The Championship extending the number of playoff spots down to eighth is a really significant change this season and Wrexham could easily benefit.

Phil Parkinson’s side finished seventh last season, just two points away from Hull who eventually earned promotion to the Premier League via the playoffs. 

That finish would be enough this year for Wrexham to have a chance of promotion and I think we’ll see the Welsh side battling in the top half of the Championship again this term.

Wrexham have a really deep squad with a wealth of Championship and EFL experience that can aid them in a push for the playoffs this year. 

I think there’s a decent price on this when considering that the likes of Norwich, Sheffield United and Birmingham are shorter than Wrexham to secure a Top 8 Finish - I’d back Wrexham to be just as competitive as those sides.

Stockport faced heartbreak in the League One Play-Off Final at the end of last season as they were beaten 4-1 by Bolton at Wembley. 

That was the second consecutive season in which Stockport have finished third and gone out in the playoffs, which tells me that they are a club that are doing a lot of things right at this level and should have a decent stab at getting out of League One at the third time of asking.

Stockport really didn’t do much wrong when you look at their underlying numbers from last season, they ranked within the top 5 sides for most key metrics and also had one of the league’s top scorers in Kyle Wootton.

Stockport were a similar price to register a Top 6 finish last year and I think the market is underestimating their chances again as a side that now understands League One quite well. Stockport are priced at 5.50 to earn promotion this year, which is a price also worth looking at. 

Barnet are definitely a side worth keeping an eye on this year after finishing eighth at the first time of asking after winning promotion to the EFL.

They finished just two points below a spot in the playoffs last year and notably had the second best away record of any side in the division. It was their inconsistent home form which saw them fall short of a Top 7 finish.

Barnet are third favourites to be promoted from League Two this term, only sitting behind Salford City and Bristol Rovers. We’ve got some insurance by backing them for a Top 7 finish even if they slightly underperform from pre-season expectations.

The top four race looks really open this season and Chelsea have a real advantage by not being in Europe. 

Chelsea are not as far away from the Champions League spots as their 10th placed finish last year would suggest.

The Blues pretty much tanked their season after Enzo Maresca left the club and were around the top three positions while he was still in his role. 

Chelsea have signed Morgan Rogers as well as Marco Palestra already this summer and are heavily linked with a move for Maxence Lacroix at the time of writing. 

These additions add to the likes of Emegha and Quenda who had already secured moves to the West London side.

These signings signal a shift from Chelsea’s previous obsession with only securing young talent. Most of these players are also very tall and physical, an aspect that Chelsea desperately fell short for last year. 

Xabi Alonso is clearly a very capable manager having won the league title with Bayer Leverkusen and maintaining a 71% win percentage as Real Madrid boss.

He’s coming into an environment where the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, the two powerhouses of the last 10 years, have new managers - a terrain which could be perfect for Alonso to finally make this Chelsea side competitive in the Premier League with only one game per week.

These sides faced off as recently as April in a game that finished 2-2 with both sides registering 15 shots and at least five shots on target.

Emmen finished just six points away from the playoff spots last term, seeing 66 goals across their 19 home matches (3.47 per game). 

Roda did finish in the playoff spots last term but didn’t get much joy, eventually being knocked out by Waalwijk narrowly over the two legs. 

Roda notably boasted the second best away record in the Eerste Divisie last term, seeing 59 goals across their 19 matches on the road (3.10 per game). 

Vitesse were deducted 12 points in the Eerste Divisie last season due to financial difficulties, which actually cost them a spot in the playoffs - so they are a much better side than their 15th place finish last term would suggest.

Their 19 home matches in the Eerste Divisie last term produced 61 goals (3.21 per game) with Vitesse notably ranking in the top half for home goals in the division last campaign. 

They take on a Waalwijk side that I leaned on regularly for goals last season. They finished sixth in the Eerste Divisie, bowing out in the playoffs to Wilhelm II. Their 19 away games produced 65 goals (3.42 per game).