AUTHOR: Star Sports Content
STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW: League Two 2025/26 – 1-24 Predictions
ALL KICKING OFF: The 2025/26 campaign is nearly upon us and sure to be another exciting season!
As part of our ‘ALL KICKING OFF’ campaign ahead of the new season, our EFL expert JOE CITRONE has put together his preview for the new League Two campaign, complete with 1-24 predictions and recommended ante-post bets.
1st-3rd place – 🏆 Automatic promotion to League One
4th-7th place – 🔁 Qualification for the Play-Offs
23rd-24th place – ⬇️ Relegation to the National League
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1. MK Dons
With Paul Warne as manager, where else could I place MK Dons but in the promotion places?
Warne, who moved to MK in a surprise move in April after successful spells with Rotherham United and Derby County, has won four promotions as a manager – all from League One to the Championship – and will now have his sights set on his first from League Two.
The board have clearly put all their eggs in the Warne basket and backed him aggressively in the transfer window, recruiting no less than six new players at the time of writing, with the standouts having to be Nathaniel Mendez-Laing from Derby and Aaron Collins from Bolton Wanderers.
This is on top of a squad that massively underperformed last season, and with Warne now at the wheel to bring all those pieces of the puzzle together, I think they will realise their potential by romping home to the League Two title this term.
MK Dons to win the league – currently at with starsports.bet
2. Bristol Rovers
Last season ended in disaster for the Gas with a late-season slide seeing them relegated back down to the fourth-tier under rookie boss Inigo Calderon, but with club legend Darrell Clarke back at the helm, there is now fresh optimism and excitement at the Memorial Stadium.
Clarke has already won two promotions with Bristol Rovers previously, once from this level in 2016, and also guided Port Vale back into the third tier in 2022, and so comes in with plenty of pedigree.
His straight-talking, no-nonsense approach is exactly what Rovers need as they hit the reset button following relegation last term, and he has already made some smart moves in this transfer window – Luke Southwood, Josh McEachran and Macauley Southam-Hales, in particular, looking like solid acquisitions.
I fancy them to make an immediate return to League One.
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3. Chesterfield
After promotion from the National League in the 2023-24 season, Chesterfield were not far off securing back-to-back promotions last season, achieving a top-seven finish in their season back in the EFL before falling short to Walsall in the semi-finals.
Experienced boss Paul Cook will be desperate to make sure his Spireites side don’t miss out again and has already acted swiftly in the transfer window by bringing eight new recruits at the time of writing.
Losing Michael Jacobs – who has been a long-term sidekick of Cook at Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth as well as Chesterfield – to League One side Northampton Town will have been a disappointment, but not enough to knock them off course in their push for promotion, in my opinion.
I have Chesterfield in third-place.
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4. Colchester United
Another team that, after flirting with promotion from League Two last season, I think could make a more serious push this time around is Danny Cowley’s Colchester United.
It was final-day disappointment for the U’s last season as a draw to Barrow meant they missed out on a play-off spot to Chesterfield, who we’ve just mentioned.
The Cowley brothers, though, will be hungrier than ever to make sure their Colchester United side end up in the play-offs this season, and I am confident that they will be there come the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
Will Goodwin, who has joined on loan from Oxford United, should be a standout striker at this level if he can put his injury worries behind him, and the permanent addition of Ben Perry from Nottingham Forest also looks like a bit of a coup.
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5. Cambridge United
Much like Bristol Rovers, Cambridge United are a side that were relegated from League One in really poor fashion last season – but with a returning gaffer back at the helm – should have a good chance of bouncing straight back up.
Neil Harris returned for his second spell in charge of Cambridge United towards the end of last season, assisted by another returning face in Mark Bonner as Director of Football. The duo were unable to prevent the U’s from dropping back down to League Two, but should give them a great chance of an immediate return.
A lot of players have left the club this summer, which is exactly what was required, allowing Harris to have a blank canvas to work off as he looks to build a team capable of challenging towards the top end of the League Two table.
