Who will win 2024/25 League 2 — odds on promotion, favourites and predictions
Let’s find out some details about the upcoming tier 4 season!
The new EFL League 2 season kicked off on August, 9. Let's talk about the upcoming season, who has the best chances to be promoted to the League 1 and what bookmakers think about it.
EFL League 2 Winner Odds
Unlike the higher divisions, bookmakers are sceptical about the relegated teams. Among the five favourites, only one—Port Vale—comes from the relegated clubs of League 1. In the face of intense competition, three teams—Doncaster, Milton Keynes, and Gillingham—have almost equal chances of success. Rounding out the top five is Chesterfield.
Below is the table with the main contenders to win the upcoming season.
Who will win the 2024/25 League 2 odds
Doncaster: The Path to Success through Consistency
Last season, Grant McCan’s team was already making a push for the top of the table. They finished in fifth place and had a nerve-wracking playoff series against Crewe Alexandra, which ended in defeat on penalties. This experience will undoubtedly help them in the new season.
Demonstrating several years of lacklustre performance, Doncaster turned things around in 2022, and in just their second consecutive season in League 2, they nearly made it to the higher division. Yes, among the top seven teams at the end of last season, they had the most modest statistics. With a goal difference of +5, they only surpassed their playoff opponents, Crewe Alexandra. Much of this can be attributed to their lax performance against mid-table teams. In three matches against Newport County, Salford City, and Morecambe, the best of which finished in 15th place, Doncaster suffered a combined score of 12-0.
It is unlikely that consistency issues will be resolved anytime soon, given the negative transfer balance (15 arrivals, 19 departures), which will affect squad depth and inevitably lead to periodic disruptions. These will need to be compensated by promising new signings such as Jordan Gibson from Carlisle United and young Chelsea academy product Teddy Sharman-Lowe. Of course, fans are also placing special hopes on Joe Ironside, who scored 18 goals and finished seventh in the League 2 top scorers list last year.
Milton Keynes: Will the Dons Survive the Loss of their Leaders?
After their relegation from League 1 in the 22/23 season, Milton Keynes Dons fought desperately for a return, briefly rising from 18th to 3rd place. However, they then suffered a setback, being heavily defeated by Crawley Town in the playoffs with an aggregate score of 8:1. Still, the Dons have several aces up their sleeve.
Much of Milton Keynes Dons' transformation last season can be attributed to the arrival of manager Mike Williamson, who managed to lift the club from the depths of mid-table to the promotion zone within just six months. However, their momentum unexpectedly faltered, and despite finishing with the fourth-highest number of goals scored (83) and wins (23), the team suffered a humiliating defeat in the playoffs.
Former Aberdeen and Kilmarnock forward Callum Hendry is going to have to be the key man down in Buckinghamshire this season. He notched 12 goals in 39 games in his first season at Salford before scoring nine in 27 last season. But will he be able to compensate for the loss of two key players like Max Dean and Dan Kemp? Max Dean, who was MK top scorer with 19 goals in all tournaments has left the club for Belgian Gent for a substantial fee of around 2 million euros. While the top 10 goalscorer of the last season Kemp left at the end of the contract.
It seems that Williamson will have to rebuild the team around a defensive strategy, with the main responsibility falling on the new full-back trio of Sam Sherring, Laurence Maguire, and Luke Offord.
Gillingham: Will the Gills Finally Unlock Their Potential?
Gillingham strengthened their squad with a host of solid players in the lead-up to the previous season, but the results turned out to be the opposite of what was expected. A disappointing 12th place, but bookmakers consider the failure a misunderstanding and rank Gillingham alongside the other top contenders.
A mid-table position and one of the worst goal difference ratios in top 20 (-11) might sound quite dramatic. However, the 12th and 8th places were separated by just 5 points. It’s not as if the team lacked skill. Judging by xG they slightly underperformed in front of goal. But the success rate for 1v1 dribbling was about 59 %, with 17.13 attempts per 90, indicating potential for individual technical ability in attack. In other words, the team still has plenty of skilled players. At the helm is new manager Mark Bonner, whose main task is to address issues in the build-up phases.
