The WhatAcca.com team have put together a guide to help our readers understand EFL League Two betting. So what is EFL League Two? EFL League Two is the fourth professional football division in England. There are twenty-four teams who line up every season which typically runs between August and May, with this league regarded as being highly competitive considering that all the clubs tend to have a similar financial structure while the quality within each squad is broadly similar. The personnel of EFL League Two chops and changes on a frequent basis considering that four teams are promoted to League One every season, with three securing automatic berths and a fourth club going up to the English third tier by triumphing in the play-offs which are contested between the sides who finish between fourth and seventh in the final standings. In addition, the bottom two teams in the League Two pecking order are relegated to the National League, meaning we always get two new members of the Football League each season. There is sometimes the possibility that a club in this division goes into administration or even out of existence which means they are removed from the division. Which Teams Have Been Successful in League Two? The EFL League Two in its current guise was founded in 2004, with Yeovil Town, Scunthorpe United and Swansea City securing automatic promotion, while Southend went up through the play-offs in that season. The Swans would find themselves in the Premier League a few years later, although Yeovil have since come out of the Football League and currently compete in the National League. Carlisle United won the 2005/6 League Two title, while Walsall and MK Dons were champions in the following two years. However, the eye-catching champions of League Two in 2009 were Brentford and this promotion helped to propel the Bees upwards to the extent that the west London side are now knocking on the door when it comes to getting promotion. Conversely, Notts County were the League Two champions a season later although the Magpies have since dropped out of the Football League, while the same can be said of 2011 champions Chesterfield who went up that season with Bury who have since gone out of existence, with Wycombe Wanderers and Stevenage also going up in that year. We have some other useful betting resources on our Football Betting Sites page. Since the 2011/12 season, Swindon Town have been crowned champions of League Two on two occasions, with the Robins having won the 2019/20 title on a PPG basis due to the season being cut short, while Shrewsbury Town have also secured two promotions during that time period and they finished runners-up in 2012 and 2015. Which Teams Have Been Relegated from EFL League Two? There is an interesting roll call of teams who have exited the Football League by being relegated from EFL League Two and many clubs have been unable to return to the top four tiers of the English football pyramid, with the National League being a notoriously difficult division when it comes to emerging back into the EFL and competing at a higher level. Kidderminster Harriers and Cambridge United were both relegated during the 2004-5 season, with the former now playing in the National League North, although the U’s were able to regain their status further down the line. A season later, Oxford United were consigned to the non-league fifth division, although they have since become one of the leading clubs in League One. Rushden & Diamonds were also demoted in 2006, with the club having since gone out of business which shows how perilous it is to drop out of this division, while Boston United and Torquay United went out of the division a season later and neither of these sides have managed to find a way back. Mansfield and Wrexham dropped twelve months later and the latter have been a National League team ever since. Other EFL League Two Relegated Teams Wrexham’s neighbours Chester were relegated the following season and have really fallen on hard times since then, although the other team that went down were Luton Town and they have since regrouped to balloon as high as the English Championship, although the Hatters took several attempts to get out of the National League. Other teams who have been relegated from League Two and never recovered their Football League status include Darlington, Stockport County, Hereford United, Aldershot Town, York City, Dagenham & Redbridge, Hartlepool, Barnet and Chesterfield. How to Bet Antepost in the EFL League Two Betting arena Many punters like to bet on the winner of EFL League Two every season and it’s very unusual for one team to be well clear of the chasing pack. You will often find that there are several teams competing for the title until the final few matches of the campaign, with the majority of clubs having a similar budget when it buying new players and covering the wages of the squad. We would therefore recommend looking beyond the favourites when it comes to League Two and it’s even worth waiting for the first few matches of the season to be played before committing to a particular bet. If you’re clever enough, there is often the chance to back a number of teams at big prices to win the League Two title and then secure a profit whatever happens when approach the business end of the season. There are some interesting options for Championship Football betting that are well worth reviewing. Many punters like to predict the League Two football winner of the title and put it in a football accumulator with the winners of the English Premier League, English Championship and English League One. That means a potentially big payout should they accurately forecast the winners of all four divisions. Back a League Two Team to Be Promoted Rather than try to predict the actual winner