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Scottish League One and Two 2021-22 | Outright Betting Previews & Predictions

Scottish League One and Two 2021-22 | Outright Betting Previews & Predictions

Wednesday 28 July, 20213 min read
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Andy Robson

Andy Robson is the most popular betting tipster in the UK. With a combined following in excess of 1 million people across his social media channels, Andy has built a loyal audience by consistently providing quality betting content for over nine years. He is the founder of Andy’s Bet Club, which he launched in 2019.

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Having had a scour online it appears you can only back league winners in the bottom two divisions so I thought rather than team by team previews like I’ve done for the Championship and Premiership, I’m better giving my thoughts on each division as a whole, as well as who will make up my top three come May next year in both Leagues One and Two. League One looks the most open of the four divisions across Scotland this coming season so what better place to start than there then work our way down to League Two.

Scottish League One 2021-22 Preview & Predictions

In Rangers, Kilmarnock and Kelty Hearts (more on them later) three of the four divisions have an odds on winner for the coming campaign. The same can’t be said of League One. The bookies aren’t sure on which of Cove Rangers and Falkirk are favourites and the likes of Airdrie, Alloa and Queen’s Park aren’t miles away in the outright betting either. It looks set to be the best division in Scotland once again with five sides in contention, just as there was last season.

Falkirk somehow contrived to drop from league leaders to missing out on the Play-Offs late on in the season and as one of only three full-time teams the only goal for Paul Sheerin’s men is promotion. Queen’s Park and Airdrie (to an extent) fill that full-time trio but it’s Cove who look like being Sheerin’s side’s closest rivals this season having continued to spend big to aid their ascension up the Scottish football pyramid. Barry Ferguson is the new Alloa manager which represents something of a risk, with the former Rangers captain having a patchy record in the dugout. It’s a risk I don’t think will quite pay off this season in what looks a tricky division. I’ve had a look at determining who will make up the top three come May and sorry Alloa and Airdrie fans you might want to stop reading at this point.

🔵 I think it will be third time is the charm for the Bairns and we’ll see them back in the Championship next season. Craig McGuffie, Ryan Williamson and Brad McKay are very solid additions and should give them that extra bit of quality needed to avoid a similar drop off to last season. Falkirk won just once in their final nine league games last campaign which saw them lose not just top spot, but they dropped out of the Play-Offs completely.

They’ll face stiff competition from what looks a very strong top five this season but the time feels right for Falkirk to return to the second tier. I’m a massive Callumn Morrison fan and the 22-year-old probably should be playing at least a level higher than he is. He’s capable of winning games on his own but if Anton Dowds, Aidan Keena and Aidan Nesbitt can up their goal tallies they should be less reliant on the former Hearts winger and very well placed to win the title. Pre-season and League Cup results have been affected by Covid which might mean a slow start could be on the cards for Sheerin’s first full-time job in senior management since 2014. A poor run hopefully shouldn’t be as potentially season-damaging as it was last campaign with the return to a 36 game League One season allowing for teething problems, something that shouldn’t be too much of an issue for this talented Falkirk side if that’s all they are.

🔵 I expect Paul Hartley’s free spenders to push Falkirk close this season and I wouldn’t be shocked to see them join their title rivals in the Championship next year, making a real go of promotion via the Play-Offs. They’ve made some big signings over the summer adding players with recent Premiership experience to an already talented, if a little thin on numbers, Cove squad.

Shay Logan, Iain Vigurs, Ross Draper and Kyle Gourlay all played Premiership football last season so that’s a lot of experience and talent at Hartley’s disposal this time around. The aim will be that those four arrivals will be able to take Cove beyond last season’s third placed finish and really challenge the full-time teams expected to be in and around them competing for a spot in next year’s Championship. In Mitch Megginson they have one of the most prolific strikers in Scotland over the past few years and he’ll likely be well in contention for the golden boot alongside the likes of Simon Murray, David Goodwillie and Callumn Morrison. I am a tad worried about the size of Cove’s squad. There’s undoubtedly talent coursing through Hartley’s side but they will be reliant on players the wrong side of 30 playing as many games as possible this season. They struggled for numbers at times last campaign and failed to name more than five subs in each of their League Cup games this season. That could be the difference between themselves and Falkirk this year as there’s certainly an argument that Cove’s strongest XI is as good, if not better than the Bairns’.
🕷 It was pretty clear going into the League Two season last year that Queen’s Park had too much quality for the vast majority of the division and that talent gulf was immediately obvious as the season begun. Queen’s Park strolled to the title, winning the league by 16 points, conceding just 13 goals in 22 games and losing just twice through the campaign. It might not be as easy a season for The Spiders but they certainly have a good chance of mixing it at the top of the table with some good sides. Last season’s squad looked like one capable of competing in the Championship so it’s understandable that they’ve not made wholesale changes upon their return to the third tier and have thus far managed to hang on to the big names that secured the League Two title in such style. Callum Ferrie, Jake Davidson and Lewis Moore are all highly thought of youngsters signed from higher up the pyramid that could prove to be successful gambles but success will likely be brought by the more experienced members of Laurie Ellis’ side. Simon Murray, Bob McHugh and Will Baynham should be able to continue from last season and trouble defences, while last season’s stubborn back five remains intact giving Ellis a very strong spine for the coming campaign. I’m intrigued to see how Queen’s Park deal with the step up this season as it was pretty obvious early on last year that the League Two title was going to be theirs. They’re competing with good sides for the title and promotion places and they should have enough to pip the likes of Alloa, Airdrie and Montrose to the Play-Off spots but it might be a season too soon for a title push alongside Falkirk and Cove.

