The Best Value Betting for nPower League One

Here at Route One we reckon fans of clubs in nPower League One are in for an absolute treat this season.

On first glance there appears to be no runaway winner of the title, around a dozen sides who could genuinely be in the mix for the Play Off places, and don’t even get us started on the relegation scrap ahead. 

One thing is for certain though, there’s money to be made from League One betting. So we’ve racked our collective brains (didn’t take too long), and here is what we have found:

Outright & Promotion

 

Typically, you’d expect the three relegated teams from the Championship to be the front runners for the title. This year, however, there appears to be a buck in that trend. Coventry City have had a bit of a clear out, lost a few of their better players and have replaced them with Kevin Kilbane. Still, onwards and upwards hey. Take the 9/2 on offer from Coral for the Sky Blues to be promoted if you’re feeling particularly frivolous.

Pompey will be more concerned with avoiding the drop than promotion (more on that later), and Doncaster Rovers – despite the shrewd signings of David Cotterill and Billy Paynter – will probably be off the pace.

So it seems that some of last season’s nearly men could be in the frame for bigger and better things this time round. Sheffield United have maintained their strong home support, and despite losing a few players you have to assume they’ll be there or thereabouts come May. Their outright price of 6/1 at Coral would suggest the bookmakers aren’t so confident.

One side we do like the look of at Route One is Colchester United. The ‘U’s’ have convinced key players Anthony Wordsworth, John-Joe O’Toole and Magnus Okuonghae to stay, and have added Championship experience in the form of Clinton Morrison, Freddie Sears and Marcus Bean. The 11/1 being offered by William Hill for promotion is red hot value.

Others who we fancy will be in the promotion shake-up include MK Dons (5/2, Paddy Power), last season’s dark horses Notts County (9/2, Ladbrokes) and – safe in the knowledge that back-to-back promotions are a distinct possibility (see Norwich, Southampton, Stevenage et al) – Swindon (3/1, Paddy Power).

Relegation

In the light of Portsmouth’s ongoing battles, League One relegation betting has been suspended by all of the leading bookmakers.

On a purely predictive note, expect Pompey’s crudely assembled squad to struggle. It pains us to say it, but things could be set to get worse for the South Coast club, and it’s such a shame to see. Walsall and Hartlepool are our other two picks for the dreaded drop.

Top Goalscorer

 

Another open field this one. You would expect both of the Mk Dons duo Ryan Lowe and Charlie MacDonald (both 20/1, Paddy Power) to be banging them in, assuming that new signing Alan Smith is not reverted back to the forward role he so enjoyed as a young scamp at Leeds. Either way, there are plenty of goals to be had at the MK Stadium this term.

Chris Porter is the favourite with many bookmakers, with best odds of 14/1 to be had at Paddy Power. Tall and powerful, Porter will benefit from more game time for the Blades following Ched Evans’ incarceration, and certainly knows where the net is.

And don’t forget Lewis Grabban (16/1, William Hill) and Gary Alexander (25/1, Coral), who both scored plenty in League Two last season, and will be confident of maintaining that form this campaign.

One final treat for you, dear reader, and this is the Route One Special. A young man by the name of Mathias Pogba signed for Crewe Alexandra in the summer, and subsequently notched 8 goals in 5 pre-season games. He followed this with a brace in Crewe’s 5-0 Capital Cup demolition of Hartlepool last weekend.

Now we could be made to look really, really silly with this one, but the 66/1 being offered by William Hill looks like exceptional value. Just don’t blame us if he turns out to be a lame duck...