With Birmingham City looking like they’re waltzing away with the League One title, there’s one mighty scrap behind them. With one more automatic place up for grabs plus the play-off winners, a whole host of teams are eyeing up that coveted place in the second tier of English football – but who will have enough to get over the line, and who will come through the dreaded play-offs?
The League One Automatic Promotion candidates:
2nd – Wrexham AFC: 74 Pts (+22GD)
Wrexham are the marmite of League One – you’ll love them, or you’ll hate them. The Hollywood dream is most definitely on the cards, as the Welsh side aim for a third consecutive promotion. A crucial victory over promotion rivals Wycombe Wanderers seems to have given Phil Parkinson’s side the edge heading into the closing stages of the season, but they’ll know all too well there’s plenty of ups and downs still to come.
Remaining 8 Fixtures:
- Exeter City (A)
- Cambridge United (A)
- Burton Albion (H)
- Wigan Athletic (A)
- Bristol Rovers (H)
- Blackpool (A)
- Charlton Athletic (H)
- Lincoln City (A)
A lot has been made of Wrexham’s away form so far this season, sitting 7th in the away league table – with some tipping this as their downfall during their run in. However, they seem to have one of the more favourable group of games compared to their rivals around them – with Charlton and Blackpool being the only teams in the top 10 they have to face.
An arguably controversial three points against Stockport at the weekend gave them a massive boost, with four wins from their last five games catapulting them into the top 2. The financial backing from Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny is clear for all to see, but they’ve been effective with their spending and will be confident they can get themselves over the line.
They’ve made The Racecourse one of the toughest places to go in the league, which is what any side challenging for promotion would love to have – only Birmingham have picked up more points at home this season, so the Wrexham faithful will most certainly have their say in helping their side get back into the second tier.
3rd – Wycombe Wanderers: 71 Pts (+28GD)
Despite being in the top two for the majority of the season, the recent unrest in Buckinghamshire has caused a wobble for those in blue – but the 2020 League One Play-Off winners are more than in with a shout of joining Birmingham next season. A dramatic 3-2 at Rotherham could just be their catalyst to kick on until the end of the season, as they look to return to the Championship at the third time of asking.
Remaining 9 Fixtures:
- Lincoln City (H)
- Shrewsbury Town (H)
- Reading (A)
- Huddersfield Town (A)
- Stevenage (H)
- Bolton Wanderers (A)
- Charlton Athletic (H)
- Leyton Orient (A)
- Stockport County (H)
Mike Dodds arrival raised some eyebrows when the former Sunderland coach was appointed, and a dip in form has already caused some of the Wycombe faithful to lose hope. A considerably harder run-in compared to Wrexham, with seven of the last ten against teams in the top half – including the six teams directly below them. To be the best you have to beat the best has never been more true for Dodds’ side, who won’t want to go through the pain of the play-offs – just two seasons after losing out to Sunderland at Wembley.
Whilst Wanderers have had investments of their own this season, new owner Mikheil Lomtadze and Chief Football Officer Dan Rice have focused on the structure of the club, investing in bringing back the academy and moving the first team to the much-improved Harlington as their training base.
That said, according to reports they did smash their transfer record twice in the same window over the summer – singing Magnus Westergaard and Anders Hagelskjaer form Viborg and Molde respectively. Despite this, fans have been forced to question why they haven’t seen the new singings in action, with Westergaard playing just 89 minutes across five games and Hagelskjaer 24 minutes across two games.
Other singings like James Berry and Alex Lowry have also found minutes hard to come by, with Wycombe crying out for some creativity to help out league top scorer Richard Kone. Dodds seems to be pretty set in his ways and likes a consistent squad, but their inability to switch things up could be Wycombe’s pitfall during the closing stages.
4th – Charlton Athletic: 66 Pts (+14GD)
Charlton’s rise up the division has been nothing short of excellent, losing just three times in the league since the turn of the year. A 3-0 drubbing against Peterborough has lost them a bit of ground to Wrexham and Wycombe, but the London side will be eyeing up the remaining place in the top two and cause somewhat of a shock.
Remaining 8 Fixtures:
- Huddersfield Town (H)
- Mansfield Town (A)
- Lincoln City (H)
- Cambridge United (A)
- Northampton Town (H)
- Wycombe Wanderers (A)
- Wrexham (A)
- Burton Albion (H)
If The Addicks are still in the fight come the last three games of the season, they could quite easily turn the tide and find themselves in a great position going into the last day – but equally could find themselves out the race if their back-to-back away games against the two sides above them don’t go their way. There’s a long way to go until then though, with tricky encounters at home to play-off chasing Huddersfield and a visit to relegation threatened Cambridge still to come before then.
