After Sheffield Wednesday dropped points for a fourth successive game and Ipswich Town made it seven League One wins on the bounce, we’re looking at some of the week’s biggest Market Movers.
When Wednesday extended their unbeaten run to 22 league games courtesy of an impressive triumph over Portsmouth just three weeks ago, it appeared a case of how big a margin they would romp to the League One title by!
At the time, they were 1/6 to secure top spot and 1/33 for promotion back to the Championship by any means, but after registering just three points from the five matches since, and that outstanding unbeaten run now just a distant memory, the Owls have it all to do yet again.
It’s never straightforward at Hillsborough, but even the most pessimistic Owls supporter would have found it difficult to forge an opinion of how Darren Moore’s men would fail to see the job through this time around on the back of that club record run over the winter.
But here they are once more, facing a real battle to retain their spot within the top two with just seven fixtures remaining. They are now out to 4/7 to end the campaign in the automatic promotion spots and 4/11 for promotion.
Whilst Wednesday are undoubtedly on the wobble, their promotion-chasing rivals have been making hay - none more so than Ipswich Town, who have now won each of their last seven League One fixtures, without conceding a solitary goal!
Having been odds-on for the title and 1/10 for a return to the second tier at Christmas, Kieran McKenna’s outfit found wins hard to come by at the turn of the year drifting to 7/1 for the crown and 8/13 for promotion after a dreadful Valentine’s night bore draw against Bristol Rovers.
However, 21 points from the last 21 on offer have catapulted the Tractor Boys right back into the mix and given their recent form and ever-growing confidence levels, together with their superior goal difference, the omens are starting to look seriously good for the new 2/9 promotion favourites.
Latest Football News
It will be interesting to see how second-place Plymouth Argyle react after their weekend Wembley outing ended in a painful 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Bolton Wanderers, whose own battle for a playoff spot has taken a severe hit in recent weeks.
Argyle are brilliant at home - beating all of the sides currently perched in the top half, but they have been ropey, at best, on the road – failing to register maximum points against any of the sides positioned inside the top six.
And whilst, on paper, they appear to have a profitable run of fixtures coming up, they could really do with finding a remedy for their travel sickness – and overcoming their Papa John’s final heartbreak – preferably starting with that arduous 700-mile round-trip journey to Morecambe on Good Friday.
Finally, a word on Barnsley, who have transformed their fortunes in recent weeks to establish themselves as appealing 7/4 promotion contenders.
It wasn’t long ago that they were as long as 4/1 for a top six finish and 10/1 for promotion, but they are now a lot slimmer than that – so much so we’ve stopped taking bets on them notching a top six finish given their comfortable 11-point cushion.
Their charge up the table was halted at Exeter just a week ago when the Tykes had a rare off day after an exhausting period, but normal service was resumed at Oakwell on Saturday as they completed a 5-0 demolition job over Morecambe.
Nobody will want to face Michael Duff’s side right now and that home encounter with Ipswich Town later this month is promising to be an absolute cracker.
View the latest League One odds
All odds displayed within this article were correct at the time and are subject to fluctuation.
Related Articles
Football
Football Today: Including Barnsley v Sheffield Wednesday
All the major upcoming live televised English, European and International football fixtures, TV details and betting odds.
bet365 News Team
21 hours ago
