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Luton Town made their League One intentions crystal clear on opening night on Friday nightas fresh from back-to-back relegations, the Hatters wasted no time asserting their authority this season with a clinical performance against AFC Wimbledon.
A team with a point to prove played like it — quick, compact, and confident, brushing aside the newly promoted visitors in a match that rarely looked in doubt.
It’s little surprise, then, that Luton are being widely backed to go all the way and take the title this season. They currently sit atop of the markets according to the main UK bookies, priced at 10/3 with Bet365, 13/4 with Unibet, and the same 10/3 with Ladbrokes to go on and lift the League One trophy come the end of the campaign.
Based on Friday’s showing — one marked by sharp link-up play and an assured back line — it’s easy to see why.
Yet the rest of the division won’t be content to play supporting roles in a Hatters redemption arc this season.
Within 24 hours, Huddersfield Town issued their own statement of intent as Lee Grant, embarking on his first managerial campaign, watched his side dismantle Leyton Orient with ease.
It took just seven minutes for Huddersfield to find the net, and from there, they never looked back. The 3-0 scoreline showed why Terriers are firmly in the conversation for the title this year as Like Luton, they’re available at 4/1 across Bet365, Unibet, and Ladbrokes to take the crown.
Their result came hours after Saturday’s early kick-off saw Cardiff City open their campaign with a composed win over Peterborough United.
Under Brian Barry-Murphy, the Bluebirds looked more stable and structured than at any point in their chaotic final months in the Championship.
Goals from Rubin Colwill and Ronan Kpakio capped a controlled performance, suggesting this is a side that may quietly mount a sustained challenge this season.
Cardiff are currently priced at 6/1 with Bet365 and 13/2 with Unibet and Ladbrokes to take the title.
Beyond the three early pacesetters, a handful of outsiders are quietly building cases of their own.
Stockport County, priced at 7/1 with Bet365 and Ladbrokes and 8/1 with Unibet, have been backed highly to go one stage better than last year when they came third in League One, as they are currently the most backed team to take promotion this season.
According to Oddschecker, more punters have backed County to win the league than any other club aside from Luton. It’s a reflection not just of recent momentum — promotion from League Two, an ambitious summer window — but of a squad that looks robust and well-drilled under Dave Challinor. They also lost Isaac Olaofe to Charlton but have invested a club-record fee in Malik Mothersille from Peterborough to fill the void. The Hatters will be confident of another promotion push as long as they can hold on to the highly rated Ethan Pye and Lewis Bate, who have attracted Championship interest over the summer.
Bolton Wanderers, too, are drawing attention.
Now priced at 11/1 with most bookmakers, Ian Evatt’s side has flirted with promotion in recent seasons, and they look better prepared this time.
Meanwhile, Plymouth Argyle and Blackpool are two more to keep an eye on.
Both had unremarkable starts at the weekend, Blackpool lost 3-2 at home to Stevenage and Plymouth 3-1 at home to Barnsley, but both are being tipped to put those opening day jitters behind them to have good campaigns this year.
Blackpool are currently 16/ 1 with Unibet, Bet365 and Ladbrokes to take the title while Plymouth are 16/1 with Bet365 and Ladbrokes and 14/1 with Unibet.
One team who could be shooting up the odds soon is Bradford City as well. Starting the day at 33/1 with Bet365 and Ladbrokes and 30/1 with Unibet to win the league, Bradford had a great opening day win over a strong looking Wycombe team. It is only the opening day, but it was the kind of performance that could see Bradford start to earn more love with punters going forward.
Wigan are another team that could see their odds start to move in the coming weeks as their 25/1 odds with Bet365, 22/1 with Unibet and 33/1 with Ladbrokes to take the title were mocked slightly with an outstanding 3-1 win over Northampton Town at the weekend.
Ryan Lowe will be hoping Paul Mullin can spearhead their promotion push this season in what promises to be another year of plenty of action and goals in League One this season...