How to Bet on the English League One

English League One

The English League One is the third tier of English professional football, and the second league in the English Football League. It is below the English Championship, and at the end of each season, three teams are promoted to the Championship from the League One, as three are relegated from the Championship to the League One. Four clubs are also relegated from the League One to play in the English League Two, with four clubs ascending to the League One from the League Two.

The League is full of historic teams that each have their unique highs and lows, with plenty of local derbies with three Yorkshire based teams (Doncaster Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United), three Lancashire teams (Fleetwood Town, Morecambe and Accrington Stanley) a south London derby in AFC Wimbledon vs Charlton Athletic and a Manchester derby in Bolton Wanderers vs Wigan Athletic.

The Structure of League One

The league has twenty four teams playing in it, and all teams play each other twice, once on their home ground and once away. The top two teams at the end of the season secure automatic places for promotion, and the third place is decided in a playoff series between the teams that placed from 3rd to 6th on the table.

The playoffs are played in two rounds, once home and once away for each team, with the 3rd playing the 6th and the 4th playing the 5th. There is no away goal rule in the event of a tie, and teams that are tied over both legs will have to go to extra time and penalties at the end of the second game. The two winners of the first round then play in Wembley Stadium, and the winner of that game determines who gets the third promotion place.

Teams to Bet On

Wigan Athletic

This Manchester based team once played in the Premier League and won an FA Cup in 2013. The Latics, as they are known, had humble beginnings, playing in non-league football since it was founded in 1932 until 1978. After placing second in the Northern league, behind Boston United, it was found that Boston did not have the facilities to support league football, and when it was put to a vote, Wigan were promoted to play in the English Football League. They rose through the ranks and finally reached the Premier League in 2005, where they finished tenth in their first season. Slowly but surely Wigan started to struggle and were finally relegated in 2013. They fell down to the Championship, and in the following years they have been playing in both leagues, with three relegations and two promotions.

With manager Leam Richardson going into his second full season at the club, the attacking force is led by ex-Manchester United academy striker Will Keane, who is the top goalscorer this season for the club. They currently are one of the highest scoring clubs in the league.

Plymouth Argyle FC

Plymouth has never reached the Premier League, they have been called a “yo-yo club” due to the number of times they have been promoted and relegated between the League One and Championship. Although, they have one achievement that not many clubs can claim. Plymouth Argyle beat Brazilian team Santos and Pele!

That’s right, “The Pele” came to Plymouth for an international friendly, and the English third division club beat him and his team 3-2.

They go into this season hoping to be promoted after being in the third division for ten years, and with top goalscorer Ryan Hardie, they have managed to stay in the top part of the table, but with three or four other clubs in the running, they will have to maintain consistency.

Rotherham United

Another yo-yo club is the Yorkshire based Rotherham United. They have been promoted and relegated between the second and third divisions for five consecutive years. They will be counting on striker Michael Smith, who is just shy of scoring 50 goals for the club across five seasons. They have a few Yorkshire rivals competing in the league; namely Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster Rovers, which will be exciting matches to look forward to.

Sunderland AFC

The fall of Sunderland has been tragic for fans. Up until the mid-1950s this club was a First division winning side, with three titles in the late 19th century and the most recent in 1936. Playing in the Stadium of Light, which seats 49,000, they have a considerably larger stadium than most of the other teams, where the average is around 15,500 (ranging from 39,000 to a mere 5,000).

They were playing in the Premier League for ten years before they were relegated in the 2016-17 season. In the EFL Championship, they started a Netflix documentary, “Sunderland ‘Till I Die” which showed the fans what was happening backstage as they prepared to look to get back into the top flight. Unfortunately, the opposite happened, and Sunderland was relegated in that season, making it the first time they had back-to-back relegations, dropping them into the third division. They came close to breaking into the Second division, when they finished fifth, but then lost to Charlton Athletic in the final round of the playoff, at Wembley Stadium. The following season they also reached the playoffs but lost in the first round to Lincoln City 3-2.

After those disastrous five seasons, only one player has remained from Sunderland’s Premier League days, American midfielder Lynden Gooch.

Wycombe Wanderers

Formed in 1887, Wycombe Wanderers played in the Second division and Southern league until 1908, when they decided they wanted to only play as an amateur team. They aimed to be the greatest amateur club in the country, and one of their biggest achievements was winning the FA Amateur Cup. In 1974, tragedy struck when amateur football was abolished by the FA. The club decided to enter professional football and entered the lowest national league. After stumbling with relegation, they eventually managed to climb the leagues, and in 1994, they finally made it into the League One for the first time in their history. They beat Carlisle United over two legs and Preston North End at Wembley to secure the third promotion place.

After yo-yoing between the third and fourth divisions for fifteen years, Wycombe finally made it into the Championship in manager Gareth Ainsworth’s sixth season at the club. They were relegated last year, and though they are not leading the table, they are definitely in the race for promotion.

Sheffield Wednesday

Four times English First division Champions and three time FA Cup winners Sheffield Wednesday also play in the league. Named after the Wednesday Cricket Club (which is believed to be because that’s when workers took a day off for sports), being founded in 1867, it is one of the earliest formed clubs that continues to play.  The club has spent the majority of its life in the First division of English football, Sheffield was in the Premier League inaugural season in 1992. In the new millennium, Sheffield were relegated into the Second division. They were relegated further to the Third division in 2010, but climbed back after two seasons. They spent 2012-2021 in the Championship before they were relegated once again to the League One.

Despite a poor recent run of matches, Sheffield is surely a team that will at least make a run for one of the playoffs positions.

How To Bet On The League One

The League One is the league for the true English football fans. Here there are no stars who pocket hundreds of thousands of pounds per week, probably not even per month. There are local bred talents, whose passion is irreplaceable, and fans who have been supporting their teams all their lives.

You can find bets here at mr.play, for every game in the League One, each with five categories. The markets include the main market, where you can find full time result bets, double chances and spreads. The Periods, Halves, Goals and Special markets all offer you the chance to spice up your bet with many different wagers that can be made in combinations.

However, if you are new to the English League One, you may want to start with the Outrights, where you can bet on the outright winner, who gets promotion, top six finish, or which teams are relegated.

The Outrights are updated after every game, so do not wait to get started if you see some fantastic odds.