, but it still feels somewhat risky and a bit of an untenable role for him.
Either he continues the success and overachievement that is already in place or it goes wrong and we deem him responsible.
Savage to Peterborough is also a weird one.
Forest Green fans don’t have the highest opinion of him and think he should have done more in his time at the club.
I sort of agree, and I’d be a little underwhelmed if we appointed him, but Peterborough need something different, someone to shake things up.
And honestly, from the outside, I can see it’s a gamble, but there’s a chance he could prove to be exactly what they need.
Roll on the weekend!
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