We have a full midweek of League One fixtures to look forward to, as the season enters matchday four.
We have previewed five of the games taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday, including Wimbledon vs Cardiff City.
A £10 wager on our three-leg acca would pay out £53.45, while the same stake on our five-leg version offers a potential return of £129.52.
3⃣ Three-fold acca
- Northampton Town vs Lincoln City: Northampton under 1.5 goals (1/3)
- Luton Town vs Wigan Athletic: Over 2.5 goals (11/10)
- Stockport County vs Bradford City: Both teams to score (10/11)
Back the 3-fold acca at Ladbrokes to win £53.45 from a £10 bet
5⃣ Five-fold acca
Add this to the mix for a winning five-fold:
- Bolton Wanderers vs Reading: Bolton to win (8/13)
- Port Vale vs Stevenage: Draw or Stevenage (1/2)
Back our 5-fold acca at Ladbrokes to win £129.52 from a £10 bet
Northampton Town vs Lincoln City: Northampton under 1.5 goals
Among the favourites for relegation to League Two before a ball had been kicked, nothing we have seen from Northampton Town so far this season suggests they will avoid the battle at the bottom.
The Cobblers have taken only one point from the first nine on offer, with their latest setback taking the form of a 2-0 defeat by Stevenage at the weekend.
Northampton have only scored one goal up to now – and that was a consolation in a 3-1 loss to Wigan Athletic.
A season of struggle beckons for Northampton, who are under pressure to get something from this home match against Lincoln City.
The Imps have beaten Reading (2-0) and Plymouth Argyle (3-2) so far, although they lost their only away game to Wimbledon (0-2).
However, they should be able to restrict Northampton to one goal at most given their attacking woes early on.
Back Northampton to score under 1.5 goals at 1/3 with Ladbrokes
Luton Town vs Wigan Athletic: Over 2.5 goals
Luton Town beat Wimbledon and Peterborough United in their first two games of 2025/26, but Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Bradford City shows they will not have everything their own way in this division.
The Hatters are rightly favourites for promotion – they were playing Premier League football 15 months ago – but that negative result at the weekend shows they must not take anything for granted.
Matt Bloomfield will be looking for a response from his team when they host Wigan Athletic in the midweek round of fixtures.
Wigan have won two and lost one of their first three matches, beating Northampton and Peterborough at home but losing to Leyton Orient on their travels.
There have been eight goals in their three outings in League One, and we expect this game to be an entertaining one with at least three goals overall.
Go for over 2.5 goals at 11/10 with Ladbrokes
Stockport County vs Bradford City: Both teams to score
Stockport County were not far away from automatic promotion last term, and they are determined to finish in the top two this time around.
Stockport are one of the best run clubs in the EFL right now and they continue to progress under the impressive Dave Challinor.
Challinor’s side are unbeaten after three games, with two wins and a draw. That is the same record as Bradford, who do not intend to merely make up the numbers in League One following promotion in 2024/25.
Bradford will be looking to make a statement of intent away to Stockport, although this will be a tricky test for the Bantams.
They have looked good going forward, ranking third in the league for xG, so goals at both ends would be an astute pick.
Tip both teams to score at 10/11 with Ladbrokes
Bolton Wanderers vs Reading: Bolton to win
Reading have finally put their nightmare ownership problems behind them, but hopes of a play-off place this season have been dented in the opening weeks.
To be clear, there is still a long way to go this season and it would be a mistake to make any definitive judgments after three games. But it is also fair to say that Reading did not expect to be bottom of League One having lost 100 percent of their matches.
Unfortunately for the Royals, we reckon things will get worse before they get better.
Bolton Wanderers have four points to their name, but the underlying numbers suggest they have been a tad unfortunate.
Indeed, the expected goals difference suggests the Trotters have been the league’s top performers so far. They should beat Reading in the only League One fixture scheduled for Wednesday night.
Choose Bolton to win at 8/13 with Ladbrokes
Port Vale vs Stevenage: Draw or Stevenage
Stevenage are flying high at the summit of the standings heading into matchday four of the League One campaign.
Fourteenth last term and widely predicted to be mid-table again this year, Stevenage’s strong start has raised ambitions at the club.
Finding the back of the net was a problem in 2024/25, and while Stevenage have not gone crazy in that regard so far this term, they have the joint-third best record in the league with six goals.
Port Vale lost 2-1 to Rotherham United on the opening weekend, but Darren Moore will take the positives from back-to-back 0-0 draws with Cardiff City and Burton Albion, the latter of which saw Vale play with 10 men for 75 minutes.
However, Stevenage are in red-hot form and they can extend their winning run to four matches here.
Go for a draw or a Stevenage win at 1/2 with Ladbrokes
About the author
Greg Lea
Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.
Follow Greg on X: @GregLeaFootball
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- GambleAware – www.gambleaware.org
Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.