The race for promotion this season promises to be one of the most hotly contested contests in the domestic football season. With clubs the stature of Sheffield United and Preston entering the division to compete with the likes of Charlton, Sheffield Wednesday and last year's unfortunate play off finalists Huddersfield, it promises to be an extremely close race and all 5 of those clubs will be under great pressure to achieve promotion this year.
Tactical Gamble's no.1 pick for automatic promotion in League One is Preston North End. Preston had a dreadful season last year in the Championship but there were signs of progression after Phil Brown took over in January and he has brought a distinguished coaching staff to Deepdale, including former Man City manager Brian Horton. The Lancashire club have also invested in experienced players such as Graham Alexander and Clarke Carlisle who experienced promotion with Burnley in 2009 and will bring great quality and leadership to the Preston backline. To add to that Preston are boosted by the return of Neil Mellor, who scored 13 goals in League One last year during his loan spell at Sheff Wed, and the potential strike partnership with Iain Hume will guarantee plenty of goals in their quest to return to the championship. Most bookies have Preston at 2/1 for promotion, which represents good value in the tight League One promotion odds, with William Hill offering the best price of 8/1 that they will finish top of the table.Top Goalscorer
Naturally with so many big clubs competing for promotion, there are a number of valid contenders for the League One Golden Boot. Bradley Wright-Phillips has been installed as the favourite with most bookies and the aforementioned Neil Mellor will be near the top of the chart providing he can steer clear of injury. However Tactical Gamble is backing Huddersfield Town's Jordan Rhodes to be top scorer in League One, who can be found at a best price of 10/1 on Bet 365. Rhodes has looked impressive in pre-season, scoring 4 goals, and as the main attacking threat in a Huddersfield side who love nothing more than creating chances, he looks almost certain to build on the 16 goals he scored last campaign. His side are hoping to put last season's play off anguish behind them and Rhodes goal scoring prowess will give them every hope of going one better this year.
