We take a look at the antepost money making opportunities as the Football League season gets set to kick off. Live scores | Compare odds | |
EFL League One Preview
Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United were able to scramble out of League One last season, while Sunderland came up through the play-offs. Which three sides will manage to engineer a promotion to the Championship this time around? There are two sides who are battling it out for favouritism at single betting odds.
One of them is Sheffield Wednesday who finished fourth in the overall standings last term before losing to the Black Cats in the play-offs. The Owls are a 5/1 chance with betfair to claim the League One title and this is a team who were able to record 85 points from their 46 games played and might be even stronger this time around.
Ipswich Town finished in a much lower position of eleventh last term, although there’s a school of thought that Kieran McKenna will have them much more competitive this time around after some impressive performances. The Tractor Boys have already been backed in although Paddy Power have 5/1 right now.
Derby County are the notably big arrival in League One although their current financial state means that they’re hard to seriously contemplate at the betting odds. The Rams are 12/1 with Ladbrokes although there could be better value in backing the 16/1 with BetVictor that MK Dons end up topping the overall standings.
In Liam Manning, the Dons have a smart young manager who was linked with a number of Championship vacancies over the summer. The fact that he has stayed put at Stadium MK suggests that the 36-year-old will be given funds to strengthen a squad who will play attractive football and could be able to register a top two finish.
Peterborough United are one of the relegated teams and they should give a good account of themselves under Grant McCann. Posh seem to be the perennial yo-yo club between Championship and League One, with some punters likely to regard Betfred’s 12/1 as a backable each-way price about a free-scoring side.
Danny Cowley is another well-regarded manager who should be capable of putting together a promotion-challenging team. He has previously performed heroics on a smaller budget at Lincoln City boss and perhaps he can steer Portsmouth to a big success, with bet365 chalking up 14/1 that the south coast team win the title.
Gareth Ainsworth has signed a new contract at Wycombe Wanderers after being linked with clubs like Blackburn Rovers and QPR over the summer, with the Chairboys available at 20/1 with Ladbrokes and they are likely to be typically pragmatic after going so close to promotion only to lose in the League One play-offs.
If we look a little further down the pecking order, then Bristol Rovers are available to back at betting odds of 40/1 with bet365. Joey Barton was able to resurrect the fortunes of the club last season and he will want to make the Gas really competitive after a brilliant second half of the campaign saw them nick automatic promotion on the final day.
EFL League Two Preview
Stockport County were promoted from the National League last season although the Hatters are wasting no time when it comes to being competitive now that they’re back in the Football League. Dave Challinor has already made some eye-catching signings and they are now the outright favourites to win League Two.
Boylesports offer 7/1 that Stockport win the title and it’s clear that there is significant investment behind this outfit, although it’s likely to be a competitive division and the presence of Bradford City operating under Mark Hughes means that they are likely to be a popular selection.
The Bantams are a 9/1 poke with bet365 and we’re likely to see a serious promotion assault from this well-supported club, with Hughes clearly a coup to have as manager in the fourth tier. Meanwhile, perhaps this will also be the season where Salford City deliver on their much-vaunted potential. They’re available at 9/1 with Coral.
Mansfield Town were the team beaten in the League Two play-off final and Nigel Clough will hope to build on that near-miss for the 2022-23 campaign. The Stags might have been automatic promotion contenders if they hadn’t started so slowly and betfair have 11/1 available about the Midlands team.
Richie Wellens was certainly getting a tune out of Swindon Town last season and it’s interesting to see Leyton Orient trading at 16/1 with Boylesports considering that this manager has previously enjoyed plenty of success at Swindon Town, with the O’s having enjoyed a strong second half to the campaign.
At a bigger price, Tranmere Rovers are certainly worthy of consideration and Ladbrokes offer a tempting 20/1 about the Wirral club who have been among the top places of the division for the past two seasons. Micky Mellon is recruiting in a different way this summer and it could reap dividends as the club aim to climb the Football League ladder.
Similarly, Neil Harris is aiming for an immediate return to League One with Gillingham and the former Millwall manager has wasted no time in clearing out the dead wood at the Priestfield Stadium. The Gills are 25/1 with Coral and it’s clear that the Kent club have the budget and playing staff to be competitive at this level.
Northampton Town were one of the clubs to narrowly miss out on automatic promotion last term and the Cobblers will aim to go again although the departure of central defender Fraser Horsfall leaves a big gap and it was noticeable that Paul Lewis returned to Tranmere recently. Even so, perhaps they are a big price at 16/1 with Paddy Power.
Sutton United were also overperformers last season before narrowly missing out on the play-off spots last term and they are trading at 33/1 with Ladbrokes to land the League Two title this season, while Swindon Town were actually in the play-offs and they will now hope to kick on at 14/1 with William Hill.