Nathan Jones didn’t want his side going off to the Bluewater following their victory at Crawley earlier this month, and it is guaranteed Jones’ side won’t rest on their laurels ahead of the run-in. With plenty of Championship experience in the squad, led by top scorer Matty Godden, Charlton will be happy to go under the radar and do the business on their end whilst waiting for one small slip from Wrexham or Wycombe.
5th – Stockport County: 65 Pts (+18GD)
Sitting just a point off Charlton, Stockport will want to replicate (or even one-up) Wrexham’s rise from the National League. Dave Challinor’s side were heavily tipped to slip down the table after Louis Barry’s departure over the new year, but to his sides credit, they’ve more than held their own and kept themselves in with a chance of reaching the Championship.
Remaining 8 Fixtures:
- Burton Albion (H)
- Stevenage (H)
- Exeter City (A)
- Rotherham United (H)
- Peterborough United (A)
- Huddersfield Town (H)
- Lincoln City (H)
- Wycombe Wanderers (A)
A harsh penalty decision led to a 1-0 defeat at Wrexham, but County will be looking forward to the run in – only having to face two of the top ten, one of them being a showdown at Wycombe on the final day of the season. Whilst it’s only an outside shout of sneaking into the top two, they’ll want to secure their play-off position as early as they can and will benefit from five home games at Edgley Park.
A very credible run in the FA Cup to go alongside a play-off place would constitute a successful season, but with a more favourable run-in compared to those around them, it would be harsh to discount Stockport from promotion talk. With just three losses since the turn of the year and with a strong mix of youth and experience throughout the ranks, they’ll be one to keep an eye on as they have a say in both the promotion and play-off race.
The Play-Off Picture:
Huddersfield, Reading, Bolton and Leyton Orient will all be looking at a place in the play-offs – they’re all giving each other chances, and it may be a case of who takes their chance first.
Huddersfield have struggled since the turn of the year, winning just five league games in 2025. After sacking Micheal Duff towards the start of March, some saw it as a desperate attempt to save their season. With trips to Charlton and Stockport, as well as hosting Wycombe and Leyton Orient on the final day, it’ll be a tough few weeks in Yorkshire for The Terriers as they try and bounce back to the Championship at the first time of asking.
Reading have done unbelievably well given the circumstances, with most neutrals wanting the Berkshire side to complete the fairytale and get back to the second division whilst dealing with all their off-field issues. There’s a chance they may not even be a club by the time the last game of the season rolls around, but Royals fans will be hoping for a complete 180 degree turn on their fortunes with a new owner and a place in the play-offs as a reward for their grit and determination. Wycombe are the only team that are currently above Reading that they need to face, giving them a more favourable run-in – nothing comes easy in this league, but expect the unexpected with this story.
Bolton have had one of the most turbulent seasons out of any team in the division. The toxicity that spread through the club during the season was evident, with Ian Evatt finally succumbing to the pressure towards the end of January. An impressive run of form followed his departure, with eight out of ten undefeated, which included a fantastic 3-1 win against leaders Birmingham at the start of this month. However, back-to-back loses have put them on the backfoot yet again, and it may be the case that the damage was done by Evatt, but with the remainder of their fixtures mostly against teams around them in the table they can still put their fate in their own hands.
Leyton Orient came storming in from absolutely nowhere with a tremendous run of form losing just once in 14 league fixtures – but five losses in a row completely derailed Orient’s form and dropped them a few points off 6th place. Wins against Blackpool and Stevenage have got them going again though, leaving them 2 points off Huddersfield – who they travel to on the final day in what could turn out to be a mammoth fixture with everything riding on it. They also host Wycombe in the penultimate game so while they’ll be focused on their own objective, they’ll have a say in the promotion picture for themselves and others around them.
Writers View
If they can get it right and can add another dimension to their game, Wycombe could be in pole position – but get it wrong and Wrexham can pounce in a heartbeat. Should they slip into the play-offs, Wanderers could be forced to feel the same pain as they did in 21/22. Whilst Charlton and Stockport are just as strong, they may be a bit too far back to capitalise and would need slip ups from both Wycombe and Wrexham – but they should comfortably make the play-offs. The remaining spot could go anywhere, but should Reading survive, it would be magical to see them sneak into that last place with Huddersfield, Bolton and Leyton Orient just missing out.
2nd Place – Wycombe Wanderers
Play off Semi Finals:
Wrexham vs Reading
Charlton vs Stockport
Play-off Final:
Charlton vs Wrexham
Play-off Winners – Charlton Athletic
