The English Premier League is one of the most popular soccer leagues in the whole world. For every single game, fans will watch in their millions, with many of these supporters also betting on the competition as well. There are hundreds of betting markets for every game, so bettors will always find an intriguing bet to place money on.
While of course the Premier League has the best players and most well-known teams, betting on the other leagues within England can also be very enjoyable too. League One, the third tier, has 24 teams, so there are even more matches to bet on each week. A lot of people are now beginning to look for betting odds on League One, as the odds can be more advantageous, as slightly less is known about those players and teams.
Most teams have played between 20 and 22 games in the 2021/22 EFL League One season, so there is an awful lot of news to catch up on. Let's take a look at some of the biggest stories from the season so far, to see if bettors can know which odds to look for in the upcoming round of fixtures.
Rotherham lead the way, for now
It is very tight at the top of the EF League One table, with the top 5 only separated by 5 points. The lead has changed hands several times, but currently sitting at the very top are Rotherham United.
Rotherham are considered to be a yo-yo club, which means they are regularly being promoted up to the Championship, and back down to League One. For example, they were one of the 3 sides to go up in the 2019/20 season, but only lasted a single season in the higher tier, before being sent straight back down the following season.
They will be desperate to go up again this season, and to hopefully make the landing stick. It is all going to plan so far, as they have won 13 and lost just 3 of their 21 games so far. They are unbeaten in the league since September, so they would be many people's favourites to gain promotion this year. In fact, you can currently get odds of 2/9 for Rotherham to go back to the Championship at the end of the season, so something spectacular would have to happen for them to not be promoted this time around.
Wigan and Sunderland hot on their heels
Not far behind Rotherham are Wigan Athletic and Sunderland, who are level on 42 points each (though Wigan have played one game fewer). Both teams have been in the Premier League in the last 10 years, so have fallen quite far to find themselves in League One. Therefore, both will be desperate to make it out of the 3rd tier as quickly as possible.
Wigan last tasted defeat against Lincoln City on the 26th of October, and have since then been on a great run. In that time they have beaten the likes of Burton Albion, Fleetwood Town, Plymouth Argyle and Shrewsbury. Their most recent result was a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town, in a game that they were winning up until the 77th minute. They will be hoping to bounce back in their next fixture against Oxford United, and are currently 2/1 to do so.
Sunderland meanwhile are also unbeaten in their last 6 league games, after a shock 3-0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday. Sunderland are a historically huge side, one that certainly shouldn't be as low down as League One. They have been in the 3rd tier for 4 seasons now, so will be even more desperate to escape it. They have odds of 15/8 to win their next fixture, which are longer than the opposition, so we will have to wait until the 18th of December to see if they can upset these odds.
Who will the next Ipswich manager be?
One side who is really down on their luck right now in League One are Ipswich Town. The club had their heyday in the 1970s and 80s, winning the FA Cup and Uefa Cup, as well as regularly challenging for the old First Division title. Following several years of bad investment and poor recruitment, both on the pitch and in the manager's chair, they now are as low as 12th in the League One, despite being tipped for promotion under Paul Cook at the beginning of the season.
The poor results have led to Cook being sacked by the club, with his replacement yet to be announced. The current favourite to be appointed by the club from Suffolk is Neil Harris, who previously worked with Cardiff. He has very short odds of 1 / 3 in some places, so this could well happen in the next few hours, if not days. Time will tell if he can get Ipswich back to the level their fans expect.
