Titles aren’t won in September and October, we’re told. Promotion battles go down to the wire in April and May, they say. It’s true, of course, but try persuading fans of the top four clubs in League One right now that the next three weeks aren’t going to have a massive say in the outcome of their season.
The third tier is absolutely nuts as it is. Seven of the 24 clubs in League One are former Premier League outfits – eight if you include the tangled history of Milton Keynes Dons, while the likes of Plymouth Argyle, Peterborough United and Oxford United have become known for their ability to upset the order at this level. The 2022-23 season was always going to be a difficult one to navigate.
But this weekend sees three top-seven clashes in a mad grouping of fixtures which is set to continue throughout the coming weeks as the likes of Ipswich Town, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Sheffield Wednesday all have their promotion credentials truly tested.
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Ipswich currently lead the way on goal difference on the back of an EFL-best 11-game run without defeat ahead of a meeting with fellow unbeaten side Portsmouth, but Kieran McKenna’s side head to Hillsborough on Saturday to face fourth-placed Wednesday. Then the Tractor Boys head to third-placed Plymouth next Sunday before hosting second-placed Pompey the following Saturday.
McKenna’s arrival in December 2021 after leaving Manchester United, where he was an assistant manager to Jose Mourinho and then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, led to an upturn in fortunes at Portman Road. And that great form has continued as a bolstered depth to the squad has given the former Tottenham Hotspur academy midfielder more options. Add in the form of goalkeeper Christian Walton and the continued excellence of former Middlesbrough captain Sam Morsy bringing extra steel to the engine room, and Ipswich have a very different look about them this season.
But those next three games could prove crucial in their hopes of getting out of this division at the fourth time of asking. The one thing they have going for them is that those around them have a far from easy run of games themselves in the coming weeks.
Before heading to Ipswich, Danny Cowley’s in-form Portsmouth host Plymouth, who are third, and will be counting their lucky stars that their following clash with fifth-placed Bolton Wanderers has been postponed due to the Whites having a number of absentees on international duty.
Plymouth are just two points off the top two despite having lost manager Ryan Lowe to Preston North End midway through 2021-22. Under Steven Schumacher the Pilgrims are performing superbly once more, but after taking on both Pompey and Ipswich they head to a Wycombe Wanderers side who were play-off finalists last term and are now rising up the league after a poor start to the campaign. And to follow that they host high-fliers Sheffield Wednesday in a rearranged fixture on October 4.
Darren Moore’s Wednesday, who are two further points adrift in fourth, have it tough too, with their next four fixtures being Ipswich at home, Wycombe at home, then they face that long midweek trip to Plymouth after facing Port Vale three days earlier. A squad now bolstered in almost every position will be truly tested in the weeks ahead after their play-off heartache against Sunderland last time around.
Chuck in Bolton’s clash with Peterborough, who are seventh, and this weekend is the beginning of a frankly ludicrous run of games at the top end of an increasingly fascinating League One. With the Premier League depleted this weekend and then taking a respite for 14 days thereafter, the third tier might be the best place to find your fix for truly competitive, high-stakes football over the next few weeks.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject to Change
