EFL 10/1 Acca – Gab Sutton

Whether or not Wigan Athletic are believed to be among League One’s Play-Off candidates this season, they are rightly favourites for their opening day hosting of Northampton.

The Latics are hoping to have built on some solid defensive foundations from last year with the signing of Dara Costelloe from Burnley, after the forward impressed at Saturday's opponents in the second half of last season.

The Cobblers could only wish for such a cutting edge up top, having scored just 48 league goals last season, that being with Costelloe’s influence, and having not satisfactorily strengthened their attacking areas.

With that in mind, a win to nil for the hosts could be in store, with Costelloe getting on the scoresheet.

Grimsby Town have finished pre-season well, with home wins over League One opponents in Lincoln and Peterborough, which gives David Artell’s side fresh confidence ahead of their League Two campaign.

Key striker Danny Rose has been a fitness doubt for the Mariners, who missed out on the Play-Offs on the final day of last season, but goalscoring winger Jaze Kabia has excelled down the middle in those games, bringing a different dimension.

Visitors Crawley, meanwhile, have experienced high variance in predictions from neutrals, ranging from a Play-Off finish to a relegation battle, and they begin 2025-26 as an unknown quantity after coming down from League One last season.

Grimsby look in the stronger position, though, and could be the value play at a shade of evens.

Shrewsbury’s defending looked questionable in their penultimate pre-season friendly, a 5-2 defeat to Bolton, and while it would be wrong to read too much into those games, it does suggest a lot of work ahead for Michael Appleton before the start of the season.

While Appleton’s trying to re-instil the defensive basics, though, he’s also trying to introduce a style of play to a group of players that aren’t especially well suited to executing it, which could be a tall order for the early stages of the season.

Whereas, visitors Bromley already have a clear template in place – they’re a compact 3-5-2 or 3-4-2-1 outfit with a tight defensive shape, and an aptitude for set pieces – and could be further along in their development.

Meanwhile, there are tensions in Shropshire remaining from last season, and certain personnel at the club, whereas the Ravens are a club with upward momentum after a top half finish in their first ever season in the Football League, and could be well-suited to capitalizing on the hosts’ unease.