League One 2024/25: Antepost Prediction, Tips and Odds

The new League One season begins on Friday 9th August and Steve Davies expects Rotherham United to offer the value to be crowned champions.

EFL Antepost League One betting tips and predictions

Rotherham to win outright - 11/1

Birmingham are spending big going into their first season in the third tier in 30 years, hopeful that it will be a one-season, one-off following the shock of relegation.

Six managers, either permanent or interim, had a go in the St Andrews' dugout and none could halt the club's fall, with much of the blame centred on the reign of Wayne Rooney in the autumn.

Chris Davies, the ex-Celtic and Tottenham coach, is now in charge and has presided over a hasty dressing room refit, with seven-figure fees lodged for two of the newcomers, midfielder Willum Willumsson from Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles and defender Christoph Klarer from Darmstadt.

It's hard not to be impressed, but Davies is a rookie and other clubs with huge pedigree, the likes of Sunderland, Ipswich and Derby, will testify to the difficulty of trying to win promotion the season after coming down.

For Rotherham, however, it's a challenge they know all about. This is the fourth time since 2016/17 that the Millers have been relegated from tier two - on each of the three previous occasions they went straight back up.

The South Yorkshire side are 3/1 to be promoted but worth chancing at 11/1 to win the title.

Steve Evans, like Davies, is on a rebuilding mission after a disastrous campaign at the New York Stadium which saw United finish bottom of the Championship with just 27 points.

Four of those points came in the final three games, the three games in which Evans was in charge after succeeding Leam Richardson.

The Scot has twice won promotion with Rotherham as a manager and will be hoping for the hat-trick after bringing in quality new faces.

Ex-Peterborough hotshot Jonson Clarke-Harris, defender Sean Raggett who starred in Portsmouth's recent promotion, creative midfielder Joe Powell and Coventry's dependable Liam Kelly have all been recruited.

Blackpool to finish in top six - 9/4

Blackpool finished eighth last season with a better defensive record than all four play-off sides and there is every reason to believe the Tangerines can kick on in the new campaign.

Under their hugely impressive coach Neil Critchley, the Seasiders were too inconsistent for their own liking.

Critchley needs more potency up front and can't be relying on Jordan Rhodes who bagged 15 goals in half a season last term.

Ashley Fletcher drops down from three years in the Championship and the ex-Manchester United striker says he has a point to prove.

Critchley has not looked for a major overhaul at Bloomfield Road on the grounds that things needed a tweak rather than a fix and they look solid contenders at 9/4 for a top-six finish.

Bristol Rovers to be relegated - 10/3

Matt Taylor has overseen wholesale personnel and staff changes at Bristol Rovers, where it's hard to be filled with too much optimism for the upcoming season.

A team that concluded last term failing to find the net in nine of their final 11 fixtures needs more options up front and have splashed out a club record £500,000 to bring in Promise Omochere from Fleetwood.

Omochere only scored six times for Fleetwood last season, however, so hardly comes with a guarantee of goals.

And it's the goals that Rovers conceded that were almost their undoing last term, looking hugely vulnerable at set-plays.

Taylor, who struggled to stop the bleeding at Rotherham last season before moving to Rovers in December, oversaw just five clean sheets in six months.

Crawley are clear favourites to go straight back down, but there are three more places to fill and Rovers can take one of them.

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.