League Two presents an exciting battleground for the 2024/25 season, with several historic clubs vying for promotion back to League One. The division features an intriguing mix of fallen giants looking to reclaim past glories and ambitious clubs seeking to climb the football pyramid.This season’s promotion race has already produced numerous talking points, with Port Vale adjusting to life back in League Two while Chesterfield aim to continue their upward trajectory following promotion from the National League.
The financial disparity between clubs adds another layer of intrigue, as some teams operate with significantly larger budgets than others. The competitive nature of League Two is evident in the close point margins separating teams throughout the table. With three automatic promotion spots and one playoff position up for grabs, the race promises to maintain its intensity until the final whistle of the season.
Our football experts have analysed the key factors that could influence the promotion race, including squad depth, managerial experience, and historical performance at this level. We’ll also examine the latest betting odds and provide insights into which teams are best positioned for success.
League Two Winner Prediction: Top Contenders for the 2024-25 Title
Port Vale have emerged as the bookmakers’ favourites to win League Two, while Paul Cook’s Chesterfield look well-equipped for an immediate return to League One following their National League triumph. The Spireites have assembled an impressive strike force with Will Grigg and Paddy Madden, while the addition of defender Chey Dunkley adds vital experience.
Walsall and Doncaster Rovers are also considered strong promotion candidates, while MK Dons have slipped to sixth in the betting despite their strong squad. The promotion race promises to be competitive with four spots available – three automatic promotion places and one through the playoffs.
| Logo | Team | Bet442 | Racecards.bet |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Port Vale | 14/5 | 3/1 |
 | Walsall | 39/10 | 4/1 |
 | Notts County | 87/10 | 9/1 |
 | Doncaster Rovers | 97/20 | 5/1 |
Tactical Breakdowns
A more traditional back-four formation has fallen out of favour in recent years as teams prioritise more defensive stability. The most successful side using that style in League Two this season is Paul Cook’s Chesterfield, who deploy a 4-2-3-1 tactic. Play-off chasing Barrow uses the same tactic, whilst the EFL’s longest-serving manager in Harrogate Town‘s Simon Weaver likes to play with a 4-4-1-1.
Player Impact Assessment
It takes a whole team to become title contenders and promotion candidates but individual players often make the difference between success and failure in League Two. A prominent example in last year’s league was Matt Smith, who singlehandedly kept Salford City away from any relegation danger with his 24 goals.
Manager Strategies
Managers like to use their squads differently so there is a big shift between teams. AFC Wimbledon’s Johnnie Jackson is someone who prefers to keep a smaller squad, having only used 18 players so far across their somewhat disrupted season. By contrast Carlisle United have used 27 players, likely not helped with having three different people take charge of their games so far. Nelson Jardim’s Newport County have used 26 players, with injuries likely boosting totals for many sides including The Exiles.
League Two Relegation Battle: Teams Fighting for Survival
Two teams are relegated from League Two every season and the battle is already shaping up with some usual suspects and a couple of surprise packages. Morecambe were widely seen as the team with the lowest survival chances ahead of the start of this campaign and after 14 games sit at the bottom of the table. Their off-field issues hindered their ability in the market and have just one win to their name all season against Barrow.
The bookies give them 4/6 odds to be relegated.Carlisle United were tipped to have a shot at promotion back to League One at the first time of asking but this season has been a disaster on the pitch. Paul Simpson was sacked and quickly replaced by MK Dons’ Mike Williamson, but he has failed to win since taking over in September. The Cumbrians are tipped at 3/1 to go down to the National League.Usual relegation candidates Colchester United and Swindon Town are also in the mix but have a five-point buffer to the bottom two teams.
United’s odds of relegation are at 11/1, whilst Swindon are given 10/1 odds to go down.Accrington Stanley were alongside Morecambe in the relegation zone for much of the season so far, but a good run of results, largely spearheaded by Dara Costelloe has put them into 20th place and six points clear. They have been given odds of 4/1 to be relegated.Bromley, as previously mentioned are playing their first season in League Two and have been somewhat of a surprise package, beating Doncaster Rovers in South Yorkshire in the past two weeks. Bookmakers reckon they have an 8/1 chance of being sent back into the National League.
