Football betting tips: Sky Bet EFL outrights 24/25
2pts e.w. MK Dons to win League Two at 8/1 (bet365, Boylesports 1/4 1,2,3)
0.5pt e.w. Leeds, Birmingham and MK Dons to win their leagues at 120/1 (Unibet 1/4 1,2,3)
With the Sky Bet EFL season getting under way this weekend, our 'This Week's Acca' team of Gab Sutton, Tom Carnduff, Jake Osgathorpe, Jimmy 'The Punt' Cantrill and Joe Townsend give their verdicts and selections for each of the three divisions.
They provide a divisional winner, dark horse, top scorer and best bet, with some interesting and differing shouts - highlighted by there being 14 different 'dark horses' from a maximum of 15.
Though there was very little round agreement, MK DONS TO WIN LEAGUE TWO was universally backed at 8/1, despite Chesterfield being bookies' favourites.
There was plenty of confidence in Mike Williamson's side when the panel discussed the fourth tier in the This Week's Acca outright show, with the Dons expected to kick on from play-off semi-final disappointment last season and build on the impressive turnaround Williamson oversaw after arriving from Gateshead a third of the way into the campaign.
Take the other favs
Jake and Tom were in total agreement on the three LEAGUE WINNERS, adding market leaders LEEDS AND BIRMINGHAM to MK DONS.
There was enough consensus in the team for a small-stakes wager on the treble at a huge 120/1.
But in the interest of keeping everyone happy, here are the rest of the team's Championship-League One-League Two trebles.
Other outright accas
- Gab: Sunderland - Birmingham - MK Dons at 701/1 (Unibet)
- Jimmy: Luton - Rotherham - MK Dons at 1295/1 (Unibet)
- Joe: Burnley - Bolton - MK Dons at 890/1 (Unibet)
Sky Bet Championship
Gab Sutton
- Winner: Sunderland Dark horse: Sunderland
- Top scorer: Emmanuel Latte Lath (Middlesbrough)
- Best bet: Sunderland to win title at 25/1 (General)
Jake Osgathorpe
- Winner: Leeds Dark horse: Sheffield Wednesday
- Top scorer: Mateo Joseph (Leeds)
- Best bet: Leeds to win title at 7/2 (General)
Jimmy 'The Punt' Cantrill
- Winner: Luton Dark horse: Sheffield Wednesday
- Top scorer: Emmanuel Latte Lath (Middlesbrough)
- Best bet: Luton top six at 6/5 (General)
Joe Townsend
- Winner: Burnley Dark horse: Portsmouth
- Top scorer: Lyle Foster (Burnley)
- Best bet: Derby to be relegated at 5/1 (General)
Tom Carnduff
- Winner: Leeds Dark horse: Stoke
- Top scorer: Mateo Joseph (Leeds)
- Best bet: Middlesbrough top six at 6/4 (Betway)
LEEDS clearly lead the outright betting ahead of a Sky Bet Championship season that feels like it could have an incredibly competitive promotion race, albeit with a much weaker top end compared to last term.
LUTON and MIDDLESBROUGH look well positioned for strong campaigns, while SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY bear all the hallmarks of a team capable of upsetting the more fancied sides after Danny Rohl worked a miracle to keep the Owls up in May.
All is not lost on the other side of the Steel City, as the SHEFFIELD UNITED conveyor belt keeps producing talent, which has been allied with some smart summer recruitment that gives the Blades potential for a top-six finish.
Last season's FA Cup heroes COVENTRY, a toenail from completing the greatest comeback of all time to beat Manchester United and reach the final, are another outfit we should expect to be in play-off contention.
At the wrong end of the table, HULL remain a huge price for the drop despite sacking one of the most promising managers in the division in Liam Rosenior, and replacing him with relative unknown, and unproven, German coach Tim Walter.
Summer sales and the end of loan spells means the scorers of 80% of their goals from last season, and arguably their best defender, have all left the club.
