2025–26 EFL League One
22nd season of EFL League One
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The 2025–26 EFL League One (referred to as Sky Bet League One due to sponsorship reasons) is the 22nd season of the EFL League One under its current title, and the 34th season under its current league division format.
1st League One Title
4th third-tier Title
Cardiff City
| Season | 2025–26 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 August 2025 – 24 May 2026 |
| Champions | Lincoln City 1st League One Title 4th third-tier Title |
| Promoted | Lincoln City Cardiff City |
| Relegated | Exeter City Port Vale Rotherham United Northampton Town |
| Matches | 454 |
| Goals | 1,182 (2.6 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Dom Ballard (23 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Peterborough United 5–0 AFC Wimbledon (8 November 2025) Barnsley 5–0 Luton Town (22 November 2025) Huddersfield Town 5–0 Port Vale (26 December 2025) Peterborough United 6–1 Wigan Athletic (7 February 2026) Peterborough United 5–0 Rotherham United (17 March 2026) |
| Biggest away win | Burton Albion 0–4 Plymouth Argyle (27 September 2025) Burton Albion 0–4 Leyton Orient (29 November 2025) Doncaster Rovers 1–5 Plymouth Argyle (20 December 2025) Exeter City 0–4 Rotherham United (31 January 2026) Blackpool 0–4 Plymouth Argyle (14 February 2026) Doncaster Rovers 0–4 Cardiff City (28 February 2026) Exeter City 1–5 Bolton Wanderers (28 February 2026) Exeter City 0–4 Cardiff City (14 March 2026) AFC Wimbledon 0-4 Huddersfield Town (2 May 2026) |
| Highest scoring | Mansfield Town 5-4 Cardiff City (2 May 2026) |
| Longest winning run | Lincoln City (6 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Lincoln City (29 games) |
| Longest winless run | Exeter City, Northampton Town (13 games) |
| Longest losing run | Northampton Town (8 games) |
| Highest attendance | 27,280 Cardiff City 0–2 Lincoln City (7 March 2026) |
| Lowest attendance | 2,715 Stevenage 2–1 Port Vale (17 February 2026) |
| Total attendance | 4,608,965 |
| Average attendance | 9,912[1] |
← 2024–25 2026–27 →
All statistics correct as of 17 May 2026. | |
Summary
Pre-season managerial changes
On 3 May 2025, it was announced that both former Arsenal and Wales captain Aaron Ramsey and Jon Worthington who had served as interim managers at newly-relegated Cardiff City & Huddersfield Town, respectively would leave their roles following the end of their interim spells in charge of the clubs with Ramsey being replaced at Cardiff by former Manchester City academy coach Brian Barry-Murphy on 16 June 2025 and Worthington being replaced by former Manchester United back-up goalkeeper Lee Grant on 28 May 2025.[2][3] On 31 May 2025, it was announced that Miron Muslić at newly-relegated Plymouth Argyle would leave the club to join 2. Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 with former Manchester United player and former Watford manager Tom Cleverley named as his replacement on 13 June 2025.[4]
In-season managerial changes
On 18 September 2025, Wycombe Wanderers announced that Mike Dodds had been sacked with the club at the time of Dodds' departure sitting in 19th place - with him becoming the first managerial departure of the season and the first managerial sacking for Wycombe since Gary Waddock in 2012 - he was replaced by former Barnsley and Huddersfield Town manager Michael Duff on 18 September 2025.[5][6] On 4 October 2025, Blackpool announced that they had parted company with former Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce with the club sitting second-from-bottom at the time of the sacking with him being replaced by former Bolton Wanderers manager and former Blackpool player Ian Evatt on 21 October 2025.[7][8] On 6 October 2025, Luton Town announced that Matt Bloomfield had been sacked by the club with them in 11th place at the time of Bloomfield's departure with him replaced by former Arsenal player and former Norwich City interim manager Jack Wilshire on 13 October 2025.[9][10] On 25 October 2025, Peterborough United announced that they had parted ways with Darren Ferguson with the club rock-bottom of the league with Ferguson being replaced by former Swansea City manager Luke Williams on 29 October 2025.