How the League One table is expected to finish as Cardiff City...

According to the most recent odds, which were made public ahead of the 2025–2026 season, Cardiff City is predicted

to only lose out on automatic promotion from League One following season.

The Bluebirds are one of the favourites to get promoted at the first attempt after being relegated from the

Championship, but bookies predict they won’t place in the top two, with Huddersfield Town and Luton Town leading

the race.

Luton is 10/3 to return to the Championship as champions after suffering back-to-back relegations. With a 6/1 price

tag, Huddersfield is right behind them.

Cardiff is next at 15/2, indicating that bookies anticipate them to be in the running for promotion but will have to

contend with the play-offs if they succeed.

Of course, this is all before Cardiff has signed a single player, and since June 30, twelve players have left the team in

one way or another.

In addition to adding players at centre-back, full-back, and possibly on the wing, the Bluebirds are anticipated to

make reinforcements between the sticks, which might further improve their chances.

Plymouth Argyle, who also came down from the second tier with Cardiff, are just behind at 8/1, while ambitious

Stockport County (10/1), Bolton Wanderers (11/1) and Blackpool (14/1) round out a competitive top seven.

It means a potentially tense and fiercely-contested season lies ahead for Brian Barry-Murphy’s side, with anything

less than promotion certain to be viewed as failure by supporters and the board alike.

Having retained a strong core of their Championship squad, and with a decent group of talented youngsters bursting

through, Cardiff will be under pressure to deliver.

Elsewhere, Reading (16/1), Wycombe (20/1) and Barnsley (25/1) are considered outsiders for the play-offs, with the

likes of Wigan, Doncaster and Lincoln all priced at 33/1 or longer.

AFC Wimbledon and Burton Albion are joint-bottom in the market at 100/1, alongside Northampton.

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