The EFL Championship remains as unpredictable as ever but let’s have a look at some reassuring, consistent trends which have become clear in the last few gameweeks and may influence our transfer decisions.

Check out our fixture ticker ahead of any transfers, don’t forget the deadline is 18:15 on Friday.

Derby are reliably awful, they’re rooted to the bottom of the table and have sacked Cocu. Steve McClaren is back at the club as technical director and Wayne Rooney (6.4m) is acting manager and arguable acting player too. Not a recipe for success.

The Rams are in a tailspin, four defeats in a row and we can’t see them improving their form any time soon. No tempting fantasy assets here as they plummet towards League 1.

Middlesbrough don’t concede goals. We’re not accustomed to mentioning Middlesbrough but their defense has conceded just one goal (to top of the table Norwich) in the last six matches and their defensive assets are shooting up in price as they move up to 7th in the table.

Anfernee Dijksteel (5.0m) is the fourth highest scoring defender in the game on 81 pts and is averaging 7.75 pts per game at the moment. The other Boro defenders don’t collect bonus points quite as readily but if your budget is tight, Djed Spence (4.7m) and Marc Bola (4.1m) are very affordable options at the back.

Marcus Bettinelli (5.3m) in goal is right up there with the premium keepers, he’s the fourth highest scoring keeper and the cheapest of the top five.

The next three or four fixtures get a little tricky but this side are capable of holding out against any side in this league.

Middlesbrough are having serious issues at the other end of the field and it’s hard to recommend any attacking players. Britt Assombalonga (6.1m) is on just 30 points this season up front but scored in midweek against a hopeless Derby defence. George Saville (5.2m) is the stand out midfield asset but with the Boro averaging under a goal a game, there’s very little chance of a decent points haul.

Norwich are STILL playing poorly but picking up points. The Canaries look a little disjointed and painfully unconvincing yet we find them top of the table. Two schools of thought here; either their form will eventually catch up with them and they’ll drop down the table OR they can’t play any worse, start to improve and run away with the league.

With Emi Buendía (9.8m) and Todd Cantwell (7.7m) finally fit and interested (until the January transfer window at least), we can see them extending their lead. Buendia was sent off in mid-week but has 2 goals and 4 assists in just 10 games.

Teemu Pukki (10.2m) is back in goalscoring form and many GAFFR managers are struggling to get him back into their teams alongside current top scorers Ivan Toney (9.7m) and Adam Armstrong (8.1m) in what is surely the ideal trio up front.

Armstrong has 12 goals in 12 games for an inconsistent Blackburn, while Toney has 11 goals in 13 at stuttering Brentford.

Millwall consistently draw games. The Lions have drawn the most games in the league this season and though they’re defensively sound, they struggle to make the breakthrough at the other end with one notable exception, Jed Wallace (10.3m), king of set pieces.

Wallace is expensive but if you have the funds, his return is remarkable in such a low-scoring team. He’s their talisman, takes penalties and scored a beautiful free kick in midweek so is bang in form. Troy Parrott (7.1m) is finally fit and could be the key to turning those draws into wins and further boosting Wallace’s points hauls if they manage to link up.

As usual, Millwall’s defence is full of solid selections for your GAFFR lineup. Shaun Hutchinson (6.8m) and Jake Cooper (6.3m) are reliable starters at the back while Bartosz Białkowski (6.3m) remains one of the top keepers in the league, though cheaper options are available.

Best of luck for GW 14, let’s turn these trends into points!