League Two Playoff Predictions: Race for Promotion
The battle to qualify for one of League Two’s four play-off places can come down to the finest of margins, as it did last season as three of the four contenders did not have their places confirmed until the final day of the season. In May 2023, it came down to the finest of margins as Mansfield Town required just one more goal scored to secure a play-off place but ultimately fell short to Salford City.
Of the four that saw play-off football last season, two currently occupy the same places, with Doncaster Rovers in fourth and Crewe Alexandra in fifth The Railwaymen are favoured at 11/4 to reach the playoffs whilst Doncaster are given 2/7 odds. MK Dons, the final one of those who failed to gain promotion last season are within touching distance in eighth place and their odds of making back-to-back appearances are 5/6.
Bradford City missed out on the playoffs by one point last season but have made a stronger start so far than they did in that campaign. Graham Alexander’s side have odds of 4/5 to finish in the top seven this season.National League champions Chesterfield are currently sixth in the League Two table and they are tipped at 8/15 to make the post season matches.AFC Wimbledon have played fewer games than everyone else due to their pitch being damaged in flooding. They are three points off the top seven with three games in hand and their playoff qualification chances are the same as Chesterfields at 8/15.
League Two Title Predictions: Who Could Be Champions?
As the season approaches it’s third-way point, it is now clearer about who will challenge to become champions of the fourth tier. Last season was Stockport County’s turn to lift the title, capping off their remarkable rise from the National League North to beat Wrexham by four points to make a return to League One after 14 years away.
This season it is hard to look past Port Vale after what has been an imperious start to their first season back in League Two. Bookmakers give them odds of 3/1 of finishing first in the fourth tier this season.Mat Sadler’s Walsall have also been early-season pacesetters but have fallen four points behind The Valiants. Recent results have been positive but because of Darren Moore’s side’s red-hot form they have slipped with draws to Chesterfield and Accrington Stanley.
However, their odds as it stands do look fairly good, being favoured at 4/1 to win the fourth tier for the first time since 2007.Notts County are the final side currently in the automatic promotion spots after last season’s collapse upon the departure of Luke Williams to Swansea City. Stuart Maynard has got his side performing well and are level on points with Walsall and fourth-placed Doncaster Rovers. The Magpies are tipped with odds of 9/1 to win League Two.
Best Sites to Bet on League Two
League Two is a highly competitive league so teams often fall short of or even exceed where they are tipped to finish at the start of the season. Here at The Real EFL, we have a list of some of the best bookmakers you can use to make your bets.
Bet442
Bet442 are known for their promotional offers and can give new customers some highly competitive odds. First-time users can benefit from a £10 free bet when they deposit £20 at minimum odds of 2.00, with terms and conditions applying. Bet442 also offer customers full and partial cashouts, an acca booster of up to 77% and has a bet builder function.
Midnite
Midnite have many offers for customers to benefit from. New players can start with four different £5 free bets. The site also offers an acca assist tool, helping users find some good odds for the best chance for bets to cash out. Midnite offers a variety of sports to bet on, including virtual sports. As always, T&Cs apply.
How League Two Works: A Beginner’s Guide
League Two has a similar league structure to the leagues above it in League One and the Championship. Teams play 46 matches, enough for one side to play every other twice, one at home and one away. Teams earn three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. Tiebreakers between teams are settled by goal difference by taking a team’s goals scored across a season and subtracting it by the number of goals they concede.
There are four promotion places on offer for teams to reach League One, the third tier of English football. Three of those are gained by the three highest point earners across the 46 matches, whilst the fourth is decided via the play-offs, a short knock-out tournament between fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh at the end of the season. The four lowest-placed teams in League One are relegated into League Two. Last season saw Stockport County win the league, with Wrexham and Mansfield Town achieving automatic promotion. Crawley Town were promoted in the play-off final at Wembley against Crewe Alexandra.
