League 1 update...........
Oct 22, 2026
My first League 1 preseason notes including just one outright bet ....
League 1: (written July 23rd)
Mansfield Town are a relatively small club, but stable and well run. The owners are committed and head coach Nigel Clough has been at the club for closing in on six years and well over 300 games, they have pretty much improved in each of those seasons and 10th place last season in the third tier was their highest finish since 1986-87. Clough is closing in on 1,000 games as manager and 600 have been in League 1, so no one has more experience. No non promoted team lost fewer games last season and only two sides conceded fewer goals and they are very disciplined and organised and no one has left whom Clough wanted to keep, so no reason to feel they will not be just as tough to break down. A few more goals would be nice and that has been addressed. They have added two veteran strikers in David McGoldrick (147 goals and 50 assists at League 1 and above, most at a higher level, he scored 15 for Barnsley last season) and Michael Smith ( 111 goals and 42 assists) who made 37 Championship appearances last season. Despite his age, I understand that McGoldrick was courted by a whole host of clubs and the Stags have shown great ambition in being able to convince him to sign. Similarly with CM Jon Russell who was hugely impressive on a half season loan last season , with Town pulling out all the stops in order to make the deal permanent. Mansfield also beat Sheffield United (Championship) and Burnley (EPL) on the road in the FA Cup and made Premier League champions Arsenal work very hard for a 2-1 win in Round 5. Their odds are eye catchingly large and we have to find a way to side with them.
Mansfield Town are very stable and look to have done their business, anything else is a bonus. I don't think they can win League 1 as there are too many comparative giants to compete against, but I see little regression and would make them a fantastic bet to finish top half of the table @ circa 2.50+ , I have seen 2.625, but not widely available ATM, that should change as Matchday 1 nears. "Officially" I will go with....
3 units Mansfield Town to finish top 6 @ 7.0 general quote.
Update:
Town are building up a head of steam and are unbeaten in five, coming off a fine 3-0 (they should have scored five) win at AFC Wimbledon who were not only unbeaten at home prior to that, but had also not conceded a home goal (4 games) .......
| # | Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | Diff | Pts | Pts/G | W% | ØGF | ØGA |
| 1. | Stockport | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 11 | +12 | 22 | 2.00 | 64% | 2.09 | 1.00 |
| 2. | Huddersfield | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 10 | +12 | 22 | 2.00 | 55% | 2.00 | 0.91 |
| 3. | Bradford | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 21 | 1.91 | 55% | 0.91 | 0.45 |
| 4. | Cambridge | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 20 | 1.82 | 45% | 1.64 | 1.27 |
| 5. | Plymouth | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 19 | 1.58 | 50% | 1.50 | 1.42 |
| 6. | Sheffield Wed | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 10 | +10 | 18 | 1.80 | 50% | 2.00 | 1.00 |
| 7. | Oxford Utd | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 18 | 2.00 | 56% | 2.00 | 1.11 |
| 8. | Reading | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 12 | +10 | 15 | 1.50 | 40% | 2.20 | 1.20 |
| 9. | Stevenage | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 10 | +5 | 15 | 1.50 | 40% | 1.50 | 1.00 |
| 10. | Leicester | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 15 | +1 | 15 | 1.50 | 40% | 1.60 | 1.50 |
| 11. | Mansfield | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 15 | +1 | 15 | 1.50 | 40% | 1.60 | 1.50 |
| 12. | Leyton | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 14 | 1.40 | 40% | 1.50 | 1.10 |
Town are 11th, but have a game in hand on many and are only three points off top six. They come in at 9th for xGF and 5th for xP and still feel like they have improvement in store.
Last month, after a big win over Luton Town I noted that "they came flying out of the blocks and head coach Nigel Clough said that was how they had been training all last week, very high intensity from the off and that he wanted to take that into all games." They might have scored four in the opening 30 minutes at Wimbledon instead of two and more fast starts could be on the cards.
1.91m striker Michael Smith has five goals and two assists already and his all round game is in fine shape and few players head the ball better in the third tier. He has scored 18 and 16 goals in his two seasons at this level and this is his best start to a campaign since 2021/22 (the season he scored 18) and not many strikers in this league are going to hit 20 goals this season, maybe none and Smith has to be in the top scorer discussion and looks to offer value @ odds of 51.0-81.0....even at the low end.
The Stags are now quoted at 1.67-1.80 for a top half finish and 4.50-6.50 for top 6, so good value for us, but they still look overpriced at 5.50+ for the latter.
Good luck!
We don't just sell football betting tips, as you can see there is an extensive analysis behind our asian handicap selections. Subscribing to our sports betting advice service need not break the bank. Learn more by visiting our subscriptions page.
Country:
Sport:
Competition:
Football Teams: