EFL roundup: West Ham close on Swansea, Bradford go top and Wednesday hit five

West Ham cut Swansea City’s Championship lead to one point, Bradford City moved to the top of League One and Salford City maintained their advantage in League Two on a busy Saturday across the EFL.

Sheffield Wednesday delivered the afternoon’s biggest league victory, beating AFC Wimbledon 5-0, while West Brom recovered from two goals down to defeat Blackburn Rovers.

Our EFL roundup covers the key stories, results and full league tables following the afternoon’s matches on Saturday 17 October 2026.

Championship: West Ham close the gap as West Brom fight back

Divine Mukasa’s 34th-minute goal gave West Ham a 1-0 victory at Swansea, lifting the visitors into second place.

Nuno Espírito Santo’s side followed their six-goal win at Lincoln City with another away victory and clean sheet. Swansea remain top on 23 points, with West Ham now on 22.

Middlesbrough also have 22 points after recovering from a two-goal half-time deficit to draw 2-2 with Cardiff City. Tommy Conway and substitute Will Lankshear scored three minutes apart, but Boro could not find a winner after Cardiff’s Gabriel Osho was sent off late on.

Birmingham City beat QPR 3-0 through a Liam Millar double and a late Demarai Gray goal. West Brom joined them on 20 points after a dramatic 3-2 victory over Blackburn. Andri Gudjohnsen scored twice inside 12 minutes for Rovers, but Barney Stewart, Isaac Price and Felix Horn Myhre completed the turnaround, with Myhre striking in the 89th minute.

At the other end, Watford beat Charlton 2-0 through Luca Kjerrumgaard and Jordan Zemura to ease the pressure on Alessio Dionisi. Wrexham defeated bottom club Preston 4-1, while Derby and Norwich suffered home defeats against Stoke and Portsmouth respectively.

Championship results

Saturday’s completed fixtures:

Home	Score	Away
Birmingham City	3-0	QPR
Bristol City	0-1	Sheffield United
Derby County	0-1	Stoke City
Middlesbrough	2-2	Cardiff City
Millwall	2-2	Lincoln City
Norwich City	0-1	Portsmouth
Southampton	0-0	Bolton Wanderers
Swansea City	0-1	West Ham United
Watford	2-0	Charlton Athletic
West Brom	3-2	Blackburn Rovers
Wrexham	4-1	Preston North End

Friday’s result: Burnley 1-2 Wolves.

Championship table

P = played; GD = goal difference. Standings after Saturday’s matches, as listed by Sky Sports.

Pos	Club	P	GD	Pts
1	Swansea City	11	+8	23
2	West Ham United	11	+18	22
3	Middlesbrough	11	+6	22
4	Birmingham City	11	+9	20
5	West Brom	11	+3	20
6	Stoke City	11	+2	19
7	Southampton*	11	+11	17
8	Wolves	10	+3	17
9	QPR	11	+3	17
10	Blackburn Rovers	11	+1	15
11	Sheffield United	11	+1	15
12	Millwall	11	0	15
13	Portsmouth	10	0	14
14	Wrexham	11	-1	14
15	Bolton Wanderers	11	-3	14
16	Bristol City	11	-3	14
17	Charlton Athletic	11	-5	14
18	Lincoln City	11	-10	12
19	Cardiff City	11	+1	11
20	Watford	11	-9	11
21	Norwich City	11	-4	9
22	Burnley	11	-5	8
23	Derby County	11	-11	6
24	Preston North End	11	-15	4

Southampton’s total includes a four-point deduction.

League One: Bradford take top spot as Wednesday run riot

Bradford City moved into first place with a 2-0 win over Stevenage, giving Michael Duff his first victory as manager.

Antoni Sarcevic broke the deadlock from the penalty spot in the 79th minute before Will Swan added the second eight minutes later.

Plymouth Argyle slipped to fourth after losing 2-0 at home to Huddersfield Town. Stockport County moved second by beating Bromley 1-0, while Cambridge United’s 2-1 victory at Barnsley left four clubs immediately below Bradford level on 19 points.

Sheffield Wednesday provided the division’s standout performance, putting five past AFC Wimbledon at Hillsborough. Davis Keillor-Dunn scored twice, with Barry Bannan, Harry Gray and Callum Slattery also on target. Wednesday extended their unbeaten league run to seven matches, while Wimbledon failed to register a shot on target.

