League 1 predictions and best bets for 2025/26 season | OneFootball

There might have been football played all summer, but for fans of League One, it's been nearly 13 weeks since the normal season ended back in May.

But the wait is almost over, their season kicks off this weekend with Luton versus AFC Wimbledon opening proceedings on Friday night.

Last season, these two sides were two leagues apart, but following Luton’s second relegation in successive seasons and Wimbledon winning the League 2 play-offs, they will be battling it out to get the first points on the board.

After playing in the Premier League just two seasons ago, it’s no surprise to see Luton are the favourites to be celebrating promotion in May in the League One odds.

But after winning just 19 of their last 84 league games, they will need to hope they can stop the rot and quickly if they are to move back up the leagues.

Manager Matt Bloomfield will be buoyed by how they ended the season, though, when three wins from their last four almost saw them pull off a great escape.

In the end, they went down on goal difference from Hull City, which, after going 12 games without a win between Boxing Day and 1 March, was quite an achievement.

Bloomfield replaced Rob Edwards in January, and he will also be aware that he needs a good start to life this season after winning just six of his 20 games in charge, but he knows League One well and when he left Wycombe to take charge of Luton, they were second in the league and had enjoyed a 19-match unbeaten run.

They have made eight signings so far, including striker Nahki Wells and defender Hakeem Odoffin, who was Rotherham's player of the season last season.

They have some real quality in their squad, and on paper, you would expect them to be challenging for promotion from the off, but their mindset will have to be right as travelling to Burton and Exeter is a far cry from Old Trafford and Anfield.

But in Bloomfield, they have a manager with lower league experience as a player and a manager who will demand that his players do the basics right.

It is hard to see much further than them or Huddersfield Town, who the football betting sites have as second favourites to be crowned champions.

There is no Birmingham type in the league this season, and the other two relegated sides, Cardiff and Plymouth, have probably found their level.

If we’re backing Luton to win the league, then it’s worth looking at Huddersfield to be promoted.

They finished 10th last season and lost eight of their last 10 matches under caretaker manager Jon Worthington.

He replaced Michael Duff, who was sacked in March after they suffered their fourth defeat in five and dropped out of the play-off places with 10 games of the season to go.

The club has been bold in their new direction, appointing Lee Grant as their new boss on a three-year deal. Although highly experienced as a coach, this is his first managerial appointment, but he did spend the last three years working under Kieran McKenna at Ipswich.

He might have been a goalkeeper, but based on the signings he’s made, he wants to play attacking football, and they have a real goal threat in their side.

They have made 11 signings so far, but the real stand-out arrivals are USA international winger Lyndon Gooch, who arrives from Stoke City on a three-year contract and striker Alfie May, who joined for an undisclosed fee from Birmingham.

The 32-year-old scored 16 goals for the Blues last season as they won the League One title, so we know what he is capable of at this level.

Betting sites are offering 9/4 on them to achieve promotion, either automatically or via the play-offs.

A dark horse for promotion could be Stockport County, who were beaten in the Play-Off semi-finals last season. Manager Dave Challinor took them from the National League up to League One and only finished five points behind Wrexham, who finished second last season.

The club has held on to their highly rated manager, after he was linked with a lot of vacancies over the summer, and persuaded him to sign a new three-year deal.

They have also smashed their transfer record to sign striker Malik Mothersille from Peterborough on a three-year deal.

He scored 16 goals in 57 appearances for Posh last season and is believed to have cost more than the £800,000 the club paid for Ian Thomas-Moore in 1998.

They were the joint second-highest scorers in the league last season, behind just Birmingham, so it’s clear to see their attacking intent.

I don’t think anyone is underestimating the enormity of the job AFC Wimbledon have on their hands to stay in League One, but to be evens to be relegated seems harsh.

They beat Walsall in the League 2 Play-Off final in May to return to the third tier after a three-year absence.

They finished fifth in the table, just five points behind the third automatic promotion place, but they were 11 behind the champions, Doncaster Rovers.

They kick off their campaign with a baptism of fire as they face highly fancied Luton Town at Kenilworth Road, and they will be hoping to catch them cold.

One big concern for them is a lack of goals; they only scored 56 goals on their way to promotion, which was by far the lowest of the teams around them.

They are not helped in their cause by the fact that forward Osman Foyo has been charged by the Football Association with breaching betting rules, so could be facing a lengthy ban.

James Tilley, 27, is the only forward who has come into the club, and he has scored just 32 senior goals. Based on the research, it’s clear to see why they are the favourites, and it could be a long season for Wombles fans.

Another team who are expected to be down there next season are Northampton Town, who only narrowly avoided relegation in May, by five points.

They won just two of their last 10 matches, and manager Kevin Nolan has won just seven of the 25 games he has been in charge of since replacing Jon Brady in December. A price of 11/8 on betting apps is not one to overlook here.

It’s no surprise that new Huddersfield striker Alfie May is favourite to finish as top scorer at odds of 11/2, after all, he scored 16 goals in this league last season, from just 27 starts.

But will he get the service he enjoyed at Birmingham? The Blues were the leading scorers in the league with 84 goals in their 46 games, but May did finish just three behind Jay Stansfield, who cost £15m.

Two seasons ago, he netted 27 goals at this level for Charlton and 22 the season before and 26 in 2021/22, so we can expect 20+ if he is playing week in week out.

We have also already mentioned Malik Mothersille, who also scored 16 goals last season, although only 12 were in the League, and the other four helped Peterborough win the EFL Trophy.

We know Stockport will score goals, so expect his numbers to go up, and you can get 25/1 on him finishing top scorer, so he could be a good outside shout for a bet online.

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