The 2023/24 EFL tables as predicted by bet365 customers

02 August 2023 , 08:52

1124     0

BREMEN, GERMANY - MARCH 24: Detail shot of a goal prior to the Bundesliga match between SV Werder Bremen and FC Augsburg at Weser Stadium on March 24, 2012 in Bremen, Germany. (Photo by Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty Images)

The 2023-24 EFL season kicks off at Hillsborough on Friday evening when newly promoted Sheffield Wednesday entertain newly relegated Southampton. The Championship tie is live on Sky Sports, and is the first of 1656 regular season fixtures that will be played out across between 72 clubs, across 10 months and 3 divisions.

With that in mind, bet365 have predicted the outright and play-off final placings for the Championship, League One and League Two, based on the amount of outright bets placed on each team.

Bet £10 on the opening round of EFL fixtures and receive £30 in free bets (T&Cs Apply)

As ever, there is always pre-season speculation and predictions from football fans and pundits alike, and in the Championship, it’s easy to fancy the three teams relegated from the Premier League last season.

For all of the Championship’s volatility, it maybe comes as a surprise to hear that all three of the most recent league title winners have been sides who succumbed to relegation just 12 months prior.

Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush

Leicester sit above both Southampton and Leeds United in the betting for the second-tier title, with over 37% of Championship outright bets placed on the Foxes, but surely it isn’t going to be as straightforward as some expect for Enzo Maresca’s side.

Former Manchester City coach Maresca has been tasked with promotion, and following in the footsteps of Vincent Kompany who took Burnley back to the top-flight at the first time of asking last term. Anything other than promotion for the 2015/16 Premier League winners would represent huge failure.

Read the full Championship betting preview from bet365

Southampton and Leeds, both appointing new managers to spearhead their promotion push, are unsurprisingly the next best backed teams for the title, with Middlesbrough expected to closely challenge.

Michael Carrick’s men just fell away in the play-offs, coming undone by Coventry. At times it looked like Boro could mount an unlikely automatic promotion push, but after that they failed to materialise, it led to the play-offs and ultimately, heartbreak.

bet365’s Steve Freeth commented:“Enzo Maresca was a fine player in his day, especially when gracing English football with West Bromwich Albion. I’m fascinated to see how he does at Leicester, and he’s certainly got the backing of bet365’s customers. The Foxes are way out in front at the top of the Championship outright betting market, with over 37% of bets placed on them to take the title.”

But how would the top of the table look based on the outright bets received on each club?

Predicted Position	Team	Outright Price Everton chiefs face transfer backlash from fans after deadline day disaster
1	Leicester City	4/1
2	Leeds United	7/1
3	Southampton	7/1
4	Middlesbrough	9/1
5	Sunderland	20/1
6	Norwich City	16/1

Bet £10 on the opening round of EFL fixtures and receive £30 in free bets (T&Cs Apply)

Last season’s League One campaign saw the unexpected 25/1 shots Plymouth Argyle outlast the much fancied Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town, to secure the title.

Derby were the most backed team in 2022/23 and are again well supported in the betting this time around. More than 32% of outright bets have been places on The Rams, with Paul Warne focused on securing the title for the Pride Park faithful. The 9/2 title favourites missed out on a play-off spot on the final day of the season and will be looking to avoid the end-of-season lottery this season.

Read the full League One betting preview from bet365

Bolton, Barnsley and Peterborough all enjoyed successful second halves to last season, securing play-off berths, but couldn’t achieve promotion at Wembley. All three are tipped to challenge come May, along with recently relegated Reading.

bet365’s Steve Freeth added:“League One doesn’t look anywhere near as competitive as it did last season, and who knows, we could see another surprise team following in Plymouth’s footsteps. Our customer base are sticking with Derby County however.

“Paul Warne knows how to get a team promoted from League One, and the Rams will be desperate to get out of the third tier after narrowly missing out on the play-offs last season.

A slow start though could pile the pressure on Warne. The loss of key players in Jason Knight and David McGoldrick was far from ideal, leaving the likeable coach seemingly frustrated at the lack of incoming transfer activity.”

How do bet365 customers see it?

Bet £10 on the opening round of EFL fixtures and receive £30 in free bets (T&Cs Apply)

Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney will already have eyes on a sequel to the 2022/23 promotion winning campaign, with League Two the setting for what could be another blockbuster season.

The side have become Wales’ fourth representative in the English Football League, following their relegation to the National Leagues in 2008.

Stockport attracted plenty of support for the League Two title after winning the National League last season, but fell at the final hurdle as Carlisle pipped them to play-off success.

Read the full League Two betting preview from bet365

It is Wrexham though who are expected to triumph, with over 37% of all outright bets placed in League Two, placed on Phil Parkinson’s team.

bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “It’s all about Wrexham in League Two, but the injury to the talismanic Paul Mullin is a huge blow for the title favourites.

“We don’t expect to see Wrexham hang around either, and while money doesn’t always bring instant success at this level, ask Salford about that, we’re just trying to be on the right side of an expected promotion charge because there are bound to be a number of new faces added to an already impressive squad at the Racecourse Ground.”

Here’s the predicted top six.

*All odds correct at time of writing.

Significant Open Account Offer T&Cs

· Available to new customers only. Make a qualifying deposit of £5* or more and claim the offer within 30 days of registering your account to qualify for 500% of that amount in Bet Credits, up to a maximum of £30* in Bet Credits. Once released, your Bet Credits will be held in your account balance and are non-withdrawable.

· To release your Bet Credits for use, you must place qualifying bets to the value of your qualifying deposit (capped at £10*) and they must settle within 30 days of claiming the offer. Only qualifying bets placed and settled after claiming the offer will count towards this requirement.

· Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, paysafecard and all other prepaid credit and debit cards, where available, cannot be used for either your qualifying deposit or any subsequent withdrawal of returns from Bet Credits stakes unless we have successfully verified an accepted form of your Identity Documents and you have entered a Postal Verification Code (PVC), or we have successfully verified two accepted forms of your Identity Documents. See condition 2 of full Terms and Conditions for details.

· Bets placed must meet certain conditions to count towards the release of your Bet Credits:

· Must contain at least one selection at odds of 1/5 (1.20) or greater.

· Only the largest cumulative stake on an individual selection within a market/fixture combination (either pre-match or In-Play) will count towards the settled bets requirement.

· Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, only the remaining active stake will count.

· Where a bet has been edited using our Edit Bet feature, only the new stake on the new bet will count.

· Fully Cashed Out, Instant Games, Gaming, Free Bets, void bets or In-Play bets which are settled as a push will not count.

· Your Bet Credits are non-withdrawable, and Bet Credits stakes are not included in any returns. Any returns from Bet Credits placed will be added to your Withdrawable Balance. Bet Credits cannot be used on certain products, offers/promotions and bet types. See full Terms and Conditions for details.

· Your Bet Credits will be forfeit and removed if your account is inactive for 90 consecutive days.

Open Account Offer Full Terms and Conditions.

bet365 is committed to Safer Gambling. We promote gambling as an enjoyable leisure activity and we believe that gambling can only remain this way if you stay in control and gamble responsibly. However, we know that for some people gambling can stop being a harmless leisure activity and become a problem.

Help is close at hand. Visit www.gamcare.org.uk or contact the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.

Registration Required. Terms and Conditions Apply, 18+. Begambleaware.org.

Jacob Carah