Scottish League One Outright Odds

My top 3 outright picks for the 2021-22 Scottish League One season are…

🔵
Falkirk to Win the 2021-22 Scottish League One @ 3.50 with Paddy Power
🔵
Cove Rangers to Win the 2021-22 Scottish League One @ 3.75 with Paddy Power
🕷
Queen's Park to Win the 2021-22 Scottish League One @ 3.5 with Paddy Power

Paddy Power are offering Each Way betting on this market (Scottish League One Outright) which means you get 1/5 of the odds if your team to Win finished in 2nd or 3rd place. 🚨

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Scottish League Two 2021-22 Preview & Predictions

It doesn’t look the strongest fourth tier I’ve ever seen, and I think already it looks as if it may be a race to finish in the Play-Offs rather than any real title challenge, similar to last season. Kelty Hearts look incredibly strong having been promoted from the Lowland League and could be as comfortable this season as last year’s runaway league winners Queen’s Park were in securing the title nice and early last campaign.

Stenhousemuir have been incredibly busy over the summer, signing more players – 20 – than any other side across the four divisions. There are some big names arriving at Stenny but I fear they might not have quite enough to trouble the top three positions even if that still means they should be in for a good shout of making the Play-Offs. Forfar are another who have made some interesting acquisitions but, like Stenny, I think they’re more likely to be scrapping for the lower Play-Off spots than coming close to challenging Kelty for the title.

🇱🇻 I’ve made no secret of my admiration of Kelty coming into this season and I really expect them to have a comfortable time of it in their first season in the SPFL. Kevin Thomson has arrived as manager replacing Barry Ferguson but a change of management shouldn’t have too big an impact on a side that’s well built for a title push this season. They cruised the Lowland League last season and romped home in the Play-Offs dismantling Brora Rangers before relegating Brechin showing their considerable quality.

They’ve added well over the summer and midfielders Joe Cardle and Jamie Barjonas would’ve be playing at a higher level had it not been for the money Kelty have given them. Jordan Foster and Botti Biabi are solid acquisitions that should help the former junior side realise their dreams of back-to-back promotions. They showed their potential in the League Cup groups, swotting aside East Fife and Elgin in comfortable wins and losing by a single goal to each of Championship Arbroath and Premiership Dundee United. Kelty Hearts are short favourites for the League Two title and it’s hard to disagree with the bookies on this one.

🇦🇹 Despite losing last season’s top scorer in Andy Ryan’s move to Championship side Hamilton, Stirling do look a good bet to bother the upper end of the Play-Offs, if not Kelty Hearts and top spot. Dale Carrick has come in to replace Ryan and you won’t find many better replacements, with Carrick scoring nine times in 22 League One appearances last season. Rabin Omar and Ray Grant played decent amounts of football in the Championship last season and could be key two divisions down this time around, with Omar being a particularly exciting signing.

If Carrick can bring the goals he’s got over the past two seasons at a higher level – he finished in the top three scorers in League One in each of the last two campaigns – then Stirling should be fine for a Play-Off spot. That doesn’t seem to be the aim though, with thoughts more focused on challenging Kelty for the title. I think that’s probably beyond them but they do have a talented squad with players dropping down the divisions to add a bit of class, I just can’t see anyone getting too close to this ridiculously talented Kelty side.

🏰 Edinburgh City have made good attempts of getting out of League Two in each of the last three seasons though have ultimately come unstuck in each campaign despite finishing 2nd, 2nd and 3rd. I suspect it might be a similar season for Gary Naysmith’s side this time around though they have lost a few senior players. Calum Antell, Conrad Balatoni, Liam Henderson and Liam Brown are headed up the pyramid and will all need replacing if Edinburgh City are to have a similarly placed season to the last.

There’s still plenty of talent in the Citizens ranks and they will see this as a chance of getting out of this division after years of going close. If one of Ouzy See, Danny Handling or Alex Ferguson (no, not that one) can step up on the goals front then they could be a shout to replicate last season’s second place finish, though I don’t think they quite have the same quality as they did last campaign and a slight regression might be on the cards.

Scottish League Two Outright Odds

My top 3 outright picks for the 2021-22 Scottish League Two season are…

🇱🇻
Kelty Hearts to Win the 2021-22 Scottish League Two @ 1.73 with Paddy Power
🇦🇹
Stirling Albion to Win the 2021-22 Scottish League Two @ 8.0 with Paddy Power
🏰
Edinburgh City to Win the 2021-22 Scottish League Two @ 6.0 with Paddy Power

Paddy Power are offering Each Way betting on this market (Scottish League Two Outright) which means you get 1/5 of the odds if your team to Win finished in 2nd or 3rd place. 🚨

18+ please gamble responsibly. All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.