of League Two every season, there’s the alternative option of betting on a team to be promoted to League One instead. After all, there are going to be four sides that go up when the play-off stage has been completed and that means one-sixth of the teams in the division are going to be successful in their quest to play at a higher tier the following season. It’s always the case that big-priced teams end up getting promotion and it’s even worth gauging the outcome of the first few rounds of fixtures to see which sides have enjoyed the strongest starts to the campaign. Ultimately, it’s hard to judge what’s going to happen before a ball is kicked, even if pre-season results are looking impressive. If you’re betting on a team to be relegated from League Two, bear in mind that only two teams drop down to the National League. It’s worth keeping an eye out for the clubs who have dropped down from League One and might be experiencing some kind of financial difficulty which could see them struggle to stay afloat in the Football League. While many of the clubs in the fourth professional tier have a similar financial structure, it’s fair to say that some outfits are struggling to keep their heads above water and you might often find the same teams sitting near the foot of the table. It’s worth looking at the standings for the previous season to get an idea of how the teams might perform in future seasons. How to Bet on the EFL League Two Top Goalscorer Since the 2004/5 EFL League Two season, only one striker has managed to score thirty goals during the course of a full campaign and that was Lee Hughes who fired Notts County to glory when pilfering thirty goals, although James Norwood of Tranmere Rovers was one shy of that total when helping the Wirral side enjoy promotion in 2019 before securing a move to Ipswich Town after several seasons at the Merseyside club. Sometimes a striker has finished League Two top scorer by managing a much lower total of goals, with Jack Midson and Izale McLeod of AFC Wimbledon and Barnet respectively managing to score eighteen goals to finish joint-top of the scoring charts, while Grant Holt and Jack Lester were notable winners of the award in 2010. The bottom line is that you will get big-priced players in the frame when it comes to top scorer in League Two. Our recommended betting approach when it comes to this market is to compile a shortlist of players who are likely to go well in this division based on previous achievements. It might be that they have already scored goals at this level and it’s even better if they have prospered in a higher division. There is nothing to stop you betting on a handful of players to score the most goals, with the bookies generally offering each-way terms of a quarter of the odds for the first four places and it’s worth paying attention to the players for teams who are among the outright betting favourites to win League Two or enjoy promotion. Recommended EFL League Two Betting Tip types With twenty-four teams lining up in League Two, it means that there are twelve games in every round of the competition. Unlike the Premier League, you don’t tend to find too many teams who are odds-on favourites to win their respective matches because of the competitive nature of the division, with many of the encounters tending to be fairly close. As a rule, League Two matches tend to yield a larger number of goals on average compared to the Premier League and the Championship, although there are a similar number scored per match compared to League One. This can often mean that certain betting markets can make appeal including Over/Under Goals and Both Teams to Score which are two-way affairs. There is often the chance to bet In-Play on the League Two games which is great if you happen to be watching any of the matches, with the odds constantly changing when the match is taking place and you can often bet on short-term betting markets such as Team to Score Next Goal, Player to Score Next Goal and Bookings / Corners. It goes without saying that many punters like to place League Two accumulators and they can also enjoy placing football accas that include picks from this division. There is sometimes the chance to secure an accumulator bonus on top of your multiple bet or alternatively get acca insurance depending on your favourite betting site. How to Bet on the League Two Play-Offs The League Two play-offs take place when the regular season has been completed, with the teams who finish between fourth and seventh getting the opportunity to battle it out for the one remaining promotion spot in the division. Although the clubs have fought hard all season, it often comes down to just a handful of games to determine the most successful team. Most recently, Northampton Town won the 2020 League Two play-off final by beating Exeter 4-0 and it was the third time that the Cobblers have been involved in this end-of-season showdown since the 2004/5 race, with the team missing out in 2005 when losing in the semis and they were chinned in the final by Bradford City in 2013. As far as the EFL League Two play-offs are concerned, Exeter City have had a succession of near-misses in recent times, with the Grecians having lost to Northampton in that one-sided final, while they were beaten by Blackpool in the 2017 play-off final and then Coventry City in the 2018 play-off final. While it might seem logical to bet on the team who finishes in fourth place in League Two to win the play-offs, it often doesn’t work out like that and it’s pretty typical to find a lower-ranked side making it to League One. After all, there is usually pressure on the highest-ranked teams who might have been challenging for automatic promotion for much of the season. Look at the Head to Head Record for EFL League Two