[11][12] On 26 October 2025, it was announced that former Reading player Noel Hunt had left the club by mutual consent with the club in 19th place at the time of his departure - he was the first-ever sacking by new Reading owner Rob Couhig as he didn't sack a manager whilst he owned former club Wycombe Wanderers - Hunt was replaced by former Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United manager Leam Richardson on 28 October 2025.[13][14] On 28 December 2025, Port Vale announced that Darren Moore had left the club with the club rock-bottom of the league at the time of his departure with Moore being replaced by Jon Brady on 6 January 2026.[15][16] On 17 January 2026, Huddersfield Town announced that they had parted ways with former Ipswich Town assistant manager and Manchester United back-up goalkeeper Lee Grant with them in 6th place upon his departure with Grant being replaced by former Bristol City and Norwich City manager Liam Manning on 20 January 2026.[17][18] On 8 February 2026, Wigan Athletic announced that they had sacked Ryan Lowe with them in 22nd place at the time of his departure with Lowe being replaced by former Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell on 16 February 2026. On 16 February 2026, Exeter City announced that Gary Caldwell had left the club to sign for Wigan Athletic on the same day with Caldwell being replaced by Matt Taylor on 3 March 2026.[19][20][21] On 9 March 2026, Northampton Town announced that they had parted company with manager Kevin Nolan with Northampton in 23rd place upon his departure.[22]
Team changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2024–25 season:
To League OnePromoted from League Two Relegated from the Championship
|
From League OnePromoted to the Championship Relegated to League Two
|
Stadiums and locations
- Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Personnel, sponsoring and season articles
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in the table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of interim spell | 3 May 2025 | Pre-season | 16 June 2025 | |||
| Huddersfield Town | 28 May 2025 | |||||
| Plymouth Argyle | Signed by |
31 May 2025 | 13 June 2025 | |||
| Wycombe Wanderers | Sacked | 18 September 2025 | 19th | 18 September 2025 | ||
| Blackpool | 4 October 2025 | 23rd | 21 October 2025 | |||
| Luton Town | 6 October 2025 | 11th | 13 October 2025 | |||
| Peterborough United | 25 October 2025 | 24th | 29 October 2025 | |||
| Reading | 26 October 2025 | 19th | 28 October 2025 | |||
| Port Vale | 28 December 2025 | 24th | 6 January 2026 | |||
| Huddersfield Town | 17 January 2026 | 6th | 20 January 2026 | |||
| Wigan Athletic | 7 February 2026 | 22nd | 16 February 2026 | |||
| Exeter City | Signed by Wigan Athletic | 16 February 2026 | 14th | 3 March 2026 | ||
| Northampton Town | Sacked | 9 March 2026 | 23rd | |||
| Rotherham United | 18 March 2026 | 22nd | 18 March 2026
|
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln City (C, P) | 46 | 31 | 10 | 5 | 89 | 41 | +48 | 103 | Promotion to EFL Championship |
| 2 | Cardiff City (P) | 46 | 27 | 10 | 9 | 90 | 50 | +40 | 91 | |
| 3 | Stockport County | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 71 | 58 | +13 | 77 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 4 | Bradford City | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 58 | 51 | +7 | 77 | |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 19 | 18 | 9 | 70 | 52 | +18 | 75 | |
| 6 | Stevenage | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 49 | 46 | +3 | 75 | |
| 7 | Luton Town | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 68 | 56 | +12 | 74 | |
| 8 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 22 | 7 | 17 | 75 | 63 | +12 | 73 | |
| 9 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 74 | 64 | +10 | 67 | |
| 10 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 62 | 50 | +12 | 65 | |
| 11 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 69 | 58 | +11 | 63 | |
| 12 | Reading | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 64 | 60 | +4 | 63 | |
| 13 | Blackpool | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 54 | 65 | −11 | 60 | |
| 14 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 50 | 69 | −19 | 60 | |
| 15 | Barnsley | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 68 | 73 | −5 | 59 | |
| 16 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 49 | 58 | −9 | 56 | |
