League One Betting Tips

This game is rated at 9.48 for Over 1.5 Goals on my Goals Sheet.

Newly-promoted Rochdale will be looking to make an impression on their return to the EFL, and they could cover this line on their own as they travel to relegation-favourites Newport.

Both sides saw the bet land in their EFL Cup first round outing, and Dale scored 88 goals (1.91 per game) on their way to posting 106 points in the National League last season.

Barnsley have been a great side for overs goals betting in recent years. My Goals Sheet has their opening day clash with Bromley rated at 9.18 for Over 1.5 Goals.

Barnsley were actually worse defensively at home than they were away last season and have a new, but old, manager at the helm, with Daniel Stendel returning for a second spell.

Bromley know where the goal is, having won League Two last season, and are especially dangerous from set pieces, scoring 31 goals from them in the league last season - which was the most in the fourth tier by four clear goals.

KFUM v Lillestrom is rated 8.85 by my Goals Sheet for Over 1.5 Goals.

Over 2.5 has landed in three of KFUM’s last four, and the same can be said for Lillestrom, so this lower line is well within reach.

Their last seven competitive head-to-head games have covered the over 1.5 line, and the hosts need the points as they currently only have a three-point cushion on the Eliteserien relegation spots.

My Goals Sheet rates this game at 8.93 for Over 1.5 Goals.

An evenly matched game is expected, with both sides finishing on the exact same points (37) last season.

Their most recent meeting saw this bet land just after the hour mark. Gaziantep saw over 1.5 goals in their last 11 games of last season and are narrow favourites for the game.

My Goals Sheet rates this game at 9.33 for Over 2.5 Goals.

Which is the highest rating of the day for Over 2.5 Goals, so it’s a great one to have in an accumulator.

Both sides’ most recent games saw over 3.5 goals, with Fortuna Sittard impressively drawing 2-2 away at PSV.

Covering this line on their own is a possibility if they can carry on that positive attacking form, with Cambuur losing 4-0 at home to Excelsior last time out.

Bolton were a really entertaining team to watch in League One last season and should still see plenty of goals in their games now that they have made the step up to the Championship.

I expect Bolton to battle in the bottom half of the Championship this term as a newly promoted side, but they can definitely cause surprises and be an awkward side to play in front of their own supporters.

Bolton scored 46 goals at home in League One last season (2.0 per game), only the two automatically promoted sides in Cardiff (50) and Lincoln (53) scored more goals at home than Steven Schumacher’s side.

Preston saw 2+ goals in their first round game of the EFL Cup as they progressed on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time. Their away fixtures saw an average of 2.56 goals per game in the Championship last term.

I think we’re going to see Leicester caught out at the back quite often in the early parts of their League One campaign as the Foxes attempt to implement the style of Russell Martin.

Martin is very stubborn when it comes to his style of play, he wants his team to build out from the back and focus on long passing sequences which suffocate the opposition.

This means that Leicester will have a lot of the ball, but a lot of this possession will be in their own half - or even around their own penalty area, making them vulnerable to mistakes.

Notts County held Burnley to a 1-1 draw in their EFL Cup first round game last time out, eventually bowing out on penalties. 

They earned promotion from League Two last season, notably scoring 45 goals across their 23 home matches (1.95 per game). No side scored more goals at home in League Two last season than Notts County.

MK Dons are heavily fancied to be competitive at the top end of League One this season having earned promotion from League Two with an 86 point haul.

MK Dons boasted the best away record of any side in the division in last season, losing just four of their 23 matches and netting 45 goals in the process - more than any other side in the division on their travels.

Oxford have dropped down from the Championship after losing out on the relegation tussle which formed across the final few weeks at the bottom of the table. They only won seven of their 23 home games, but did manage to score 24 goals across these matches - giving both sides enough of a base to get on the scoresheet. 

I really like how Luton are progressing under Jack Wilshere and the momentum they had towards the end of last season looks to have carried over with the away side running out 3-0 winners in the first round of the EFL Cup against Gillingham.

Luton went on an unreal run towards the end of last campaign, avoiding defeat in all 12 of their matches since the 10th March. They won nine of these games as well, so Wilshere is clearly building a very capable side for this level which has been bolstered by some smart business.