Betting Options There are a number of ways to approach the League Two betting markets although one really good key indicator is the previous head to head record between the two sides involved, especially if they’ve already played each other that season as it’s likely that they will employ similar tactics when lining up in the next fixture. There are easy ways of looking at the head-to-head scores between the sides and that can give you a feel as to whether one side has been dominant in recent matches or whether there’s been an even tussle. The same goes for whether the goals have been flowing or whether we have seen cagey encounters between the teams on display. We also like to compare the home and away form of each team in order to establish whether they are particularly stronger when it comes to the former or the latter. It’s usually the case that teams will fare better at their own stadium although this isn’t always the case out of the twenty-four clubs. Bet on the League Two Teams Who Are Enjoying the Best Form Although the League Two football table can serve as the first port of call when establishing the best performing teams over the course of a season, it doesn’t always present an accurate picture when it comes to the form teams in the division. There are forty-six games in total and it’s plausible that a team will enjoy strong periods of form and also dips during the course of the campaign. We always recommend looking at the past six games for each team which will provide a good feel for the number of points a team has been racking up, the number of goals being scored and also whether they are conceding a certain number along the way. It’s often the case that a club will also change their manager if they’re not performing well and that’s worth noting too. If you can identify a key trend over the previous few games, you will be able to tell whether it’s worth betting on a market such as Full-Time Result, Both Teams to Score or Over/Under Goals, while there are also markets such as Asian Handicap which are worth considering as they can often provide the most competitive betting margins which means punters have more chances to win. What Are the Best EFL League Two Betting Markets? You can typically bet on the Full-Time Result for any League Two football match and those betting odds are usually available several days in advance, although a number of markets are added nearer to the time and that includes Double Chance where you can choose from Home Team + Draw, Draw + Away Team or Home Team + Away Team. You can also choose betting markets with lots of options that includes First Goalscorer and Correct Score. The First Scorer market means finding a player who is going to score the opening goal in the game of your choice and you can alternatively bet on Last Scorer along with Anytime Scorer, where you simply need to predict a player to find the net at any stage of the ninety minutes. When it comes to Correct Score, there are clearly a number of different options and it’s worth firstly weighing up what sort of match to expect and then maybe picking two or three correct score options so you can potentially go close and win with one of them. You can often bet on the score at half-time and at full-time. Other League Two Betting Options When it comes to backing a football team but finding their League Two match odds a touch on the short side, there are a number of alternative betting angles to take. This includes the half-time full-time betting market which is great if you expect a team to be leading at the break but also ahead at the final whistle. Bear in mind that there are nine possible outcomes when it comes to this market. Alternatively, the Result / Both Teams to Score betting market offers punters the chance to bet on a League Two team to win their match but also whether both teams will find the net or not. Once again, there are several options although if you think a team will win a high-scoring clash or alternatively win while keeping a clean sheet, then this could be the market for you. Or you can learn more about English Football League One betting here. How to Claim EFL League Two Betting Bonuses If you enjoy betting on League Two football, then there is often the chance to secure bonuses along the way. It all starts when you open an account with a betting site as there is usually a welcome bonus which means that your first deposit might be matched with a certain amount such as a 100% deposit bonus. Once you have placed a first qualifying bet, then you might be credited with a free bet when this has been settled. This can be used to place a bet on any League Two football betting market and you’re free to keep any winnings that are made from this wager. There is also the chance to earn money back specials along with accumulator bonuses. When it comes to the latter, it’s generally the case that you can earn a bigger bonus for an increasing number of picks that are added to your bet slip, while there might also be the chance to earn insurance on your acca if one leg of your multiple bet lets you down. Cashing Out Betting Options There is sometimes the chance to enjoy Cash Out on your League Two football bets and this can apply to a single or a multiple. You will sometimes have the opportunity to close out your bet for a profit or a loss before the full-time whistle blows and it’s great to have the flexible option of not having to let your bet ride out until the end. Make sure that you’re aware of any promotions or offers with the bookies that might help you gain an edge over the bookies and try to use them where possible. We’re always looking to place the best-informed bets and use any acca promotions to help when it comes to choosing the leading bookmaker websites who provide League Two betting markets.