League 2 Top 7 Finish Odds: Can Salford put final-day failure behind them?

The battle for the top seven in League 2 last season was an exciting one as multiple teams were all in with a chance of claiming the final play-off spot until late-April, but it was Chesterfield who edged ahead of Salford City (eighth), Grimsby (ninth) and Colchester (ninth) on the final day in May, finishing one, two and three points, respectively, ahead of those three sides.

A couple of those clubs feature highly in the League 2 Top 7 Finish Odds for the 2025/26 season, which you can check out below.

MK Dons @ 1/3

Highly fancied to end up as champions, MK Dons are, therefore, very short odds to finish in the top seven, despite coming 19th, 18 points behind Chesterfield, last season.

It was a terrible campaign for MK, who were closer to the drop zone than they were the play-off spots, but once again, they have made a big splash in the transfer market, recruiting Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Aaron Collins, among others, as they target the title.

Paul Warne also joined as head coach towards the end of 2024/25 as MK sought help from figures who have done the business in higher divisions.

It's fair to say a failure to finish in the top seven this term would be catastrophic, but it's difficult to see that happening given the squad they have built.

Never say never, though.

Chesterfield @ 4/7

Chesterfield clinched a play-off position on the final day in May, beating Accrington 1-0 to move ahead of Salford and Grimsby into seventh. However, they were well beaten in the play-off semi-finals, losing 2-0 at home to Walsall before suffering a 2-1 defeat away.

The Spireites, therefore, will be desperate to make amends in 2025/26, ideally avoiding the play-offs and going straight up to League 1 via the automatic spots.

Like MK, Chesterfield have made serious strides in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Ryan Stirk and Dilan Markanday.

Football Odds

Gillingham @ 5/4

Gillingham didn't finish quite as low down last season as MK, but the Gills, despite being six points better off, only ended up in 17th.

However, they ended the campaign on a positive note, going 12 games unbeaten (albeit nine were draws), nine of which came under Gareth Ainsworth, who was lured from then-League 1 side Shrewsbury Town in March.

The former Wycombe Wanderers and QPR boss won't have dropped down a division for fun, but because he believes he can inspire the Gills to return to the third tier for the first time since 2022 in his first full season in charge.

The summer break will have killed off a lot of the momentum built up, but those results will still be in the back of the players' minds heading into the new campaign.

Ainsworth achieved two promotions during his tenure as Wycombe manager, the first arising from a third-place finish in League 2 in 2017/18, and he won't accept anything less than a top-seven spot this season. Neither will his bosses, who will probably expect the Gills to be closer to the top three.

Salford City @ 5/4

Salford were sat seventh heading into the final round of League 2 fixtures last season, but a 2-2 draw at already-relegated Carlisle cost the Ammies a place in the play-offs, and they were forced to settle for eighth as Chesterfield overtook them in the table.

Like every season since their promotion from the National League in 2019, Salford are expected to be there or thereabouts in the play-off picture, a feeling only strengthened by Gary Neville and David Beckham fronting a new ownership group earlier this year.

They've got the money and contacts to do big business at this level, while they will hope that last season's final-day pain will fuel them this term.

Notts County @ 11/8

Notts County made progress in 2024/25, moving up from 14th in the previous campaign to sixth, securing a play-off berth. However, the Magpies lost both semi-final legs 1-0 to AFC Wimbledon, consigning them to the fourth tier for a third successive season.

It's been a summer of change, with Stuart Maynard replaced in the dugout by Martin Paterson, while their talismanic figure up top, David McGoldrick, has moved to Barnsley. Loanee George Abbott, meanwhile, has returned to parent club Tottenham Hotspur, and speculation continues to swirl around the future of last season's top scorer, Alassana Jatta.

Given the upheaval, it may be wise to steer clear of Notts for the time being, at least until their first-team picture becomes a bit clearer.

Bristol Rovers @ 11/8

Also in at 11/8 to finish in the top seven are Bristol Rovers, making the Gas the highest featured club from last season's League 1.

Popular former manager Darrell Clarke rejoined Rovers in May, and so there is an air of positivity around the side, despite their drop down into the fourth tier.

Clarke will be targeting an instant return to League 1, but things are rarely that simple, and the Pirates must readjust to life back in League 2.

Still, given Clarke has two promotions from League 2 as a manager under his belt, with two separate clubs - Rovers and Port Vale - there will be grand expectations set on this team, and I think they will be able to handle the pressure with aplomb.

League 2 Odds

Swindon @ 13/8

After nearly four years out of the game, Ian Holloway made his return to the dugout last October as he took over the reins at a struggling Swindon side, who were 22nd in League 2 at the time of his appointment.

Holloway didn't get off to the best of starts at the County Ground, winning just one of his first seven games in charge, but by March 28, having earned 36 points from 24 matches, he was rewarded with a new long-term contract until June 2028.

The Robins ended up in 12th, 20 points above the relegation zone, and only eight behind seventh spot. Can they now kick on and trouble the play-off picture in 2025/26?

The departure of loanee Kabongo Tshimanga, who scored 11 times in 39 League 2 appearances last season, is a blow, but if they can hold onto leading marksman Harry Smith, who grabbed 15 goals in 2024/25, they might stand half a chance of making the top seven.

Walsall @ 13/8

Following relegation from League 1 at the end of the 2018/19 campaign, Walsall finished no higher than 11th in the fourth tier until last season, when they finished fourth and lost 1-0 to AFC Wimbledon in the play-off final at Wembley.

However, the biggest disappointment was just how far they fell from New Year's Day, when they were 12 points clear at the top after 23 games played. They won their next two matches, too, but contrived to triumph just twice in their next 20, a simply shocking run of results.

Can they pick themselves up after the double disappointment of ending the regular season fourth and being second best at Wembley?

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