League Two Promotion Race: Who Will the Top Three Be?
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The Easter Weekend produced some truly exciting twists and turns in the League Two promotion race.
So, who were the winners and losers on a weekend of dramatic double-headers?
Title favourites Northampton Town have moved a step closer to their seemingly inevitable promotion, as they beat Newport County 1-0 on Friday, before pulling back a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 at Mansfield Town yesterday.
The Cobblers are now unbeaten in 17 league games and top the table by 13 points. The weekend’s wins leave Northampton on 86 points and we’re offering 5/2 on the league’s runaway leaders to reach 100 points or more.
It was a frustrating weekend for challengers Oxford United. The U’s drew 1-1 with strugglers Stevenage before a 0-0 draw with Cambridge, which provided significantly less action than the weekend’s Boat Race!
Oxford still have a three-point cushion on fourth-placed Accrington Stanley though and are 1/8 to be in League One next season.
Stanley are surging up the table and John Coleman’s surprise package are now just one point outside the automatic places.
Having picked up 13 points from the last 15, Stanley are many people’s favourites to join Northampton (and one other) in League One and could prove a very popular bet at 4/6.
Fellow challengers Plymouth Argyle have recovered from a recent dip in form, and maintained their hold on third place over the weekend, with wins over Morecambe and relegation-threatened York. They’re 4/5 to experience promotion joy – either automatically or in the play-offs.
Elsewhere, Bristol Rovers’ late loss at Carlisle yesterday has ended a magnificent run for Darrell Clarke’s men who have slipped to fifth place. But at Evens for promotion, many will still see this talented Rovers side as a good bet.
Leyton Orient’s slim hopes of automatic promotion are now likely to be over after back-to-back defeats.
Kevin Nolan’s side have even dropped out of the play-offs, where they’re replaced by Wycombe Wanderers.
However, despite their recent wobble, the O’s do have a reasonably favourable run-in.
The East London outfit will face three of the current bottom four before the season is out making the 8/1 about their promotion chances look a shade of value while it’s 13/8 they finish in the top seven.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
