With the Premier League and Championship taking their international break, League One comes into focus this weekend with five matches taking place on Saturday.
The end of the season is in sight but there is plenty to play for at both ends of the table and we’ve got all the information you need ahead of Gameweek 40.
League One Fixtures
League One Table
League One Gameweek 40 tips
We’ve been crunching the numbers ahead of the League One action this weekend and come up with two singles that could see profit this weekend as well as an accumulator that we think stands a good chance of coming in.
Reading come into this game knowing that a win would lift them into the playoff places, giving them added motivation to pick up all three points.
The Royals come into this game off the back of five wins and three draws in their last 10 games and they’ve averaged 1.6 goals per match in that period and conceded an average of 1.3, giving them the slight edge heading into the weekend.
Wigan are down in 19th and despite a mini resurgence have lost seven of their last 14 games. That run has mainly seen their home form improve, with the club not winning away since the end of December and only picking up six points from a possible 24 in that time.
Ballard has been in fine goalscoring form this season, finding the net 21 times in League One this season. This weekend he comes up against an Exeter defence that has conceded 12 times in their last five matches and are alarmingly dropping towards the relegation zone.
Ballard looks overpriced to find the net at least twice this weekend, with his price of 12/1 giving an implied probability of 7.7%. It’s a feat that the striker has achieved five times already this season. That’s in 13% of his matches, indicating that he’s outperforming that implied probability, making this a real value play.
Three potential winners in League One this weekend
Reading
With just five matches taking place in League One this weekend, Reading are a team that could really benefit with a win. The Royals currently sit just outside the playoff places but a win against 19th placed Wigan would see them jump into the top seven, with neither Plymouth or Stevenage (the two teams directly above them) playing this weekend.
Reading have played more games than both of those sides but it’s always better to have points on the board rather than games in hand and it could be a key weekend for Leam Richardson’s to stamp their authority on the playoff race.
Blackpool
At the other end of the table there is a huge fixture taking place at Bloomfield Road, where Blackpool host Burton Albion. Heading into the weekend Blackpool occupy 21st, the final relegation spot, but are just four points behind Burton in 18th. A home win for the Tangerines would see them cut that gap down to just one point and, if results go against Wigan and Exeter, could see them jump out of the bottom four and receive a huge psychological boost in their bid to avoid the drop.
As an added bonus, it would drag Burton Albion closer to the drop zone, adding another team into what is already a really tight race to avoid relegation.
Kyle Wootton
Wootton could really benefit this weekend if he continues his good run in front of goal. He’s currently second in the race for the League One golden boot, sitting three goals behind Leyton Orient’s Dom Ballard. The Stockport County striker has 18 goals in League One this season and, whilst the main goal will be securing promotion for the Hatters, Wootton will want to claim the top scorer award.
Stockport take on AFC Wimbledon, who haven’t won in three games and shipped six goals in that time, representing a real chance for Wootton to find the net and close the gap at the top of the top scorer standings.
Three potential losers in League One this weekend
Huddersfield Town
If results go against them this weekend, Huddersfield could find themselves three points off the playoffs and six points behind fifth placed Stockport. The Tykes currently have a better goal difference than all of the sides currently chasing the playoffs but healthy wins for the likes of Stockport and Reading this weekend could see that advantage cut, too.
While Huddersfield can’t drop any positions this weekend, their chances of a playoff appearance could take a big dent without even taking to the field.
Rotherham United and Northampton Town
Neither side have a game this weekend, with international call ups postponing both of their games, but the five sides immediately above them as well as Port Vale below them all have fixtures. If results don’t go their way, the two sides could find themselves cut further adrift in the relegation zone and needing to find more points to climb out of trouble.
The situation is marginally worse for Northampton, who sit one point behind Rotherham and have already played one game more than their rivals. Wins for the likes of Blackpool and Exeter could spell real trouble for both the Millers and the Cobblers.
Matt Taylor
Taylor was instilled as caretaker boss of Exeter City at the beginning of March after Gary Caldwell left the club for Wigan Athletic, but his appointment hasn’t had the desired effect. The Grecians have lost all five of their fixtures since Taylor took over, plummeting to 20th in the table and only saved from being the relegation zone by goal difference.
Taylor’s chances of getting the job on a permanent basis don’t look promising and another loss this weekend could not only see Exeter drop into the bottom four but also spell the end of Taylor’s opportunity at the Devon club.
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