AI Supercomputer predicts the top 6 in the 26/27 EFL League One table | OneFootball

ChatGPT predicts who will finish in the League One play-offs this season

The League One campaign kicks off on August 15, and anticipation is high for what is shaping up to be one of the deepest quality divisions in the EFL in some time.

Obviously, optimism is rife amongst fanbases ahead of the opening day, but this year, there are probably about 14 teams who will come into the campaign thinking that a top-six finish is a realistic goal.

Ultimately, that means a lot of teams will be left disappointed come May, but it also highlights how difficult it will be for those six teams to land amongst the best of the best in the third tier once 46 games have been played.

With a week remaining until a League One ball is kicked for the first time in 2026/27, here's who ChatGPT believes will finish in the top six once the season is over.

6 ? ? Plymouth Argyle

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Heading into added time on the final day of last season, Plymouth Argyle were in sixth place. Unfortunately, late winners from both Stevenage and Luton Town against Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers, respectively, saw them finish eighth.

Argyle picked up the third-most points in the division from December until the end of the campaign, though, so really, they should have been rather comfortable in the play-offs before the final day.

Unfortunately, their lengthy hangover from their relegation from the Championship in the 2024/25 campaign, which saw them bottom in November, was why their late surge up the table fell short, but AI is predicting that they'll use that momentum from the second half of last season to go one better this year.

Tom Cleverley's side have been dealt a massive blow by losing Lorent Tolaj, but the arrivals of Harvey White and the permanent moves of loanees Alex Mitchell and Wes Harding should make the Pilgrims a lot stronger at the back, while Bim Pepple will take on the scoring mantle to fire them into the top six.

5 ? ? Stockport County

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Many are a little sceptical when it comes to Stockport County's chances of finishing in the League One play-offs for a third straight year due to the sheer amount of change that has gone on behind the scenes at Edgeley Park, but ChatGPT has them finishing fifth.

The Hatters have lost their CEO, Simon Wilson, who was one of the men credited with the rise up from the National League to the cusp of the Championship, as was Dave Challinor, who managed the club during those promotions, too.

Life without both of them will be difficult, but in Jimmy McNulty, Stockport have replaced Challinor with a promising coach who led Rochdale back to the EFL and someone who knows the club too, having spent a year at Edgeley Park as a player in 2008.

In addition, they still have Ethan Pye, who is highly regarded as one of the best defenders in the league; Ollie Norwood, who is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the league; and Kyle Wootton, who is one of the best forwards in the league.

So their spine is still strong, plus there are other quality players in the squad alongside them, too. If McNulty can simply plug in and carry on where Challinor left off, Stockport may not need a season of transition this term.

4 ? ? Huddersfield Town

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AI thinks that this is finally going to be the year that Huddersfield Town stop underachieving and make the League One play-offs, following consecutive campaigns finishing outside the top six, despite a budget that would state otherwise.

In a way, not being inside the top two may be seen as a failure, but one step at a time, a fourth-placed finish should be more than acceptable.

It could be argued that Kevin Nagle and co have done everything they can to reduce the pressure on this Huddersfield side this summer.

They've hired from within when it came to picking a new manager, rather than bringing in someone who has been to play-off finals before or who has been part of the backroom staff under an utterly dominant League One manager.

In recruitment, there has been a lot of focus on younger players or players from abroad who will be keen to prove themselves in the EFL, rather than personnel who have already made a name for themselves in the Championship and who arrive with lofty expectations to be amongst the best in League One.

Granted, there is obviously still that quality there, but it seems a hungrier Terriers side this year and one that the fans may give a little more time before things begin to go toxic, which could result in a better campaign on the field and a play-off finish.

3 ? ? Luton Town

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It took a while for Luton to get their bearings back in League One following their double relegation from the Premier League and then the Championship.

The squad was bloated to begin the year, and Matt Bloomfield was sacked in favour of Jack Wilshere in October. In the 35 games he oversaw, Luton were a top-five side, but again, a poor start meant that they finished seventh.

And that's not to say Wilshere's time at the club so far hasn't been rocky, either. But once he got his feet under the desk, the Hatters were near unstoppable.

From mid-February to the end of the season, only a Kelvin Ehibhatioman hat-trick for Reading in a 3-2 win for the Royals in March stopped Luton from going unbeaten in 17 games in all competitions, a run which saw them lift the EFL Trophy at Wembley in April.

Now that Wilshere has had a full pre-season to once again get rid of some of the deadwood and put his stamp on this Luton side, AI predict that it'll be a much better campaign for the Hatters.

It doesn't think they'll finish in the top two, but ChatGPT reckons that more Wembley success will be coming to Luton in May via the play-off final.

2 ? ? Sheffield Wednesday

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Sheffield Wednesday are returning to League One with a newfound optimism, with this their first campaign under the Arise ownership.

David Storch and co have been hard at work putting together a squad that can compete right at the top of this division.

As of writing, 12 recruits are through the door, a mixture of club legends returning, such as Barry Bannan, recent promotion winners, like Mason Burstow and exciting youngsters ready to make their mark in the EFL; the likes of Harry Gray and Sil Swinkels.

More are to come, and there definitely needs to be if the Owls are to maintain promotion-winning form across a long 46-game campaign, but AI believes that the South Yorkshire side will have enough to bounce back immediately.

There are some questions asked about whether Henrik Pedersen has enough quality as a head coach to oversee a promotion from League One, but with the backing of the new owners and the passionate Wednesday fanbase, there may be nothing to worry about.

1 ? ? Leicester City

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Leicester City are the odds-on favourite to win League One this year, as should be every side who were in the Premier League two years ago and were playing in the UEFA Champions League a decade ago.

Getting out of this division at the first time of asking as a club with recent Premier League pedigree can often be difficult; just ask Luton.

But the likes of Leeds United, Sunderland, Derby County, even Sheffield Wednesday, have all failed to get back up at the first attempt, despite their clear size as a club in comparison to the rest of the third tier.

However, the benefits of having a top academy over the past decade due to their success allow the Foxes to promote youth this year, similarly to how Cardiff City did last season, and their signings so far, Tommy Watson, Conor Chaplin, Liam Cullen, for example, show that they still have the pull to bring in players who are better than the level.

Leicester side, who should be the strongest in the division once the transfer window closes, should be pretty difficult to beat.