Leicester City beat Doncaster Rovers 2-1, and bottom club Wigan Athletic earned a valuable 1-0 victory over Reading. Wigan remain last on goal difference but moved level on points with Notts County, who lost at Wycombe.

League One results

Saturday’s completed fixtures:

Home	Score	Away
Barnsley	1-2	Cambridge United
Bradford City	2-0	Stevenage
Leicester City	2-1	Doncaster Rovers
Leyton Orient	2-0	Blackpool
MK Dons	2-1	Luton Town
Peterborough United	2-2	Burton Albion
Plymouth Argyle	0-2	Huddersfield Town
Sheffield Wednesday	5-0	AFC Wimbledon
Stockport County	1-0	Bromley
Wigan Athletic	1-0	Reading
Wycombe Wanderers	2-0	Notts County

League One table

Standings after Saturday’s matches, as listed by Sky Sports.

Pos	Club	P	GD	Pts
1	Bradford City	10	+5	20
2	Stockport County	10	+10	19
3	Huddersfield Town	10	+9	19
4	Plymouth Argyle	11	+4	19
5	Cambridge United	10	+4	19
6	Sheffield Wednesday	9	+12	18
7	Reading	10	+10	15
8	Oxford United	8	+7	15
9	Leyton Orient	10	+4	14
10	Burton Albion	11	-2	13
11	Wycombe Wanderers	10	-4	13
12	Stevenage	9	+2	12
13	Mansfield Town	9	-2	12
14	Leicester City	9	-3	12
15	AFC Wimbledon	10	-8	12
16	Luton Town	9	0	11
17	Doncaster Rovers	9	-1	9
18	MK Dons	9	-5	9
19	Peterborough United	10	-7	9
20	Blackpool	9	-3	8
21	Barnsley	9	-8	8
22	Bromley	9	-12	8
23	Notts County	9	-5	7
24	Wigan Athletic	9	-7	7

League Two: Salford stay ahead as Barnet win late at Tranmere

Salford City retained top spot with a 2-1 victory over Crawley Town, with Macaulay Langstaff scoring twice to secure their fifth consecutive league win.

Barnet stayed one point behind after coming from behind to beat Tranmere Rovers 2-1 at Prenton Park.

Will Vaulks gave Tranmere the lead, but Kabongo Tshimanga equalised before converting an 87th-minute penalty. Joel Senior was subsequently sent off for the hosts as Barnet extended their unbeaten league start to nine games.

Crewe Alexandra also remained unbeaten after a 3-2 win over Rochdale. They sit alongside Barnet on 21 points, although Barnet have played two fewer matches.

Oldham Athletic beat Cheltenham Town 4-1, while Northampton’s 2-0 victory at Grimsby lifted them above Rotherham on goal difference. Rotherham lost 2-0 at Fleetwood, leaving Crawley five points adrift at the bottom.

League Two results

Saturday’s completed fixtures:

Home	Score	Away
Accrington Stanley	3-1	Gillingham
Colchester United	0-0	Exeter City
Crewe Alexandra	3-2	Rochdale
Fleetwood Town	2-0	Rotherham United
Grimsby Town	0-2	Northampton Town
Newport County	1-1	York City
Oldham Athletic	4-1	Cheltenham Town
Port Vale	1-0	Chesterfield
Salford City	2-1	Crawley Town
Shrewsbury Town	1-0	Bristol Rovers
Swindon Town	1-1	Walsall
Tranmere Rovers	1-2	Barnet

League Two table

Standings after Saturday’s matches, as listed by Sky Sports.

Pos	Club	P	GD	Pts
1	Salford City	11	+6	22
2	Barnet	9	+10	21
3	Crewe Alexandra	11	+6	21
4	York City	10	+6	16
5	Walsall	10	+6	16
6	Gillingham	11	+3	16
7	Chesterfield	11	+2	15
8	Cheltenham Town	11	-3	15
9	Bristol Rovers	11	-3	15
10	Accrington Stanley	11	+1	14
11	Newport County	11	+1	14
12	Fleetwood Town	11	+1	14
13	Rochdale	11	-2	14
14	Shrewsbury Town	11	-5	14
15	Grimsby Town	11	0	13
16	Exeter City	11	0	13
17	Tranmere Rovers	11	-1	12
18	Swindon Town	11	-5	12
19	Oldham Athletic	10	-1	11
20	Colchester United	10	-3	11
21	Port Vale	9	-4	11
22	Northampton Town	9	-1	10
23	Rotherham United	11	-6	10
24	Crawley Town	9	-8	5