In The Mixer: 7 experts unearth the value in the 2025/26 League One season

In The Mixer is FST’s weekly column where we catch up with our team of football betting experts and get their opinion on the hot topic of the week.

The beginning of the EFL League One season is just a couple of weeks away, and our tipsters have been casting their expert eyes over the various outright markets on offer.

Below, seven analysts give their best bet for the 2025/26 League One season, with four members of our team focusing on the promotion picture and three looking towards the bottom of the table.

All prices below are quoted with bet365, where new customers can sign up below to claim £30 in free bets!

League One 2025/26 promotion tips

Enda McElhinney

Best Bet: Huddersfield To Be Promoted @ 9/4

Parting with their manager in March saw Huddersfield slump to 10th place, losing their last six games and ending with more defeats (20) than any side in the top 15 places and the joint-lowest draw count with seven in 46. Simply put, it was boom or bust.

New boss Lee Grant, recruited from his coaching role at Ipswich under the impressive Kieran McKenna, has added loanee goalkeeper Owen Goodman from Crystal Palace and experienced defenders Jack Whatmough and Lynden Gooch as well as promising centre back Josh Feeney already.

With more new arrivals expected, and a much stronger defensive base, Huddersfield should push for a Championship return.

James Milton

Best Bet: Stockport Top 6 Finish @ 11/8

Stockport, champions of League Two in 2024-24, finished third in their first season back in League One and look a solid bet to make the top six once again.

Emulating last season’s effort, in which they banked 87 points before losing on penalties to Leyton Orient in the playoff semi-finals, will not be easy but Stockport have enjoyed a spectacular rise since Dave Challiner took charge in November 2021.

Striker Malik Mothersille is an exciting signing from Peterborough and Edgeley Park was a fortress for Stockport in 2024-25 – only champions Birmingham won more home games than the Hatters’ 16.

Rob Eddy

Best Bet: Wycombe Top 6 Finish @ 9/4

Wycombe Wanderers were something of an underdog story last season, challenging for automatic for a long period before suffering a play-off semi-final defeat to Charlton after a closing three-game losing streak saw them miss out.

The Chairboys were very solid at both ends of the pitch and were as good away as they were at Adams Park, which stands them in good stead for a renewed effort.

While some may think they have missed their window, the new ownership led by Mikheil Lomtadze has shown plenty of ambition and after improving depth across the squad already, they may still make another impactful signing or two to make their top-six odds look too big.

Tom Hill

Best Bet: Reading Top 6 Finish @ 2/1

Reading only just missed out on the playoffs last season, finishing seventh and only three points behind sixth-placed Leyton Orient. The club had to deal with more turmoil off the pitch, but they now have a new owner and their transfer embargo has been lifted.

They drew twice with champions Birmingham City last season and also beat Wrexham, who earned promotion to the Championship, and they seem to have the momentum they need to compete for a top-six spot.

The Royals have snapped up Paudie O’Connor from promotion rivals Lincoln City and added some young and ambitious players to their ranks and a playoff spot looks very realistic.

League One 2025/26 relegation tips

Aidan Perkins

Best Bet: Burton To Be Relegated @ 2/1

Burton Albion have just about avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth in the past two seasons, finishing a place and two points above the drop zone in 2024 and then only a point and one place clear in May.

They might not get away with it this season when it could be third time unlucky for the Brewers.

Burton are available at 2/1 to be relegated and they look set to struggle in the third tier once again.

Aaron Rogan

Best Bet: Northampton To Be Relegated @ 11/8

Northampton narrowly avoided the drop last term, but with a strong quartet of sides coming up from League Two, they could be in trouble.

The Cobblers took a step back in their second successive season in the third-tier, but they were fortunate to survive based on their underlying numbers. They had the worst Expected Goals tally in the division, while they had the second-fewest Expected Points.

They won only five of 32 matches against sides outside the bottom eight last term, so strong displays from the promoted sides would put them in huge danger. Back them for the drop at 11/8.

Tom McGarry

Best Bet: Exeter To Be Relegated @ 7/4

Exeter have comfortably survived in League One since earning promotion in 2022 but there are reasons to fear for Gary Caldwell’s side this term.

A number of key players have left St James Park over the summer, including Demetri Mitchell, Caleb Watts and highly-rated teenager Jake Richards, who have all departed for divisional rivals, while of the seven players to come in, only one is over the age of 22.

This is a youthful and quiet threadbare looking squad and if that doesn’t change before the close of the transfer window, the Grecians – around 7-4 to be relegated – could be in for a long season.

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