02 August 2023 , 08:52
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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.
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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?
Predicted Position | Team | Outright Price |
1 | Derby County | 9/2 |
2 | Bolton Wanderers | 6/1 |
3 | Barnsley | 9/1 |
4 | Portsmouth | 9/1 |
5 | Peterborough United | 10/1 |
6 | Reading | 12/1 |
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.
Predicted Position | Team | Outright Price |
1 | Wrexham | 10/3 |
2 | Stockport | 11/2 |
3 | Notts County | 8/1 |
4 | Bradford | 14/1 |
5 | Gillingham | 12/1 |
6 | Salford | 16/1 |
*All odds correct at time of writing.
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