| 17 | Burton Albion | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 50 | 60 | −10 | 54 | |
| 18 | Peterborough United | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 64 | 68 | −4 | 53 | |
| 19 | AFC Wimbledon | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 51 | 72 | −21 | 53 | |
| 20 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 59 | 71 | −12 | 52 | |
| 21 | Exeter City (R) | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 52 | 61 | −9 | 49 | Relegation to EFL League Two |
| 22 | Port Vale (R) | 46 | 10 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 61 | −25 | 42 | |
| 23 | Rotherham United (R) | 46 | 10 | 11 | 25 | 41 | 71 | −30 | 41 | |
| 24 | Northampton Town (R) | 46 | 9 | 8 | 29 | 39 | 74 | −35 | 35 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences[97]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Results
Play-offs
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||
| 6 | Stevenage | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| 3 | Stockport County | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
| 3 | Stockport County | ||||||||||
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | ||||||||||
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Bradford City | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Semi-finals
- First leg
| Stevenage | 0−1 | Stockport County |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
- Second leg
Stockport County won 3-0 on aggregate
Bolton Wanderers won 2-0 on aggregate
Final
Season statistics
- As of 2 May 2026
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leyton Orient | 23 | |
| 2 | Exeter City | 19 | |
| Stockport County | |||
| 4 | Plymouth Argyle Port Vale |
18 | |
| 5 | Peterborough United | 16 | |
| Reading | |||
| Plymouth Argyle | |||
| 8 | Blackpool | 15 | |
| Barnsley | |||
| Wigan Athletic Huddersfield Town | |||
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leyton Orient | Doncaster Rovers | 4–0 | 11 October 2025 | |
| Plymouth Argyle | Doncaster Rovers | 1–5 | 20 December 2025 | |
| Leyton Orient | Reading | 3–1 | 17 January 2026 | |
| AFC Wimbledon | Reading | 3–2 | 7 February 2026 | |
| Peterborough United | Wigan Athletic | 6–1 | ||
| Reading | Wycombe Wanderers | 3–2 | 14 February 2026 | |
| Exeter City | Peterborough United | 3–3 | 21 February 2026 | |
| Barnsley | Leyton Orient | 1–3 | 28 February 2026 | |
| Reading | Luton Town | 2–3 | 7 March 2026 | |
| Leyton Orient | AFC Wimbledon | 2–4 | 17 March 2026 |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luton Town | 11 | |
| Cardiff City | |||
| 3 | Stevenage | 10 | |
| Exeter City | |||
| Lincoln City | |||
| 6 | Bradford City | 9 |
Discipline
Player
- Most yellow cards: 14
Max Power (Bradford City)
- Most red cards: 2
Fraser Horsfall (Blackpool)
James Husband (Blackpool)
Joe Lewis (AFC Wimbledon)
Alfie May (Huddersfield Town)
Steven Sessegnon (Wigan Athletic)
Vimal Yoganathan (Barnsley)
Club
- Most yellow cards: 119
- Most red cards: 9
- Fewest yellow cards: 67
- Fewest red cards: 0
Awards
Monthly
Each month the EFL announces their official Player of the Month and Manager of the Month.
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Reference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | Cardiff City | Doncaster Rovers | [98] | ||
| September | Lincoln City | Bradford City | [99] | ||
| October | Stockport County | Bolton Wanderers | [100] | ||
| November | Barnsley | Leyton Orient | [101] | ||
| December | Cardiff City | Huddersfield Town | [102] | ||
| January | Lincoln City | Leyton Orient | [103] | ||
| February | Barnsley | [104] | |||
| March | Plymouth Argyle | Reading | [105] | ||
| April | Lincoln City | Luton Town | [106] | ||
Annual
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Leyton Orient | |
| Young Player of the Season | ||
| Apprentice of the Season | Burton Albion |
League One Team of the Season
| Pos. | Player | Club | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Lincoln City | [109] | |
| RB | Lincoln City | ||
| CB | Stevenage | ||
| CB | Lincoln City | ||
| LB | Cardiff City | ||
| RW | Bolton Wanderers | ||
| CM | Stockport County | ||
| CM | Doncaster Rovers | ||
| LW | Lincoln City | ||
| ST | Stockport County | ||
| ST | Leyton Orient | ||
| Manager | Lincoln City | [110] |