August kicks off with League One and League Two, the first professional English leagues to open their doors ahead of the Championship and, above all, the Premier League. Here are four teams that could start with a win.
Blackpool strengthened during the summer with the aim of building on the foundations laid by Steve Bruce: his projected performance over a full season would be 77 points, almost enough to make the League One playoffs last year. Stevenage finished mid-table but won only four of their last 19 games, all against teams that were eventually relegated.
An 11-game unbeaten run and just one defeat in their last 15 games saw Doncaster win the League Two title. The team is now confident of starting with a win against Exeter, considered one of the candidates for relegation: despite finishing 16th last year, they were among the teams that “overperformed” the most compared to xG data, finishing 22nd in the expected goals table.
Bristol Rovers have brought back Darrell Clarke, the coach who led the team to two consecutive promotions a decade ago, and there is great optimism about the possibility of an immediate return to League One. Harrogate, on the other hand, are aiming for survival to avoid relegation to the amateur ranks, but they have one of the toughest starts imaginable. Barnet were dominant at home last season (18 wins, 5 draws, 0 losses, 58 goals scored and 15 conceded), earning 102 points and winning the National League. Now, back in the EFL, they pose a serious threat to the top seven. Pete Wild has done well at Fleetwood since taking over at the start of the year, but this is a really tough debut game.
Odds comparison
Blackpool are priced at 1.90 on Goldbet and Lottomatica.
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Predictions
Victories for Blackpool, Doncaster, Bristol Rovers, and Barnet give a total odds of 11.18 on Goldbet.