In their place, Port Vale, Fleetwood Town, Carlisle United and Cheltenham Town were relegated to League Two.Two teams are relegated from League Two into the National League, the fifth tier of English Football and the highest division where teams are not required to be fully professional clubs. The champions of the National League are promoted into League Two alongside the winner of the National League’s playoffs, held between teams that finish from second to seventh place. Forest Green Rovers and Sutton United were relegated to the National League, with Chesterfield and Bromley gaining promotion last season.
Key Statistics for Your League Two Predictions
For League Two predictions it is crucial to know how teams are performing and what their squads look like. Form over the last five games is a very common way of assessing how a team is performing at that current stage and that table shows the League leaders Port Vale have a perfect record over that timeframe. If you assess their run individually, The Valiants are on a 10-game unbeaten run in the league but lost in their last match in the FA Cup against Barnsley.
When making predictions for individual matches, it is important to assess how each team is doing going into that game. To use our Port Vale example, they played Gillingham in their next match, who had failed to win in their last five games. On paper, this would suggest Port Vale were likely to win again but on the day, it was the Kent club that won on the day.
Injury reports are also a key factor to consider when looking at games. If a team’s key players are out then it may tip the balance from that team to their opponents. If Bradford City were to lose Andy Cook to a long-term injury, there would be a decent chance that The Bantams’ form may drop due to how important he is in scoring many of the club’s goals across the season. Cook is currently leading the scoring charts in League Two with eight goals, closely followed by Chesterfield’s Will Grigg and Bromley’s Michael Cheek.Goal difference has been a deciding factor for teams’ final positions in the league so monitoring how teams are performing.
High-scoring teams will do better, whilst lower-scoring teams tend to be worse off. Similarly, head-to-head trends between sides can be a good tool to pick a likely winner. Bitter rivals AFC Wimbledon and MK Dons have played each other three times in the last 12 months and Wimbledon have won each of those contests. When they play each other again in January, it could be a better choice to back the London team over Milton Keynes in that match.
Home form and away form is also a great indication of how teams may perform in a match. AFC Wimbledon have a perfect winning record at Plough Lane this season, so when they welcome Grimsby Town to their ground this weekend, they would be a better pick to win in that game. When looking at The Mariners’ away form, they rank fifth in League Two with four wins and three losses so it isn’t unfeasible for the Lincolnshire side to win on Saturday.
Making informed League Two Predictions: Expert Tips
All those factors will be crucial for making informed decisions with your predictions. A key betting tip is to always keep up to date with the latest team news from League Two clubs. You should follow the club’s official club media accounts and any journalists or newspapers that cover the club. With Tranmere Rovers for example, the club often post regular updates from Nigel Adkins on social media and are regularly covered by the local newspaper. This allows you to catch injury updates as they happen and give you a better idea of who could start in the match.
Common prediction mistakes can occur when not looking at multiple factors which could affect a game. People can just pick results based on the league table but with League Two anything can happen and can see what would be seen as safe bets fail. Very few would have expected Doncaster Rovers to lose at home to Bromley but it did happen so always get the fullest picture you can before the match to give you the best idea of what can happen.
League Two Prediction guide
Understanding League Two odds
Betting odds can be understood in different ways based on the system used. The most common method in the UK is the fractional system, which puts the amount you would win in front of the number you wagered on that market. So if a bet offers you 5/1 odds, you could get £5 for every £1 you bet. The higher the amount you could earn means that the probability of that bet being successful is smaller. Popular markets in League Two betting are full-time results, number of goals scored and picking a specific player to score.
Value Betting Opportunities
Accumulators, or accas as they are often shortened to, allow you to bet on multiple markets within one bet. Adding many different markets into one bet can give you better returns but at the risk of the bet being less likely to succeed as there can be multiple factors at play. Make sure you always gamble responsibly, and if you are struggling with a gambling addiction, access a free and confidential helpline such as gambleaware.org.
