Supercomputer issues fresh 2026/27 EFL League Two final table prediction | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at who Opta feels will go on to win League Two after the first seven games

We're at the first international break of the season, and while for League Two sides it's business as usual over the next two weeks, it's a good time to reflect on an interesting opening seven games.

Only four sides remain unbeaten in the three EFL leagues, and they're all in the fourth tier. However, there hasn't been a true standout thus far, with a lot of draws (we're looking at you, Crewe) and sides beginning the year slowly and then picking up form in recent weeks.

You can't predict League Two at the best of times, so, as we have done with the Championship and League One, Football League World has taken a look at how Opta's supercomputer has predicted the fourth tier will look come early May.

24 ? ? Crawley Town

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Crawley Town are rock bottom with four points after seven games this season, and Opta doesn't think that will change anytime soon.

Colin Kazim-Richards' side are playing some high-possession and ball retention football for fourth-tier standard, like they were last season under Scott Lindsay, but it's not translating into results, with the Red Devils leaking goals at one end and not capitalising on what's a top-10 attack in terms of generating xG.

Crawley did manage to stay up last season with just eight wins from 46, but the supercomputer thinks they'll need a few more to avoid the drop this year, and they aren't showing signs of picking those up anytime soon.

23 ? ? Rochdale

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It's been a bit of a rocky start for Rochdale under Ian Watson, as the National League play-off winners have struggled to adapt to life without Jimmy McNulty, who made the step-up to Stockport County in the summer.

The board at the Crown Oil Arena gave the 40-year-old a vote of confidence after that poor start, and a recent win in the derby game against Oldham Athletic will definitely give him a bit more of a grace period amongst fans.

However, Opta doesn't think that the good times will last. Performance levels pre-Oldham haven't been great, and that's with a relatively easy fixture list so far this season. No National League side has suffered immediate relegation back to the fifth tier — the supercomputer predicts Dale will be the first.

22 ? ? Newport County

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The three certainties in life over the past few years have been death, taxes and Newport County defying odds and staying in the EFL. If Opta's predictions are right, this will be the third straight season the Exiles have finished between 20th and 22nd in the fourth tier.

Newport have been relatively fun under Hayden Mullins, taking their chances well with Shaquille Gwengwe up front, who scored 46 in 46 for Poole Town in non-league last season. You feel that, with someone as prolific as him leading the line, you're in for a chance of beating the drop.

Solid from set-pieces and above the bottom two average in the majority of other metrics, this survival could be even less scrappy than the ones that came before it.

21 ? ? Accrington Stanley

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Another side who many weren't too high on pre-season were Accrington Stanley, mainly due to the way they ended last year, picking up one win in their final 15 games, and a summer which saw loan star Isaac Heath make the step up to League One with Cambridge United.

The start to this season hasn't exactly been a big bounce-back from that poor end, with just one win in seven — and that came against Crawley.

However, there have been some battling draws in there, and they're scoring plenty of goals, too. Charlie Caton, especially, has started the campaign brightly.

If they can fix their league-worst defence, they should be fine, but even then, Opta feels there are at least two sides worse than them, currently.

20 ? ? Shrewsbury Town

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Shrewsbury Town have a right to feel a little aggrieved about how their season has gone so far. Salop are currently sixth in the expected table after seven games, but find themselves in 18th.

Gavin Cowen's side are underperforming their underlying numbers in both an attacking and defensive sense. They have the lowest xGA, but have conceded 11 times, and have scored just five themselves from an xG which is the 13th-highest in the league.

Ultimately, the attacking numbers are what's most concerning about this, as it's unsure as to where the goals are going to come from. So while the performances may warrant more, Opta doesn't think they'll be climbing towards the play-offs anytime this season.

19 ? ? Tranmere Rovers

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Tranmere Rovers fans were likely fearing the worst as to what this season could bring after their completely disastrous second half of last year. In new boss Darrell Clarke, too, they had someone who had been sacked by Bristol Rovers in December after 10 straight losses.

However, the summer window provided plenty of positivity, with Tom Ince and Will Vaulkes the main highlights, and the results have been quite okay so far.

That being said, like Rochdale, a lot of their games have been, on paper, pretty simple to navigate. They've played four of the current bottom seven and have drawn three of those games.

So, despite sitting in 10th, it's clear why Opta feel Tranmere may gradually slide down into the bottom half as the season continues.

18 ? ? Northampton Town

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Northampton Town have the second-lowest expected goals tally in League Two. They also have the second-lowest expected goals against tally, too. Ultimately, that led to some very low-scoring games in the early stages.

Cobblers have scored just three times this season, but while they were able to keep other sides out in the first five, the goals have leaked a little in the last two for Chris Hogg's side.

Putting it plainly, there needs to be more excitement on the field at Sixfields. It was a gloomy place throughout the second half of last season, and that's continued now in League Two.

Realistically, a team this good defensively shouldn't go down, but if they don't start finding the net soon, 18th may seem a kind prediction.

17 ? ? Gillingham

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Gillingham are the form side in League Two currently, winning each of their last three. Although I'm sure Gills fans shudder at the thought of starting seasons well, recent history states that doesn't work out too well for them.

Gareth Ainsworth's side went nine unbeaten to start last season and finished 17th. They won six of their first eight the season before and finished . . .17th.

I'm not sure how much of a sense of humour a supercomputer can have, but with just one defeat in seven and three wins on the spin to climb up to fourth, finishing 17th for the third straight year would be quite typical of Gills.

They currently sit slap bang midtable in xG and xGA, so perhaps their current position is an overperformance. Hopefully, if a dip comes, it won't be as drastic as the last two seasons.

16 ? ? Colchester United

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After a bit of a bright start with seven points from their first nine, Colchester United have picked up just two from their last four games — albeit losing against decent opposition in Bristol Rovers and Swindon Town.

Ultimately, that's kind of the level that Colchester are at the moment. They aren't in any real danger of going down, but Danny Cowley's side struggle to have the quality to keep up with the truly top clubs in the division.

That's the reality under owner Robbie Cowling, and likely won't change until the club is sold on. After positivity on that front at Northampton and Shrewsbury, perhaps they can be next?

15 ? ? Oldham Athletic

A lot of people were quite high on Oldham this season after their promising first campaign back in the EFL last term. Micky Mellon's side were very strong defensively and were knocking on the door of the top seven until a late collapse.

Results have been poor to start this season, though, even if the underlying data has them fifth per the expected table. Their loss against Rochdale stretched this unwanted run to eight defeats in their last 12 league games, stretching back to the end of last season. In comparison, they had lost just eight of their previous 35.

There'll be some hope and expectation that Mellon can turn things around as the season goes on, but Opta's predicting regression in terms of the final league position.