The League One lowdown: Promotion, play-offs and relegation

There is a little over three weeks of the Football League’s regular season remaining, and that means it’s crunch time.

That’s certainly the case in League One, where everything is still to play for.

Ahead of the season run-in, we’re guiding you through all the major talking points…

Promotion

This has been a three-horse race for much of the campaign, and it’s set to finish that way.

Wigan Athletic lead the way on 86 points, ahead of Blackburn Rovers on goal difference. The Latics have a game in hand on their Lancashire rivals too.

The duo have ousted long-time leaders Shrewsbury Town into third. The Shropshire side are five points off the pace, but also have a game in hand on Rovers.

It remains to be seen what defeat to Lincoln City in the Checkatrade Trophy Final will do for the Shrews’ hopes, but four of their final six games are at home, which could be crucial.

Play-offs

The top three have already secured a play-off spot at least, so that leaves just three places up for grabs.

Rotherham United and Plymouth Argyle sit fourth and fifth. Both sides started off poorly but have been in superb form to rise through the table in the last few months.

The Millers have a seven-point safety buffer, so they should be looking forward to some post-season action. But Argyle are only a point above Charlton Athletic and Portsmouth in sixth and seventh, respectively.

And a point behind that pair sit Peterborough United and Scunthorpe United. They’re six clear of Bristol Rovers, so it looks like six sides will be fighting for the three remaining play-off places.

Relegation

Having collected only 30 points this season, Bury are almost doomed. They’re 14 points from safety with only five games remaining.

Above them, Northampton Town, MK Dons and Rochdale sit in the relegation zone.

Dale and the Dons are two points shy of safety, but if Oldham Athletic can win any of their games in hand then that gap will grow to four points.

Oxford United, Walsall and AFC Wimbledon are safe for now, but they’ll all need another couple of wins in the final weeks.

All Odds and Markets correct as of date of publication