Risk Management Strategies
In order to get the best value bets, you should always consider how risky a bet is. Higher odds tend to mean the bet is less likely to succeed and payout, so it is always best to place bets that are more risk-averse to maximise the chances that they will succeed. Always weigh up your predictions and bets with the latest news possible, such as team news so you do not make an error betting on player markets, and look at historical trends of sides to see how they have performed in certain metrics when betting on popular markets like bookings or corners per match.
Historical League Two Predictions
Previous season results in predictions have varied in success due to the unpredictability of the league. A key issue of debate last season was where the two sides promoted from the National League would finish. Wrexham and Notts County dominated the fifth tier and many people had tipped them between being promotion favourites to finishing in midtable as these two teams had not played football in the division for some time.
Wrexham ultimately matched their expectations with a title challenge and finished second place in the league, moving them up to League One straight away. Their rivals in Notts County however had a difficult season, with their previous manager in Luke Williams being acquired by Swansea City in the middle of the season. The Magpies recruited Stuart Maynard and despite a tough start to his tenure, brought the club to a respectable 14th place and nine points off the playoff places.
Prediction accuracy can wildly vary as we will discuss in our case study, but for a rough picture of where teams might finish in the next season, it is best to look at the previous season’s final table. Colchester United have finished in the bottom six of the League Two table for three of their last four seasons and so far, are roughly matching that result with the club currently 21st in the table. Walsall are a team that have regularly found themselves as a staple in the midtable of the division but have exceeded all expectations so far to be in second place currently.
Often it is the teams that are relegated from League One that are viewed as the favourites to win League Two the following season as they tend to keep some or many of the players they had in the division above. This has been the case so far with Port Vale’s success, but last season saw none of the four relegated League One sides return to the third tier at the first time of asking and even saw one of those in Forest Green Rovers suffer from back-to-back relegations. A few League Two teams are often tipped to be consistent challengers, such as Bradford City and Tranmere Rovers but often have fallen short of those expectations.
Case Study: Most Surprising League Two Outcomes
Last season probably saw the most unlikely of underdog stories come true in League Two. Crawley Town had widely been tipped as the side likeliest to go down due to issues with their owners in WAGMI United. The Red Devils however blew many teams out of the water in their early season form and kept them competing for a promotion spot. Under Scott Lindsey, this team became a force of nature and snuck into the League Two playoffs in seventh place.
They earned a semi-final game against MK Dons, the likeliest side to be promoted through the playoffs and were playing in League One the season prior. Crawley inflicted a record-breaking defeat on Mike Williamson’s Dons, beating them 3-0 in the first leg at Broadfield before hammering them 5-1 in the second leg at Milton Keynes. This earned them a place in the Playoff Final at Wembley Stadium, facing the fifth-place finishers Crewe Alexandra.
They won that game handily 2-0 in the first half, securing their promotion back to the third tier for the first time since 2015.Doncaster Rovers were another surprise package in that season, having been in the relegation fight for much of the season. Rovers stuck by their manager Grant McCann despite heavy criticism and led them on a remarkable run which had them surge up the table to fifth place. They would face Crewe in the playoff semi-final but would lose to The Railwaymen.
How do injuries affect League Two predictions
Injuries can play a big factor in predicting games as they can limit the number of players a manager can pick from to play or force tactical switches depending on how many players are injured. Key players being injured can completely turn results around from what may have been the more likely outcome.
How do home and away performances impact League Two performances?
Home form and away form can vary from team to team, and it is always helpful when predicting to see how a team performs at home and on the road. Teams are expected to be better at home than away. Some teams are good away from home so could cause an upset if they win that fixture.
How do transfer windows affect League Two predictions?
Transfer windows can majorly impact predictions for sides. Bringing in good players could boost a team’s chances of success and make them more likely to climb the table. If a team sells their best players, then they would more often than not perform worse and slip down the League Two table.
What factors are most important when making League Two predictions?
It is always important to consider recent form when making League Two predictions as a side in form is more likely to secure a positive result than teams that are out of form. Another important League Two prediction factor is considering injuries as they may force teams to change their players or tactics from one game to the next.