They will be physical, maybe not always pretty to watch, but will be tough to beat and that should serve them well in their bid for promotion.
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6. Gillingham
Gills owner Brad Galinson has always had ambition, but has never quite been able to bring all the pieces together to deliver success on the pitch. With rockstar-turned-football-manager Gareth Ainsworth now at the helm, this could be the season where things finally click at Priestfield under their American property magnate owner.
Although things didn’t work out for him in the Championship with QPR, and his short stint at Shrewsbury Town last season didn’t yield much success, Ainsworth has proven over the years that he knows how to build winning teams at this level.
In over a decade in charge of Wycombe Wanderers, he transformed the Chairboys from no-hopers at the bottom of League Two to a Championship outfit. Gillingham will be hoping he can realise their dreams in a similar way.
We all know that Ainsworth Ball isn’t the prettiest on the eye, but when the former Wycombe boss gets a team set up in the way he wants, his sides can be hard to beat. I fancy them to go well this season.
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7. Swindon Town
Look, being transparent here, it’s not particularly fun having to predict Swindon Town to do well as an Oxford United supporter. But I have to admit that, for the first time in many years, the Robins do look geared up for success ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Eyebrows were raised initially at the appointment of Ian Holloway, but after a rocky start, the former Blackpool and Crystal Palace boss completely turned Swindon’s season on its head; transforming them from relegation-threatened strugglers to play-off outsiders.
Now, with a full pre-season and a transfer window to properly shape the squad into the way he wants it, I do think Holloway’s Swindon could be a threat towards the top of the table next season.
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8. Fleetwood Town
Pete Wild did a fabulous job at Barrow, consistently having them punch above their weight in League Two during his spell in charge, and Fleetwood Town fans have every right to be excited about what we could deliver at the Highbury Stadium.
Although it felt inevitable for a while, the departure of captain Brendan Wiredu – who has joined Plymouth Argyle for an undisclosed fee – will have come as a blow.
However, with the talented Wild in charge, I fancy him to get this Cod Army side competing towards the end of the table like he did with Barrow.
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9. Grimsby Town
After a ninth-placed finish last season, which represented a significant campaign of progress for the Mariners, I have Grimsby Town stalling slightly by remaining in the same positon again this term.
I think David Artell’s men will, once again, be a very strong League Two outfit and it’s more a case of how competitive the fourth-tier will be in the 2025/26 campaign, just as it was last season, that I have them staying as they are.
They have made some solid signings, with Christy Pym filling in the goalkeeping position and Jamie Walker adding an injection of creativity in the final-third, and David Artell is an excellent coach at this level, and see no reason why they’d drop any further down the table, but maybe not the evidence I am looking for to suggest they will progress significantly in the upwards direction.
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10. Salford City
It’s been a very interesting summer for Salford City with the club being acquired by a consortium involving David Beckham and Gary Neville, who reportedly plan to “invest significantly” in the club.
However, so far, I haven’t been blown away by their summer transfer business in the way that I was expecting to be, with Jorge Grant – who arrives on a free transfer from Scottish side Hearts – probably the pick of the bunch.
Karl Robinson is a manager that knows how to get teams competing for promotion, but has fell short on too many occasions in the past for my liking, and I am yet to see the squad strengthened in a way that I think could allow the Ammies to take the next step towards League One.
They should still be up there with a young squad that should continue to progress, but I have them falling short of the play-offs.
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11. Crawley Town
After just one season back in the third-tier, Crawley Town were relegated to League Two last season, and will be plotting an immediate return with Scott Lindsey having returned to the club after a short spell in charge of MK Dons.
Lindsey is an interesting manager. He didn’t pull up any trees at Swindon Town and flattered to deceive at MK Dons, but something just seems to click with him at Crawley.
Although he wasn’t able to keep them up when he returned for the run-in last term, there was a noticeable upturn in fortunes from when Rob Elliott was in charge, which they will be hoping to carry into their League Two campaign.
