English League One Odds 2023/24 & Betting Favourites

We have English League One odds and a preview of all the betting favourites for the 2023/24 season in the third division of English football.

This will be the 20^th season of the EFL League One under its current title and the 32nd season under its current league division format. Twenty-four teams will compete in the league with seventeen returning from last season.

English League One Odds

New League One Teams

Newly Promoted Teams

Promoted into League One are League Two 22/23 title-winners Leyton Orient who amassed a 91-point total in the league last season under Richie Wellens his second time being promoted as a League 2 Head Coach. Stevenage under Steve Evans got automatically promoted in second six points adrift of Orient which was Evans’s seventh promotion as Head Coach.

Finally, Northampton under Jon Brady were promoted two points back in third place while fourth-place Stockport won the playoffs.

League One Teams Relegated From Championship Last Season

On the other end of the scale, Wigan enter the league following their bottom-place Championship finish last season and will start the season on -8 points for salary and financial breaches. They will be joined in League 1 by Blackpool and Reading who were also relegated.

English League One Betting Favourites

Derby – 4/1

The League One favourites for the 2023/24 season are Derby at odds of 4/1.

Derby came into League One last season after a difficult Championship season getting relegated due to their nine-point deduction. They were expected to make a challenge but agonisingly missed out on a playoff place on the final day of the season coming seventh and one point behind Peterborough.

Derby have strengthened in the off-season, despite the notable losses in midfield of Krystian Bielik (Birmingham City) and Jason Knight (Bristol City) alongside their talisman striker David McGoldrick (Notts County).

The Rams have recruited shrewdly with players from higher divisions and/or players with a proven pedigree in League One, the likes of Callum Elder from Hull City, Joe Ward from Peterborough, Sonny Bradley from Luton Town and Conor Washington from Rotherham make this a strong squad.

Despite the loss of Knight and McGoldrick along with a few Irish academy players, there will still be plenty of Irish interest in the team. Eiran Cashin (21) was arguably the best centre-back in League One last season, Corkman Conor Hourihane has been named captain and at the time of writing veteran striker James Collins is still at the club.

Defensively Derby were strong last season only conceding 46 but will be disappointed with their goals total of just 67. In pre-season, they have been decent with three wins, one draw and one defeat. If they can improve on their attack they will certainly be major contenders.

Bolton – 6/1

Second favourites in the League One betting for the 2023/24 season are Bolton at 6/1 odds.

Bolton are expected to build on their strong season last year where they finished in 5th place on 81 points. They were knocked out of the playoffs at the Semi-Final stage to Barnsley 2-1 on aggregate. They also had a Papa John’s Trophy win over eventual league winners Plymouth Argyle.

However, Bolton will have to contend with the loss of keeper James Trafford and defender Connor Bradley who were two shrewd loan additions last season and will prove very difficult to replace in my opinion. They’ve brought in LB Zac Ashworth on loan from West Brom, CM Paris Maghoma from Brentford and keeper Nathan Baxter on a Free from Chelsea amongst others but there is a lot of unknowns.

Irish interest is a little scant, but former Ireland U21 International and former Cork City player Kieran Sadlier (28) is one of the finest footballers you will see in League One. Elsewhere Sam Inwood, Eric Yoro and Ireland-eligible Ben Andreucci are players who could all make the step up with some luck.

Bolton have a squad with many players coming into their peak years, a settled first-team squad alongside Head Coach Ian Evatt who has promotion credentials In National League and League Two at various clubs this season. He has a strong chance of adding League One to that list come the end of this season.

Barnsley– 7/1

Next up in the betting for the League One title are Barnsley at odds of 7/1.

Barnsley finished in fourth place last season with 86 points. They overcame Bolton 2-1 in the playoff Semi-Final before losing 0-1 AET against Sheffield Wednesday in the playoff final.

This was seen as an impressive rebuild by Head Coach Michael Duff, but they will have to contend with the loss of him to Swansea and being replaced by Neill Collins after five years in America with Tampa is an unknown transition.

Barnsley have recruited primarily from Non-League in the off-season which is certainly a risky strategy given they have lost Michael Duff while loanees Slobodan Tedic, Ziyard Larkeche, Bobby Thomas and Harry Isted have all opted against returning to the club after being at Oakwell last term. With that said, Corey O’Keefe on a permanent and Liam Roberts on loan could prove shrewd.

There is plenty of Irish interest at Barnsley with RB Barry-Cotter (who could be on the way out), CB Conor McCarthy returning from injury and the signing of RB Corey O’Keefe in defence alongside Irish-eligible CB Liam Kitching. In midfield, they have Luca Connell too who will be one of the best in the league this season.

There are a lot of unknowns with Barnsley but from a purely Irish point of view, I wish them all the best!

Peterborough – 8/1 (Best Bet)

Peterborough had arguably the wildest season of everyone last year. They sacked Grant McCann on January 4^th with the team in eighth position in League One, five points outside of the play-offs.

Irish Co-Owner Darragh MacAnthony felt things were going to go downhill fast and as ever he swooped in and made the hard decision. It should come as no surprise to anyone that trusted servant Darren Ferguson came for his fourth spell as Posh manager.

It was almost the Fergie fairytale again with him guiding the club into the playoffs as he looked for his fifth promotion as Peterborough manager. In the playoff semi-final, first leg they had the perfect start winning 4-0 against Sheffield Wednesday. They looked destined for Wembley but a staggering 5-0 second-leg defeat meant they are in League One again this season.

In the off-season Peterborough have doubled down on their “young and hungry” policy with most of their signings coming from the lower divisions again despite getting rid of big-names and experienced servants like Jack Taylor, Joe Ward and Dan Butler.

Unlike Barnsley, I trust Peterborough with this policy as Darragh MacAnthony has consistently proven himself as one of the best judges of a player in the EFL and Non-League.

The Irish-Owned club have brought in Irishman RB Peter Kioso on loan and if they can keep him fit he will be an excellent addition. Posh are entertainers, Ferguson is a proven promotion specialist and their recruitment record is second to none. Given those factors I think at 8/1 they represent fantastic value.

Others Contenders

Elsewhere former Premier League club Portsmouth are 8/1 to get themselves back into the Championship. Reading are 10/1 and Blackpool 14/1, to return to the Championship while Charlton (14/1) and Oxford under Liam Manning at 16/1 all have a puncher’s chance of promotion.

If you enjoyed this post then you’ll also like our Championship Odds post and League Two Odds post where we preview the upcoming season of English league football.

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*Prices subject to fluctuation

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