Recent acquisitions should help with this: central midfielder Armani Little from Wimbledon and right winger Aaron Rowe from Huddersfield. However, judging by the relatively passive transfer activity this offseason and the recruitment of several young players, including 18-year-old Stanley Skipper from the local academy, the team is relying on the untapped potential of earlier acquisitions. Those big names such as Scott Malone from Millwall and Connor Masterson from QPR are just examples.
Chesterfield: The Spireites Have Breathed New Life into Their Team
The only, though not entirely surprising, representative among the teams promoted from the National League. Their first rise to a higher division in six years even inspired an entire book detailing the team's journey.
The Spireites achieved automatic promotion, and this is no fluke but the result of meticulous, persistent, and long-term work. For the past three seasons, the team had reached the play-off zone, but lacked the resources for that final push. By scoring an incredible 106 goals (15 more than the nearest competitors), Chesterfield finished last season with a 12-point lead. The goals were spread out throughout the team, with their top goal scorer, veteran striker Will Grigg, who was on fire, scoring 24 goals in 38 appearances. Irish forward Joe Quigley also scored 12 goals, while midfielders Tony Naylor and Armando Dobra also each scored ten goals. Strangely, despite the best efforts of young Everton loanee Harry Tyrer in goal, the team had the worst defensive record among the teams that finished in the league’s top seven (65 goals conceded).
Good news is that all but the last player have stayed with the team, which has also been strengthened by right winger Dilan Markanday from Championship team Blackburn. On the downside, the team, despite securing promotion early, lost 4 of the last 5 matches in the National League. However, there is little doubt that manager Paul Cook knows what he's doing. In his first stint during the 2013/2014 season, he led the team to League One. He repeated this success with Portsmouth in the 2016/2017 season, and a year later, he took Wigan Athletic to the Championship.
As for promotion to League One, the odds have shifted slightly among the list of contenders, with only Gillingham consistently sitting in the middle of the favourites' table.
Port Vale: Valiants removed the splinter and are ready to fight
Port Vale is the only team relegated from League 1 to feature among the bookmakers' favourites. Despite a disappointing season mired in scandals, those who believe in the Valiants are confident that the club has shed its burdens and, with the right changes, can easily bounce back to League 1.
The main ire of the fans was directed at Director of Football David Flitcroft. During the lost match against Shrewsbury Town, the stands resounded with chants: "Get out of our club." He is blamed for the failed transfer policy. Over three transfer windows—during which the club saw two managerial changes—no much-needed striker was signed. As a result, the club ended up among the six worst teams in terms of goals scored (41). The defence was also unreliable. The team finished second to last in terms of goals conceded – an average of 1.64 goals per game. Furthermore, 22% of those goals have come in the last ten minutes when there is no time to score back.
The bookmakers' optimism may stem from the fact that the new manager, Darren Moore, has finally been allowed to make the transfers he deems necessary, rather than settling for what was left by previous managers. The defence is set to be bolstered by the addition of George Byers from the Championship. In attack, the club has brought in three centre-forwards: Jayden Stockley, Ruari Paton, and Lorent Tolajt, along with a young striker, Andrew Buah, from the club’s academy. Will the new signings be able to compensate for the loss of young Premier League loanees Ollie Arblaster and Alfie Devine, whose departure midway through last season significantly impacted the team, is one of the main intrigues of the new season.
EFL League 2 Promotion Odds
Betting sites believe that Doncaster and MK Dons have equal chances to be promoted to the higher level. Chesterfield and Gillingham follow them, being amongst the favourites of the division.
League 2 promotion odds 2024/25
The 2024/25 season promises to be a battle of coaches. Will Mike Williamson, who managed to pull Milton Keynes into the top three in just half a season, come out on top? Or will the expertise of Paul Cook, who has a track record of leading teams to higher leagues, play a decisive role? Alternatively, could Darren Moore’s prospects improve now that he’s no longer under the shadow of the former director of football?
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Arminia Bielefeld
Freiburg