As always seems to be the case with Crawley, there has been another big squad churn this summer, with the likes of Will Swan and Armando Quitirna departing the club, but a number of new faces have come through the door at the Broadfield Stadium with many more expected.
I think it may take some time for them to bed in and for Crawley to really get going, but once they do, they could be an interesting one to follow this season. However, as things stand, I have them a little bit short of a play-off push.
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12. Walsall
At the end of last year, I really did not expect to be talking about Walsall in my League Two predictions, but here we are.
The Saddlers were 12 points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand at one stage, and still somehow managed to squander automatic-promotion to finish fourth, before then being defeated 1-0 by AFC Wimbledon in the play-off final.
No matter what happens with Walsall over the summer, they will surely feel some sort of hangover from that brutal end to the season, and I fully expect that to impact their upcoming campaign.
The departure of Taylor Allen to Wycombe Wanderers is also unlikely to have helped the situation.
I doubt Walsall fans will be terribly pleased with this, but I have them slap-bang in mid-table.
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13. Crewe Alexandra
The first side I have in the bottom half of the table is Crewe Alexandra who, after ending last season in disappointing fashion, could be set for another frustrating campaign.
As much as I rate Lee Bell as an exciting young coach, there hasn’t been enough transfer business done, in my view, to turn around a season that went very sour.
Tommi O’Reilly on loan from Aston Villa could be interesting, but Phil Croker from Oxford City is likely to be a development signing, and I doubt Josh March will be prolific.
I have Crewe in 13th-place again.
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14. Shrewsbury Town
Let’s get this out the way now, I am a big fan of Michael Appleton, and although the last few years of his career have not gone to plan, I still rate him very highly as a coach.
However, considering how far Salop were off the pace last season and how much work Appleton has had on his hands to rebuild this team, with uncertainty over the ownership situation also still hanging over them, I think it will be a tough ask to get them competing to get back into League One at the first time of asking.
Appleton has made a very competent start to the big rebuild at Shrewsbury Town, recruiting promotion winner Tom Anderson and experienced midfielder Sam Clucas on free transfers and highly-rated Manchester United goalkeeper Elyh Harrison on loan, but I suspect a season of consolidation is on the horizon for them, and I don’t think that would necessarily be a bad thing.
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15. Notts County
After missing out on promotion in the play-offs last season, I have Notts County suffering a fairly significant season of decline this term.
I agreed with the decision to let manager Stuart Maynard go after missing out on a League One return last season. I felt that they were capable of more with with the squad they had and should have been a more serious contender for automatic-promotion.
However, the decision to bring in Martin Paterson as his replacement is something that has left me baffled since it was announced in late-June.
Paterson’s short stint in charge of Burton Albion left a lot to be desired, and I honestly felt that County would be able to attract someone more exciting that the fanbase could really get behind. I mean, Luke Williams was right there?
They still have some good players, with Jodi Jones and Alassana Jatta giving them real quality in the final-third, but I have a feeling that this managerial appointment could come back to bite them.
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16. Bromley
Andy Woodman’s side were the dark horses of League Two last season, finishing in 11th-position and only four points off the play-offs in their first-ever season in the EFL, but feel second-season syndrome might strike them this term.
Whilst they have a goalscorer like Michael Cheek, who is still at the club at the time of writing despite some reported interest, they should have no issue staying clear of relegation. However, I can see a slight drop-off incoming after a terrific first campaign.
I am sure Woodman will be after more, but I have Bromley in 16th.
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17. Barrow
Andy Whing did a great job steadying the ship after the sacking of Stephen Clemence, but with the Bluebirds losing key players in Dean Spence, Kian Spence and Robbie Gotts, things will get even tougher for the former Solihull Moors and Banbury United boss.
Whing has acted swiftly to replace those departing players, with the likes of Scott Smith, Charlie Raglan, Rakeem Harper and Tyler Walker all coming in, who should all bolster the Barrow squad.
But, as much as I really do rate Whing and have loved watching his coaching journey up through the football pyramid, it might just be a case of keeping them clear of trouble this term.
