The League One relegation battle thickens

In 26 days the League One season will end, seeing 4 teams relegated. As it stands Shrewsbury Town, Cambridge United, Crawley Town and Burton Albion will all play League 2 football next season however, with 5 games left for Cambridge United and Crawley and 6 for Shrewsbury and Burton there is a lot to play for.

Sat in 20th place are Bristol Rovers who have accumulated 42 points from 12 wins and 6 draws. They are lead by Ingio Calderon who was appointed manager in December 2024. They last won in a 5 goal thriller against Bolton on the 11th March but since have conceded 11 and only scored twice. They've conceded 66 times and scored 41 in this leagues campaign. The bookies have given them 19/20 odds to stay up despite hitting poor form at the tail end of the seasons. They have had mixed results against fellow relegation threatened sides having beaten Cambridge United 1-0 at the Abbey but also losing too Crawley 1-0 in a tough away loss. They are still to face Exeter, Wrexham, Stevenage, Reading and Blackpool. Reading and Wrexham are both pushing for promotion into the Championship so it'll be difficult for the side on the south coast to get a result in either of the games. However, Stevenage and Exeter who are both sitting midtable are to be played at home for Rovers. I'd expect them to gain 5 points between now and the end of the season. This would see their final points tally on 47.

In 21st sit Burton Albion who are only 3 points behind Bristol Rovers. The Brewers have gained 39 points from 9 wins and 12 draws so far in League One. They are still to play Huddersfield, Exeter, Birmingham, Cambridge United, Wigan and Charlton. They have a tough last 6 games of the season, facing 3 teams in the playoff picture and a relegation rival in Cambridge United. Their tough schedule and added game compared to teams around them may see their chances of survival swindle as the bookies have them at 8/13 to stay up. I believe they record 4 points in their remaining 6 games, beating Exeter but only drawing to Wigan. This would see them finish on 43 points and relegated.

In 22nd are Crawley Town. A club who have caused controversy off the pitch in recent times see themselves in the drop zone. With 5 games left of their season they have recalled Roles from his loan to Gateshead to have every player available to make the great escape. They sit on 36 points, 3 behind Burton Albion, 6 points behind Bristol Rovers and 1 point above Cambridge United. Bookies have their survival at 28/1 however, despite this they have a favourable end of the season with Leyton Orient, Birmingham City, Exeter City, Northampton Town and Shrewsbury Town. I believe following good results and performances as of late they can gain 8 points from the remaining 5 games, only not gaining any points against Birmingham City. This would leave their tally on 44 points, finishing 1 point above Burton Albion.

In 23rd place are Cambridge United. A side who have been in this situation in the last 2 seasons. Manager Neil Harris was appointed with a tough task and after mixed results and performances sit just 1 point below Crawley Town. The U's have a tough 5 games remaining of the season with Charlton, Huddersfield, Leyton Orient, Burton Albion and Birmingham all to play. The U's could have beaten Charlton in the away fixture however a second half Kachunga goal wasn't enough to register any points. Being optimistic, I believe the U's can register 10 points in their 5 remaining games. I think Harris' side will be able to beat Charlton, Leyton Orient and Burton and will get a draw against a weak Birmingham side who would have already won the league by then. This would sit the U's on 45 points, crucially above Crawley Town and Burton Albion but unfortunately below Bristol Rovers. With odds at 200/1 it is clear to see that Cambridge United are being written off to make another historic survival attempt.

As for Shrewsbury Town who sit in dead bottom, 6 points adrift from 23rd place Cambridge United it looks too high of a mountain to climb for the Shrews. They are yet to play against Reading, Lincoln, Wigan, Northampton, Barnsley and Crawley. It doesn't look good for them with odds of 1000/1 for their survival. It seems nailed on that they will be relegated in plum last with little offensive output and poor defensive structure and plenty of mistakes throughout the pitch. From their remaining 6 games I can only see them adding 1 point to their tally with a draw over Northampton. It seems very doom and gloom at the Croud Meadow. They will struggle to fight for a promotion place in League 2 next year and face the tough reality of being stuck in England's fourth tier of football.

However, high flyers Reading having liquidation looming over their heads despite their fine form lead by former Cambridge United player Harvey Knibbs. Unfortunately for the Royals owner Dai Yonggee is refusing to sell the club and after being unable to pay players and staff for what feels like an eternity the EFL have given them a fast approaching deadline for him to sell the club. After months of back and forth we could be fastly approaching the end of a great football club. If this were to happen it would allow the team who finish 21st to stay up, so as much as this is a bad thing for all those close to Reading it would help Cambridge United stay up. As it stands we have Cambridge United finishing in 21st place 3 points behind survival however if Reading go down then it would keep the U's in the division for another season.

The 6 teams involved in relegation from League One