League 1 Winner Odds: Can Birmingham City be stopped?

The 2024/25 League 1 season begins next Friday as newly-promoted Mansfield Town entertain last year's play-off semi-finalists Barnsley. Both these teams will be hoping for enjoyable seasons, but when it comes to winning the league title, I'm afraid they are not in the conversation.

Birmingham City are back in the third tier of English football for the first time in 30 years, and with the money they have invested on rebuilding their squad over the summer, they are expected to bounce back up to the Championship at the first attempt. Below I take a look at the favourites to win the league as per Betfred's odds and analyse their chances.

League 1 Odds

Birmingham City @ 2/1

Relegation finally caught up with the Blues last year after years of floundering in the Championship, and six different managers last term aided their demise. It was a forgettable first season on the pitch for new owners Knighthead Capital Management, but relegation was nowhere near as severe as it would have been for Birmingham under the previous regime.

Off the pitch, last season was bright. Millions of pounds have been invested in the club's infrastructure and the owners have given new life to St Andrew's which had been left to rot by various ownerships gone by. Lucrative sponsorship deals were signed to enhance the club's revenue and according to Chairman Tom Wagner, the Blues' income last term was only bested by the teams relegated from the Premier League who received parachute payments.

This, along with some high-earners being taken off the books this summer, has allowed Birmingham for the first time in several years to invest in their squad and to begin a rebuild. Highly-regarded coach Chris Davies is their new manager, with an impressive CV as a number two, so this will be a huge task for his first prominent position. He is looking to implement an exciting, dominant brand of football, having aided both Brendan Rodgers and more recently Ange Postecoglou as an assistant.

Eight new players have been added to the squad over the summer with around £12m spent already (as per transfermarkt), and it appears as though more new faces are to be expected before the window closes. According to transfermarkt, the Blues have already broken the League 1 transfer record twice in Icelandic attacker Willum Willumsson and Austrian defender Christoph Klarer, with those deals going through in successive days.

Then when you factor in the arrival of last year's Golden Boot winner Alfie May, the Blues have added valuable firepower to their squad and this enhances their chances greatly.

These additions, along with the players already at the club with talent that can be nurtured by Davies, it's no wonder Birmingham are seen as the favourites to win the league - and as a Blues fan, I hope to see it come to fruition.

Rotherham United @ 9/1

When it comes to getting out of League 1, Rotherham have been one of the best at it over the past decade. They have twice gone up second in their most recent promotions in 2019/20 and 2021/22, as well as play-off triumphs in 2013/14 and 2017/18.

The Millers are back in the capable hands of Steve Evans, who guided them to their Championship promotion a decade ago. He arrives after a fruitful spell with Stevenage, having led them from League 2 to the third tier in 2022/23.

The Scotsman arrived at the back end of last season, with the aim of taking the Millers back to the second tier straight away. His experience at this level and at the club certainly aids their chances. He has also been busy in the transfer market, adding several experienced players at this level to his ranks, including striker Jonson Clarke-Harris and defender Sean Raggett.

They may not to be able to keep up with Birmingham financially, but I suspect Rotherham will be one of their closest challengers thanks to their manager and the club's own recent experiences of getting out of this league.

Football Odds

Bolton Wanderers @ 9/1

The summer has given Bolton Wanderers some tough time to reflect as they suffered play-off heartbreak against Oxford United at Wembley Stadium. The Trotters simply didn't turn up on the day and that is now two years in a row in which they have faltered in the play-offs.

It feels as though this could be boss Ian Evatt's last chance of taking the club back to the Championship, and this campaign will be as much about Bolton's mental strength as it will be their physical capabilities. They will have a point to prove this term, even if the task has been made more difficult with the arrival of free-spending Birmingham and promotion experts Rotherham.

Bolton do possess a strong squad at this level and on paper should be able to go again, but they are going to need something courageous to finish the season as champions. They did push last year's runners-up Derby County near enough all the the way for second spot, and they will be hoping they can go at least one step further this time around.

They looked to be impacted by injuries to key players Ricardo Santos and Nathan Baxter at different points of the campaign. If Evatt can avoid any key injuries this term, the Trotters could end up surprising a few.

Wrexham @ 12/1

Over to Hollywood, I mean North Wales, as newly-promoted Wrexham will be gunning for a third-successive promotion. There's no denying how much the club has transformed under the stewardship of actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, but I think they will find the step up to the third tier more challenging than the one from the National League to League Two.

They may be priced as fourth favourites but as we know the market is influenced by activity and Wrexham has become a household name worldwide thanks to the Disney+ documentary series Welcome to Wrexham. The Red Dragons boast an experienced EFL manager in Phil Parkinson, who will once again be key for them completing their objectives.

They have a good squad who should be able to adjust to their new surroundings, but I don't think it will be as easy as some people think. They are going to be coming up against teams with a lot of Championship experience in recent years, as well as those who have been knocking on the door of the second tier for a while.

Unlike last season, they are coming up against several promotion contenders, many of whom have operated at this level for a long time, which will show them just how tricky this division can be. It's for that reason that I do not see Wrexham as genuine title contenders.

Huddersfield Town @ 12/1

The third team that has come down from the Championship is Huddersfield Town. The Terriers have made a very smart appointment in the dugout with Michael Duff, who led Barnsley to the League One play-offs in 2022/23.

His expectations will be higher in West Yorkshire as Huddersfield look to go straight back up. I don't think they could have found a better profile to lead them for this rebuild, the only doubts I have regard the squad.

There were times last season where this group of players capitulated and gave up in matches, the one that stands out in particular was the defeat to Swansea City on home soil. Over 70 minutes had passed with the score at 0-0 and then the Terriers ended up conceding four as fans began to turn on the players.

Duff has quite the task ahead of him to instil some confidence and belief back into this group, while also having them structured defensively, as he likes his teams to be difficult to attack. He has made three eye-catching signings so far in Antony Evans, Lasse Sorensen and Herbie Kane, if they can add more of a similar profile, he could build and coach a team capable of fighting for the title.

There are some valuable contenders in this list but the way I see it, it is going to take a very special team to stop Birmingham from winning the title this year. They are assembling a League 1 'god squad', as it has come to be known on X, and the idea of more  players being added to it will have their rivals trembling and make it that much harder to challenge them.

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