Betting preview: who’s going up and down from League Two this season?
With the Valiants on the fringes of the League Two play-off places, this is an opportune moment to take a look at who the bookies feel are best-placed to win promotion into League One.
If you are interested in placing a punt on a promotion or relegation contender you may want to check the Odds from ATS.io before making your bet.
How about Port Vale’s chances?
Port Vale certainly appear to be right in the promotion picture, a view echoed by young midfielder Scott Burgess who told the official Port Vale website: “If we win our games we can put ourselves in that position . We have to just focus on ourselves, do what we can and take each game as it comes.
Vale have recorded some excellent results in recent weeks with their away win over Northampton Town only keeping them out of the play-off places by the narrowest of margins – goal difference. Two home fixtures against Forest Green Rovers and Colchester United offer John Askey’s side a genuine chance to sneak into the promotion picture – but only if the players continue to perform on the pitch.
Where do the bookies now rate Port Vale’s chances? Well, looking at comparison website Oddschecker, the Valiants are as low as 10/1 with some bookmakers and as high as 16/1 with others. With Vale seemingly making a late run now may be the time to take advantage of those generous odds.
Automatic Promotion odds
Elsewhere in League Two, it’s no surprise that long-standing frontrunners Swindon Town, Exeter City and Crewe Alexandra are all heavily tipped by the bookmakers. The Robins are as low as 1/8 with some bookmakers while Crewe are as low as ¼ and Exeter as low as 2/5. Alternatively, the most generous odds you can get are 1/5 for Swindon, 2/7 for Crewe and 4/9 for Exeter.
The battle for the play-offs
Perhaps those three automatic spots are somewhat beyond Vale’s reach – but what other teams possibly stand in the way of the Valiants play-off hopes this season.
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Plymouth Argyle have been in decent form recently and with their resources they look likely to be in or around the play-off spots this season. The most generous odds for Argyle are 1/3.
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Colchester United haven’t been in as good form as Plymouth although the more generous bookies give them matching promotion odds of 1/3.
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Northampton Town boasted a formidable home record until that defeat by Vale and the best odds you can get for them are 3/1.
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Cheltenham are arguably punching above their weight but are still worthy contenders. The best odds for Town are 4/1.
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Finally, Bradford City have been in poor form recently and are perhaps the most vulnerable of the teams in the play-off places. The bookies rate their chances as high as 9/1.
Some outside bets
Salford City were notably big spenders during the January transfer window. Even though they remain outside of the play-off picture, a late run is not beyond them and the bookies rate their promotion chances as 201/.
Another well financed side is West Country outfit Forest Green Rovers. Dale Vince’s outfit are rated as highly as 17/1 by some bookmakers. Both sides could potentially threaten Vale’s chances of a play-off place should either record a good, late run of form.
How about the relegation contenders?
Things are a little safer towards the danger end of the table. The sad demise of Bury means that just one team will drop through the trapdoor into the National League this season. That’s good news for the likes of cash-strapped Macclesfield Town who remain just ourside the relegation zone and have odds of 2/1 to avoid the drop.
The team most in danger of going down look to be Stevenage. As they are managed by Graham Westley many fans will not shed a tear if they go down. Stevenage lie rock bottom of the table and their relegation odds are just 1/3.
A word of warning
Betting should always be fun so please do remember to know your limits and bet responsibly. Only bet what you can afford to lose.