CARDIFF could be in big trouble too. Erol Bulut's team were the biggest overperformers in the Championship last season, ranking as the second-worst team in the division according to expected goals (xG) data, despite a 12th-placed finish.
Sky Bet League One
Gab Sutton
- Winner: Birmingham Dark horse: Lincoln
- Top scorer: Alfie May (Birmingham)
- Best bet: Lincoln top six at 10/3 (bet365)
Jake Osgathorpe
- Winner: Birmingham Dark horse: Wycombe
- Top scorer: Sam Nombe (Rotherham)
- Best bet: Bolton top six at 10/11 (bet365)
Jimmy 'The Punt' Cantrill
- Winner: Rotherham Dark horse: Reading
- Top scorer: Sam Smith (Reading)
- Best bet: Rotherham top six at 10/11 (Sky Bet)
Joe Townsend
- Winner: Bolton Dark horse: Wigan
- Top scorer: Dion Charles (Bolton)
- Best bet: Sam Cosgrove e.w. top scorer at 66/1 (Sky Bet)
Tom Carnduff
- Winner: Birmingham Dark horse: Burton
- Top scorer: Rhys Healy (Huddersfield)
- Best bet: Huddersfield top six at 11/8 (Sky Bet)
It's rare a team comes down from the Championship and runs away with Sky Bet League One at the first attempt - with Leeds, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Bolton, Ipswich and Derby all cases in point - but BIRMINGHAM do look as well positioned as anyone to do exactly that.
With an ambitious new ownership group who blundered their way through their opening season, Blues seem to have calmly prepared with smart recruitment and by appointing a well respected coach in Chris Davies, who has previously turned down managers jobs in the Championship to continue to develop as a number two instead.
ROTHERHAM are approaching this campaign with a very different tactic, under the experienced guidance of Steve Evans, who has been true to form in totally reshaping the squad.
Only the Millers, Blues and BOLTON - who are looking to take that final step after play-off semi-final defeat in 2023 and defeat at Wembley last season - are bigger prices to go down then WREXHAM (14/1) which tells you how highly the bookies rate the Hollywood-backed club.
However, League One tends to be the glass ceiling for ambitious clubs quickly climbing the ladder, and with Deadpool and co. no longer the big fish in a small pond, they may just discover this season that's it's not always sunny in owning an EFL club.
Sky Bet League Two
Gab Sutton
- Winner: MK Dons Dark horse: Tranmere
- Top scorer: Alassana Jatta (Notts County)
- Best bet: Harrogate to be relegated at 4/1 (General)
Jake Osgathorpe
- Winner: MK Dons Dark horse: Colchester
- Top scorer: Alassana Jatta (Notts County)
- Best bet: Port Vale top seven at 6/4 (bet365)
Jimmy 'The Punt' Cantrill
- Winner: MK Dons Dark horse: Bromley
- Top scorer: Alassana Jatta (Notts County)
- Best bet: MK Dons top seven at 4/5 (Sky Bet)
Joe Townsend
- Winner: MK Dons Dark horse: Cheltenham
- Top scorer: Cole Stockton (Salford City)
- Best bet: MK Dons to win title at 8/1 (Unibet)
Tom Carnduff
- Winner: MK Dons Dark horse: Colchester
- Top scorer: Jayden Stockley (Port Vale)
- Best bet: Carlisle top seven at 6/4 (Sky Bet)
Mike Williamson did a tremendous job after taking charge of MK DONS last season. A full pre-season and some useful additions makes them the team to beat. PORT VALE have spent well, a must having gone all in by awarding Darren Moore a five-year contract last term before he failed to keep them in League One.
CHESTERFIELD are universally priced as favourites for the title after romping the National League last season, but even if they are able to ride the crest of the winning wave, and factoring in Paul Cook's EFL pedigree, it feels incredibly ambitious.
Fellow new boys BROMLEY are entering the Football League for the first time in their 132-year history, but with the gulf between League Two and National League virtually nothing nowadays, the south-east London club should be absolutely fine.
Odds correct at 1630 (05/08/24)
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