League Two: winners and losers

Have Carlisle learned their lesson?

If you like the chances of both Mansfield and Luton, you can play it safe and get on the promotion market, meaning your club of choice need to go up, but they don’t have to win the league for you to be paid out. The odds are shorter, as you would expect, Mansfield 6/5 and Luton at 6/4, but this also gives you the chance to take a plucky underdog who you think has a chance of throwing themselves into the mix for the prize places. Former big guns Coventry have as much work to do off the pitch as on it, after being relegated from League One, but they can’t be overlooked, and trade at 7/4 to be promoted, or 9/1 to win the league.

After more? Let’s not forget Carlisle’s great start to the season. They were the final team at this level to suffer defeat last season, and one of the last remaining unbeaten sides in British football. The Cumbrians fell apart down the home-straight, but if they can show the same form in the early part of this campaign, they’ve surely got to be fancied to improve. Our boys don’t see it, giving a chunky 4/1 on them being promoted and a whopping 16/1 on Keith Curle’s men going all the way to the winners’ medal.

Coventry’s plunge to continue?

At the opposite end of the rankings, who is your money on to be relegated? It’s another open market, and sides like Coventry really do have as much chance as winning the league as they do of finishing bottom. It’ll be a tough season for The Sky Blues, and they need real investment from the board to put a halt to their drop through the leagues. More misery for Coventry? There’s a cracking 33/1 on them being relegated. One for small stakes, perhaps.

Favourites to finish in the bottom-two are Morecambe and Crawley. Hartlepool and Leyton bit the dust in the spring, and there’s 15/8 on Morecambe playing Non-League football next term, or 3/1 on Crawley. One at a slightly better price that may be worth a second look is Newport at 4/1. County escaped the drop by just two points last time, and another tough year lies ahead. The 4/1 on Newport looks a better bet than 3/1 on Crawley.

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