EFL: Five things to look out for in this weekend's fixtures
Leeds and Norwich go head-to-head in the Championship on Saturday - will both be Premier League-bound come May?
Pack away those snow shovels and brushes - the English Football League is back to warm your footballing hearts.
There are a fair few hot stories to look out for; the Championship's top two meet and a few familiar faces are back in the dugout in time to feature in our look ahead to the weekend's action.
Many happy returns?
Just over 14 months since he was sacked by West Bromwich Albion, Tony Pulis makes his first return to The Hawthorns as manager of Middlesbrough.
Following the departure of Pulis and four months under Alan Pardew, the Baggies were relegated to the Championship.
Having almost miraculously kept the Baggies up, Darren Moore is now leading their promotion charge. Albion will start Saturday's game one place and three points better off than Boro, who themselves are hoping for a Premier League return.
So could Pulis cap off a happier return to the Black Country than on his last day there in charge of Albion - a 4-0 home defeat by Chelsea in November 2017?
Times may change, but the Tony Pulis trademark baseball cap never does
"The atmosphere at home games, a bit like it is at Middlesbrough now apparently, was very poor, almost funereal," recalls BBC WM's Rob Gurney. "There wasn't any great agitation until right towards the end, but the away fans had already started to turn on him, chanting about his football.
"It was ok while they were winning, but his two full seasons both ended in nine-game winless runs. He notoriously flogs the players to death, so they got to 40 points, then psychologically switched off. In his last full season, after reaching 40 points in February, they only got five more points in their final 12 games.
"The mistake was then giving it to Alan Pardew, who won only one game. And there was 'taxigate', with four senior players allegedly stealing a taxi during a break in Barcelona. The season quickly disintegrated.
"What might have happened had they appointed Moore two or three weeks earlier? Would they still be in the Premier League? Moore almost love-bombed the players in training and made them feel good about themselves, which is apparently the opposite of what had happened before, and that got a reaction.
"Bearing in mind where they had been, to take the fight against relegation into the last week of the season was a massive achievement. They interviewed Brentford's Dean Smith, who is now at Villa. But, because of the run of results he had, there was a clamour for Darren to be given it.
"He'd certainly earned his chance to have a crack at it full-time and he has taken it on very well. Graeme Jones coming in as his number two has been a big influence."
A third spell for Ferguson
Darren Ferguson returns to familiar ground when he takes charge of a Peterborough home game once more on Saturday
Sticking with the subject of familiar faces - no sooner did Steve Evans leave Peterborough United on 26 January, Darren Ferguson was appointed for a third spell with the League One club.
The 46-year-old first took charge of Posh between 2007 and 2009 before returning in 2011 after a short-lived stint at Preston.
He left by mutual consent in 2015 but is now with Posh for a third time, with Peterborough aiming to improve their form which has seen them win just twice in their past 10 league games.
Ferguson's third reign began with a 2-2 draw at Bristol Rovers on Tuesday and he will be back in the home dugout for the first time since being re-appointed when Plymouth visit the Abax Stadium on Saturday.
"I think there's some good players here," he told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. "No disrespect to Steve (Evans), but some of them should be playing at a higher level.
"The time I've had with them on the training pitch so far has been great, but we've got to hit the ground running.
"They're a young bunch and I've got an idea how I want them to play."
From Barbados to Ipswich
Steve Bruce (right) was in Barbados for England's defeat in their first Test against the West Indies last month
And Ferguson is not the only former Manchester United player dipping his toe back into management this week.
A month since his appointment as Sheffield Wednesday's new boss following the departure of Jos Luhukay, Steve Bruce takes charge of his first game with the Owls.
The former Aston Villa boss agreed to take the helm at Hillsborough from 1 February, with assistants Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence in control until then.
- 'Fixed' Bruce ready for Sheffield Wednesday challenge
Bruce wanted an extended break after a difficult 2018 both personally and professionally, and took in England's defeat in their first Test against the West Indies in Barbados on a pre-planned holiday before embarking on his new role in South Yorkshire.
Speaking before the trip to Portman Road, Bruce made it clear why the job appealed to him.
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I'm 'physically and emotionally' great - Bruce
"The club and the history," he told BBC Radio Sheffield. "I'll never forget the support at Wembley during the Championship play-off final in 2016 when I was in charge of Hull.
"They had the place bouncing that day. I thought 'gosh, what an unbelievable club that would be to get moving'.
"The chairman as well with his enthusiasm - I know he's a bit off-the-wall at times, if that's being polite - but where he wants the club to be, he just tries his best.
"He wants the club to achieve and go as far as it can and that's why I'm here. If I can quickly turn around a difficult time for the past 18 months in terms of results, then great.
"If not, then we've got to be patient and put a team together that will ultimately take us back to where we want to be."
A battle at the top in the Championship
Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United are three points ahead of second-placed Norwich City at the top of the Championship
First meets second at the top of the Championship on Saturday as leaders Leeds United face Norwich City in the day's 17:30 GMT kick-off.
Marcelo Bielsa's side have a three-point advantage over the Canaries going into the match, which is set to be a sold out at Elland Road.
In the wake of all things "spygate", Argentine Bielsa has shown he has nothing himself to hide by naming his side two days in advance.
"Norwich are a team who attack very well, they're designed to attack," Bielsa told BBC Radio Leeds.
"We want to attack, but we know we will have to defend well too. It's an opponent we will have to respect."
Bielsa's Norwich counterpart Daniel Farke has been less forthcoming with his selection, but will be desperate to claim a scalp over Leeds, who beat them 3-0 at Carrow Road in August.
The omens look good for Farke's squad, who have lost just one of their past 17 Championship matches (W10 D6), and are unbeaten in their past 12 on the road (W6 D6).
New addition Phil Heise is available to make his debut for the Canaries, having joined from Dynamo Dresden on Wednesday.
An eventful week for Notts County
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Hardy apologies for 'accidental' nude tweet
It was a strange end to January if you follow the English Football League's bottom club, Notts County.
The Magpies were put up for sale on Sunday, a few hours after their owner Alan Hardy accidentally posted a nude image on Twitter, for which he later apologised.
Neal Ardley's side are eight points adrift of safety and need points quickly, so League Two leaders Lincoln are probably the last team they would want to be facing on Saturday.
But Ardley says despite the off-field distractions, Hardy has remained a driving force behind day-to-day activity at Meadow Lane.
Ardley told BBC Radio Nottingham: "Nothing's changed, he hasn't taken away the bridge from me. He's said 'let's do this right and get the players in we need during this window'.
"For someone who said he's selling, he's still putting his money behind ensuring we retain our league status and he's been incredible."
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Source: bbc.com
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