Reading finished 11 points below Luton in League One last season and only managed to win 10 of their 23 home matches. Luton have plenty of firepower on the road too, having scored 31 goals across their 23 away matches in League One last season - avoiding defeat in 13 of these games. 

Rochdale’s promotion from the National League was one of the stories of the year last season after a gruelling battle with York that saw both sides finish on 100+ points.

Rochdale missed out on automatic promotion despite this impressive tally, but navigated the playoffs to earn promotion to the EFL after beating Boreham Wood in the final on penalties.

Rochdale scored 40 goals across their 23 away matches in the National League last season (1.73 per game) and face off against a Newport side that only avoided the drop by four points in the end after a poor campaign.

Newport conceded 37 goals at home in League Two last season (1.60 per game), only Harrogate Town - the side with the worst home record in the division - conceded more goals than Newport in front of their own supporters (38).

Both of these sides suffered bruising defeats in the first round of the EFL Cup last time out with Oldham falling to Stoke in a 2-0 defeat while Port Vale lost 3-0 to Wolves on the road.

Oldham had a decent season last term, finishing 10 points adrift of the playoff spots in the end - but they were in the race at points during the campaign. Their 23 home games produced 48 goals (2.08 per game) and they face a Port Vale side who have dropped down from League One.

Port Vale conceded 36 goals on the road in League One last season (1.56 per game) and may find this an awkward test as they attempt to bounce back into League One at the first time of asking.

Middlesbrough came within inches of promotion to the Premier League last season after losing out to Hull City in the Championship play off final a few months ago.

They look well prepared for another attempt at earning promotion to the top flight having added to their already impressive squad with the likes of Lankshear and Vitek as key signings.

Middlesbrough only lost five of their 23 home matches in the Championship last season, notably only conceding 18 goals across these games - only Ipswich (17) conceded fewer goals at home than Middlesbrough in the Championship last season.

Lincoln did very well to earn promotion from League One last season but there is a sizeable gap in quality between their squad and the sides expected to be competing at the top of the table in the Championship.

I’d expect any success that Lincoln do get in the Championship this season to be in front of their home fans with Boro notably being the shortest of any side in the EFL to register a victory on the opening weekend.

These sides faced off back in February as Bradford came away 2-0 winners over Peterborough in a really dominant performance.

Bradford registered an xG of 3.79 from 29 shots on that occasion, limiting Peterborough to just four shots and an xG of 0.64. 

Bradford were very tough to beat at home in League One last season, losing just three of their 23 matches in front of their own supporters. 

Bradford only conceded 17 goals across these games, only Stevenage conceded fewer goals than Bradford at home in League One last season (13). 

By contrast, Peterborough really struggled on the road in League One last term - winning just seven of their 23 away games. They didn’t really have a base level of performance to fall back on either, drawing just two of these games and losing 14.

Burton are in crisis, they’ve admitted to 28 FA breaches, lost key players and are the bookies’ favourites to be relegated to League Two.

They host a Stevenage side that finished in the play-offs last season.

It was a huge achievement and they’re unlikely to repeat it, but they’re head and shoulders more reliable than Burton.

Alex Revell has given Stevenage a clear identity, an uncomplicated way of playing which is tough to play against and makes them more than the sum of their parts.

They finished 11 places and 21 points above Burton last season, and the Brewers have only gone backwards this summer.

Stevenage just need to avoid defeat to get this selection up.

York fans were chanting sacked in the morning at new manager Scott Lindsey in his first game in charge.

A 2-0 defeat to his former side Crawley in the League Cup.

York are fancied to go well on their return to the EFL, but they begin the campaign by hosting, second-favourites for the title, Bristol Rovers.

Rovers put together an eight-game winning streak at the back end of last season, as Steve Evans steadied the ship and pushed them into mid table.

He recently took Stevenage from a League Two relegation battle to the cusp of the League One play-offs in a two-year period and he could have a similar impact with the Gas.

It won’t take long for this to get toxic if York don’t start well, and, in Rovers, we should have one of the best teams in the league onside, the bet wins if York don’t win the game.