With transfer rumours heating up, clubs playing their first friendlies and League One kicking off in less than a month, it’s well and truly prediction time! This article will lead you through four of my bold predictions for the upcoming EFL League One season.
Luton Will Be Relegated
Perhaps one of our most bold League One predictions on the entire list! Will the hangover Luton have suffered from being in the Premier League continue? I believe it just might, and in the worst way possible!
Since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992 no team has ever suffered three consecutive relegations and with Luton being the bookies favourite to win the league, you’d be right in thinking I may have lost my mind.
However, despite the Premier League being revered as a financial promise land, it may have left Luton with more problems than before. Much of the Luton’s failure last season in my opinion was down to their lack of stability. Parachute payments intended to help the relegated clubs were funnelled into forced stadium maintenance, that had been caused by their inclusion within the premier league, instead of strengthening the squad.
While I don’t believe it will take much for Luton to steady the ship, a poor run of form at the start of the season could spell another year of instability and the creation of a new look-away-now record.
None Of The Teams That Came Down From The Championship Will Be Promoted
In the same vein of Luton to be relegated, the 2025/26 season could see none of the sides relegated from the EFL Championship return at the first time of asking.
Bolton, Stockport, Barnsley and even sides such as Leyton Orient appear to be extremely keen on this being their year and with recruitment from Luton, Plymouth and Cardiff all so far being seemingly lacklustre I believe the relegated sides could struggle this year.
Plymouth in particular loosing star striker Ryan Hardie to Wrexham and replacing him with Aribim Pepple feels like a real step down. Furthermore, while Cardiff will no doubt make signings this window a lack of early business could leave them on the back foot come August.
With many of the real big money spenders now out of League One I believe it could be extremely close this year. Something that could negatively impact the three relegated teams, only time will tell.
James Collins To Be League One’s Top Goal Scorer
While I think Lincoln City won’t reach the hights they will be hoping to achieve this season I do believe it will be a good year personally for James Collins.
Collins, a real lower league journeyman, is no stranger to goals winning League One’s Top Goal scorer award in the 2018/19 season netting 25 times in 44 games. While it looked like age had finally caught up with Collins due to his slow start at the beginning of the 2024/25 season, a January move to Lincoln City saw him bag 10 goals in just 20 games. Making it look as if given a full season he would have perhaps hit those same numbers from seven years ago!
While Collins may have struggled recently in the Championship with Derby, League One appears to be his bread and butter. Something that could propel Lincoln to high finish this coming season.
Bradford City Will Be Promoted.
The Bantams are finally back in League One after a six-season hiatus and personally I don’t think they’ll be there long. Not in the sense of relegation back to League Two but instead going up! Being one of the most well supported clubs in the English Football, Bradford will no doubt want to use this momentum to send themselves back to Championship!
Acquisitions such as highly rated right wing back Josh Neufville on a free transfer from Wimbledon show just some of the smart business done already by Bradford. Furthermore, with many clubs fighting over Neufville’s signature, I believe it shows the appeal a club like Bradford City has despite being one of the newly promoted sides within League One.
It is these factors that I believe could allow Bradford to take League One by storm, just as newly promoted Wrexham and Stockport did the season before. The rich history of the Bantams would suggest League One is simply a pitstop on their road back to the Premier League!
A Reminder To EFL League One Fans
Just remember – this article is intended to be a bit of light-hearted fun, so don’t take these bold predictions too seriously, and don’t forget to let us know some of your bold League One predictions below.
