Football betting tips: League One
1pts e.w. MK Dons to win the title at 50/1 (General, 1/4 1,2,3)
5pts MK Dons top six at 4/1 (Sky Bet, Betfair, Paddy Power, William Hill)
*Uploaded before Wimbledon vs MK Dons (17/09/2026)
League One feels wide open, as is reflected by the title market.
Leicester’s poor start to the campaign has seen them slip to 11/2 generally, with some firms unable to split them and pre-season second favourites Sheffield Wednesday.
The Owls have their first proper test of the campaign at home to Stockport on Saturday, the first side in my opinion who will go to Hillsborough and gone toe-to-toe with Henrik Pedersen’s side in a footballing sense.
If they come through that unscathed, they’ll certainly look like the side to beat but at the current prices, I think MK DONS are the bet TO WIN LEAGUE ONE.
League One title odds (Sky Bet)
- Stockport: 4/1
- Huddersfield: 9/2
- Leicester, Sheffield Wednesday: 6/1
- Bradford: 7/1
- Luton, Plymouth: 9/1
- Oxford: 14/1
- Reading: 18/1
- Cambridge, Wycombe: 33/1
- Stevenage: 40/1
- MK Dons: 50/1
- Bar: 66/1
Odds correct at 16:00 BST (19/09/26)
MK Dons can be backed at 50/1 generally with Sky Bet, Betfair, Paddy Power, Ladbrokes and Coral who are all offering each terms to three places at 1/4 odds.
Six games into the league campaign and Paul Warne’s side are winless (D5 L1) as they head into Thursday's clash with Wimbledon before the unofficial international break. But in hindsight, their opening schedule looks increasingly difficult.
MK Dons drew with Oxford in their first game, a side which have the highest Fotmob rating in the league. The U’s have only lost at Huddersfield since, beating Leicester and Burton in their last two by an aggregate scoreline of 7-0.
The Dons have since drawn with Huddersfield, arguably the most impressive side in the division at this stage, and pre-season title favourites Leicester.
Warne’s side were then battered at Wigan, shared the spoils in a six goal thriller with Wycombe and drew at home to Peterborough.
So, at this early stage, they sit outside the relegation zone on goal-difference but are the fourth biggest under-performers according to the underlying data.
They rank 7th in terms of xG and their squad is packed with genuine League One quality.
The issue at the minute, and it is a pretty big one, is the defence. MK Dons rank 19th for xGA, shipping more than 1.00 xGA in all of their matches to date.
This will obviously need addressing if they are going to vindicate these picks come May, maybe it is in part a consequence of the fixtures they have played, but the man in the dugout is certainly capable of improving them defensively.
Last season, Warne’s side conceded the third fewest goals in League Two, and in two of his four previous promotions from this division (Rotherham 17/18, 19/20, 21/22 and Derby 23/24), his sides had the best defensive record, ranking inside the top eight in all four of those campaigns.
At 4/1 with Sky Bet, Betfair, Paddy Power and William Hill, they are also worth a punt TO FINISH IN THE TOP 6.
Thursday’s game with Wimbledon will be MK Dons’ last in the league until October 10.
I think they’ll be huge beneficiaries of a few weeks on the training ground and I have every faith that Warne will iron out these defensive issues.
Besides, this exact thing happened last season - albeit in the fourth tier.
MK Dons had only won three of their opening 11 games in all competitions, losing five. They then went onto win 21 of their next 37 in the league and only lost five times.
Odds correct at 16:00 BST (19/09/26)
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