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18. Barnet
After seven years away, Barnet will be making their return to the EFL this season under Dean Brennan who guided the Bees to the National League title last term, and I am backing them to stay here and stave off any threat of relegation back down to non-league.
Over the years, Brennan has forged a very respectable managerial career in non-league with Wealdstone and Barnet, but this will be his first taste of the EFL. I am looking forward to seeing what the Irishman, who certainly doesn’t suffer fools gladly, will bring this season.
Although I am not sure I can envisage them pushing up towards the top end of the table, I have no worries whatsoever about them going straight back down. A solid, but albeit unspectacular, 18th-place is where I have the Bees.
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19. Tranmere Rovers
Following the departure of Nigel Adkins, Andy Crosby did an excellent job in keeping Tranmere Rovers’ heads above water last season and staving off the very real threat of relegation back down to the National League.
He has since been rewarded with the job on a full-time basis, but as was the case at Port Vale when a similar situation happened when an impressive interim spell was followed by being given the permanent position, I do wonder whether now he may flatter to deceive.
Richie Smallwood, who led Bradford City to promotion as captain last season, looks like it could be a valuable addition to the Tranmere squad. However, beyond that, I am not sure their recruitment has been particularly inspiring.
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20. Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic are back in the EFL following a dramatic and entertaining play-off final victory over Southend United.
In Micky Mellon, they have a vastly-experienced manager who has enjoyed success with Fleetwood Town and Tranmere Rovers in the past, but, despite not having any major concerns about relegation, I am envisaging a tricky first season back in the big-time.
They have made some solid additions, but nothing that massively stands out, and that’s why I have Oldham in 20th-place.
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21. Harrogate Town
Harrogate Town may be one of the smallest clubs in the division, and be operating with one of the smallest budgets, but with Simon Weaver in charge – the longest serving manager in the EFL – they have got someone who can continue to maximise their limited options.
Losing Josh March to Crewe Alexandra certainly isn’t ideal for Harrogate, but they have made some interesting signings with Reece Smith and Shawn McCoulsky coming in from Maidenhead United following strong seasons in non-league, and Mason Bennett from Burton Albion looking like a possible coup.
It’s always likely to be a struggle for a side like Harrogate, but I am backing them to continue punching above their weight and retain their EFL status again.
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22. Newport County
Newport County only narrowly avoided relegation from League Two last season and, despite a change of manager over the summer, I think the Exiles could well struggle towards the bottom end of the table again.
David Hughes, who most recently was working with the Manchester United academy, is the man tasked with leading Newport into a new era following the departure of Nelson Jardim.
Although I really appreciate and admire Newport’s approach in trying to unearth a new coaching talent, this could be a big first job for Hughes and it does feel like he’s being thrown in at the deep end.
They haven’t lost anyone significant, and do have a decent crop of young players, but in the brutal, cut-throat world of fourth-tier football, I think this could be a bumpy ride for Newport and sadly predict another relegation dog-fight for the Welsh outfit.
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23. Accrington Stanley
After circling the drain towards the bottom of League Two last season, and things seeming less than certain with their ownership for quite some time now, I think this is the season where Accrington Stanley could drop out of the EFL and back into non-league.
Under John Doolan, they managed to keep their heads above water last season – but only just. I am not convinced that they have enough to do it again.
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24. Cheltenham Town
Sorry, Cheltenham Town fans – I have you as my 24th-placed side in League Two next season.
I take no pleasure in predicting any team to struggle, but I have big concerns over Cheltenham heading into the 2025/26 campaign.
Although it looks like a takeover could be on the horizon, with former Burnley chairman Mike Garlick reportedly in talks to take control of the club, I am concerned with how the squad is looking at present.
The additions of Robbie Cundy and Lee Angol do nothing to fill me with any kind of confidence and, unless that investment from Garlick comes in sooner rather than later, I fear that the Robins will slide into trouble.
Michael Flynn, other than a good spell at Newport County right at the beginning of his managerial career, has struggled with the likes of Walsall and Swindon Town and could be in for another tough time at Cheltenham Town.
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