Excitement is in the air as the start of the new English football season approaches. Before the Premier League kicks off on August 14th, the football league will get underway one weekend earlier. All 72 teams across the three EFL divisions will be in action and we’ve provided an in-depth look at each league. Here, we scour through the EFL League Two betting odds to find the best value bets for you to place for the coming campaign.
As they have been for the last two seasons, Salford are the favorites to win the league, sitting at 7.0 ahead of Bristol Rovers in second at 12.0. The Ammies have failed to make the playoffs in their two seasons in League One, despite having a lot of money thrown at them.
A lack of patience from the board has seen a quick turnaround in managers and if Gary Bowyer doesn’t hit the ground running, he will probably be on the chopping block. We don’t see them winning the league, in fact, we don’t see them making the automatic spots.
Bristol Rovers do have a strong squad but with Joey Barton’s future at the club being uncertain, they could struggle to maintain a consistent title challenge. At 15.0 Bradford could be a very good outsiders. Derek Adams took Morecambe up last season and he has a fantastic record at this level. Andy Cook will be hoping to have a strong year for them and new signing Abo Eisa will want to prove himself after disappointing years at Scunthorpe.
A real long-shot for the title comes by the way of Newport County. The Exiles are valued at 21.0. Flynn’s team came closer than ever last season and they have signed fairly well over the summer. The return of Joe Day could also be a considerable boost for them.
Many of the teams who are favorites for the title are obviously heavily favored for promotion as well. The odds in English Football League Two are normally the tightest because of the fact that four teams go up as opposed to three.
We already mentioned Newport County as outsiders for the title and you can find odds at 5.5 with Bet365 for promotion. This is a good market to bet on them as Michael Flynn’s men will look to finally get over the line this season.
Port Vale are another team who could be contenders here. The Valiants will be led by Darryl Clarke this campaign after he took over towards the end of last season and he has a strong record at this level. While their summer signings haven’t been spectacular, additions like Josh Walker and Jamie Proctor are still solid at this level. You can get them at 4.5 with PaddyPower.
Look away fans of Sutton and Scunthorpe United. A team who has been promoted from the National League has never been relegated from the League in their first season in the current format. Sutton looks like a very clear candidate to break that. The team defied all of the odds last season to come up but they just don’t have the resources to battle as a football league side long-term.
Scunthorpe is a team in free-fall. The club has lost 19 players over the summer and it hasn’t done a great job of replacing them. They had a largely torrid campaign last season and at 6.0, there is value on them going down this year.
Elsewhere, Barrow is also available at betting odds of 6.0. The Bluebirds looked lost last season until Scott Quigley found his scoring boots and fired them to safety. The former TNS man has since joined Stockport County, which leaves Barrow without a key goal threat. They could really struggle to stay up this season.
The top scorer market for EFL League Two betting really is anybody’s guess. Unsurprisingly, the bookies are backing Salford City again in this market with both of their strikers being the top two in terms of odds. Ian Henderson is at 9.0 and Conor McAleny is available at 13.0 if you decide to go for the BetVictor sportsbook. Of the two, McAleny is worth a punt – he banged in 17 in a very average Oldham side last year so he stands to do well with some service.
Mansfield’s Danny Johnson and Exeter’s Matt Jay can be found at 13.0 and 15.0 with PaddyPower respectively. There’s value in both of these, with Jay hoping to build on a strong season and Johnson looking to boost Mansfield’s promotion hopes.
An outside bet here could be Bradford’s Andy Cook. Derek Adam’s team will be gunning for promotion this season and they will be looking to him to lead the line. He is available at 26.0 with PaddyPower.
A lot of the EFL League Two betting odds in League Two are tight and finding an obvious dark horse is not easy. One team that is worth keeping an eye on is Tranmere. Micky Mellon has always done well there and his return will give the team a boost. They made the playoffs last year and are valued at 5.0 to do the same this season. These seem like odds that are worth a look. Leyton Orient could also be a team to watch under Kenny Jackett and you can get them in the same market at 4.5.
All odds were correct at time of writing - July 30th.