2013/14 League One betting kicks off on Friday, August 2nd, with a match between Sheffield United and Notts County, before the bulk of the new season action gets underway on the Saturday. So the big battle to try and get up to the nPower Championship and for some, to avoid costly relegation will all begin in earnest again and here we take a look at some of the League One betting tips and prices ahead of next season’s action.
2013/14 League One Outright Winner Odds at Bet365
After taking a brutal nose dive from the Championship last season, Wolves have been pencilled in as favourites to win League One this term. The Midlands club struggled so baldy last season in just putting together any consistency and they just couldn’t dig deep enough when it mattered most to them. To close out the season they lost five of their last six matches, dooming them to relegation. Kenny Jackett is now the fifth manager in the last eighteen months to have a crack at getting Wolves back in the big time. There is naturally going to be some pressure on Wolves to deliver. They are a club of high status and they have a pretty big wage bill as well. They have looked strong enough in the League One betting market to suggest that they have the tools in place to get back up. But are they going to be able to take the title? There is a pretty optimistic sense that they will be at least on the front runners. Heading into the new season as strong favourites really has to count for something, and they look as if they should be value on backing them for promotion one way or another.
Peterborough should be back in the mix as well, like Wolves having come down from the Championship. There is a gulf in class between the two divisions and Peterborough need to immediately capitalise on that. They, like Wolves should have a little extra in the tank and in the depth of their squad and resources to make a big impact this time. The defensive areas were the big weak point of Peterborough’s season last term and they will need to step up in the at department. Again, like Wolves, they should be up there pushing for promotion. Sheffield United too will take some backing as well after making it into the League One play offs last season. The Blades finished fifth in the league last term if they can just find a better balance. While they were fantastic defensively, they need to push on with trying to find some extra goalscoring power, as they were one of the lowest scoring sides in the division. Brentford, losers of the League One Play Off Final should be back around the promotion hunt as well, after blowing their lines dramatically on the final day of the season, missing out on automatic promotion.
Wolves 4/1, Peterborough 9/1, Sheffield United 10/1, Brentford 11/1, Bristol City 11/1, MK Dons 14/1, Preston 16/1
2013/14 League One Promotion Odds at Bet365
The familiar names from above are all naturally going to be in the mix for this one. Naturally two of the favourites to win the league outright, Wolves and Peterborough are high up the list here. They are heading up things at short positive value as well, so are probably worth backing to just get promotion. There are two automatic promotion spots and a promotion spot through the play off final to look for here. One name not mentioned above, Bristol City, who were hopelessly adrift in the Championship last season have been trading fairly well to make a return. But there has been some big hesitations over them after a big confidence-denting season. But they are priced around the same mark as the likes of Sheffield United, Brentford and the MK Dons to be in the higher tier next term.
Wolves 5/4, Peterborough 11/4, Bristol City 3/1, Sheffield United 3/1, MK Dons 7/2, Preston 4/1, Rotherham 6/1
2013/14 League One Relegation Odds at Bet365
There are some pretty clear signs as to who the bookmakers think are going to be struggling badly in next season’s League One. This is naturally a blend between the newly promoted clubs to the division, and those who just barely escaped the drop last term. Sitting firmly in the latter category are Colchester and Oldham, who were only three points clear of the drop zone at the end of last season, while Stevenage were a little more comfortable at six points clear. We are talking about four places in the relegation scrap here, and to their credit, Rotherham, Port Vale and Gillingham, who go promoted to League One last season along with Bradford (who came through the play offs), are trading at relatively long odds in this market. There is naturally a bit of an adjustment needed when stepping up a level, but based on some of the strugglers in the League One from last season, the newly promoted teams may get a good shot survival.
Shrewsbury 13/8, Colchester 13/8, Oldham9/3, Carlisle 9/4, Stevenage 9/4, Port Vale 10/3, Crewe 7/2, Tranmere 7/2
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