League Two Outright Winners Odds

The club whose exploits this season have been well publicised by the media are top of this list, with Wrexham finally ending their 15-year absence from the Football League this year as they won promotion from the fifth tier as champions.

The Red Dragons did so in record-breaking style aswell, picking up the most points ever won in a National League season (111), as well as winning 34 of their 46 matches (the previous record being 30), while also losing just three times all season. As a result, their fantastic showing this year has put them down as huge favourites to perform similarly in League Two next year, with back-to-back promotions a real possibility.

With celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney expected to spend big in the summer to make further additions to the squad, it is little wonder why the Welsh side are one of the favourites to win League Two next season, with odds of 7/2 currently being placed on them to do so.

Next up on the list are Stockport County, with the Hatters being very unfortunate to miss out on promotion to League One this year as they finished just four points behind Northampton Town, who managed to take the last automatic promotion spot.

Stockport therefore had to settle for a place in the play-offs instead, beating Salford City on penalties before taking on Carlisle United in the final. But it was Stockport who were on the receiving end of penalty heartbreak the second time around, with the Cumbrian side triumphing 5-4 in the shootout to condemn the Hatters to League Two status for another year.

However, it has still been a very encouraging season for the club – having only been promoted from the National League as champions the season prior, they have already shown their immense quality by finishing 4th in League Two in their first season back after an 11-year absence, and so will fancy themselves to gain promotion and properly go for the title next season. They have been given odds of 6/1 to win the league next year.

Promoted from the National League alongside Wrexham this season, Notts County will also fancy themselves as potential title winners next season after coming so close to claiming the top prize in the National League this year.

The Magpies had an outstanding campaign as they pushed Wrexham for top spot all the way, ultimately finishing just 4 points behind the Welsh side on 107 points in 2nd place, winning just two games fewer and tasting defeat the same amount of times as the eventual champions (just three losses).

Wrexham’s imperious performances meant that they outshined Notts County in pretty much every avenue, but the Magpies did manage to get one over on Wrexham in one area that will be a huge asset to them during life in League Two – the goalscoring department. Notts County managed to score 117 goals over the course of the season (a single goal more than the Welsh side), which is an impressive feat to achieve against what was such a strong Wrexham side.

Striker Macaulay Langstaff pitched in with an astonishing 42 of those goals, and if he can reproduce that sort of form next year, then Notts County could realistically end up challenging for the title. They are currently priced at 8/1 odds to do so.

Gillingham finished an uninspiring 17th this season, but what their fans can take some solace in, and perhaps why they have been given a place in this list, is because of their superb form in the second half of the season.

The Gills managed to pick up an astonishing 41 points in the second half of the campaign, which is in stark contrast to the measly 14 they managed to get during the first half of the season, which included a run of form that saw them go 12 consecutive games without a win. But following a 2-0 win at home to Hartlepool United in mid-January, the Gills did the opposite of that and pick up 12 wins from their 23 remaining league fixtures, losing just six times in that period. If they can carry on that sort of form into 2023/24, then they will definitely have a shot at winning the title and making it back into League One – a division where they have spent 13 of the 23 years since the turn of the millennium in.

Gillingham seems to be stuck in the weird position where League Two is too easy for them, while League One is too hard for them. But that does make it more likely that they will go up next year after their relegation in 2021/22 – they are currently priced at 10/1 odds to win League Two.

Bradford were relegated from League One in the 2018/19 season, finishing rock-bottom of the table and therefore bringing an end to their six-year stay in the division. And they have gone on to have a mostly unspectacular time while in the fourth tier, finishing in 9th, 15th and 14th place in their first three season in League Two.

But, last season saw a complete turnaround for the club, with the Bantams enjoying a memorable year under the management of Mark Hughes as they went on to secure a 6th-place finish and therefore, finish within the play-offs. They would go on to then lose to Carlisle United in their play-off match, but it was definitely a season to remember for the club’s fans, who have not had much to cheer about over recent years.

However, after coming so close this time around but failing, the club will surely be raring to go again next season, and the more ambitious within the fanbase may even be thinking that they could be in with a shout for the title based on this season’s performances.

A huge part of Bradford’s success has been down to the performances of striker Andy Cook, who has scored a stunning 28 goals this season to bag himself the league’s top-scorer award. If he can recreate this kind of form next season, then the title really is not a far-away possibility, with the Bantams priced at 12/1 to clinch it next year.

MK Dons have played three of the past 18 seasons in League Two, and will now play in the division for a fourth time next year following their relegation from League One in 2022/23.

But, based on how their club has previously performed when in League Two, perhaps we might see the Dons crowned as champions next year? Of the three seasons they have played in the fourth tier, MK Dons have been promoted in two of those seasons, winning the league as champions in one of them.

The only season where the Dons did not manage to get promoted at all while in the division was in 2006/07, when they managed a respectable 4th-place and play-off position, but were ultimately defeated by Shrewsbury Town.

Now, while they may have had a miserable 2022/23 season in League One, based on their historical performances while in the division and squad superiority (on paper, at least), we could see MK Dons crowned as the champions of League Two once again next year – they are priced at 14/1 odds to repeat such a feat again.

Another outsider shout for the 2023/24 League Two title is Salford City, who did manage to make the play-offs of the division this year.

The Ammies finished in 7th-place and took the final play-off spot, and despite putting up a fight, they would end up losing to Stockport County on penalties to ensure that they would be spending yet another year in the fourth tier.

Salford have been a fine addition to the division ever since they earned promotion from the National League in 2019, with consecutive top-half finishes encompassing 11th, 8th, 10th and this season’s 7th-place finish. But they seem to have finally cracked the play-off question as they have now managed to make it into them for the first time.

And although they did lose out this time, the experience itself will be more than enough of a learning curve for the side, and they will now hope to push on and go that extra step further next season. Salford have been given 16/1 odds to win League Two next season.

Mansfield Town have been a League Two staple throughout their history, spending 24 of the past 30 years in the division. They were most recently promoted from the National League in 2013 and have since enjoyed an unbroken decade-long spell in the division, while they have also slowly been edging closer to gaining promotion to League One as well.

The Field Mill club have struggled at times, finishing in positions like 21st and 16th, but they have also finished in 4th, 7th and 8th-place, with that 8th-place finish happening last season. And despite finishing on 75 points with Salford City while also losing fewer matches than them, Mansfield still finished outside of the play-offs by one place due to their ever-so-slightly inferior goal difference.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on a play-off spot, Mansfield knows that they have a fine squad of players who can go again next season, but they can maybe also set their sights even higher this time. Being the joint-highest scoring team in the division with 72 goals is a very promising sign, but they will just need to tighten up more at the back if they are to at least reach the play-offs next season. And if they do tighten up a lot more at the back, combined with their attacking prowess, then Mansfield could be an outside challenger for the title, which they are currently backed at 18/1 odds to win.

The final team on the list is Doncaster Rovers, who will be competing in League Two for a second consecutive year after failing to get straight back up to League One after their relegation from the division in 2022.

At 20/1 odds, they are the least likely of any of these clubs to win League Two, and for good reason. Rovers finished a disappointing 18th-place finish this year, while the expectation would have surely been for them to make it straight back up to League One, or at least challenge for the play-offs. But they failed to do so, and are set for another stint in the fourth tier.

But, the club can take confidence from their other performances when they have been in League Two, with Rovers being promoted after a 3rd-place finish in 2016/17, and doing the exact same thing back in the 2007/08 season. Under the management of ex-Hull City and Peterborough United manager Grant McCann, could they beat the odds and earn promotion?

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