The Opta supercomputer had made its final league table prediction, and it’s not good news for fans of four clubs.
There’s just over two months left of the League One season, but there’s still uncertainty over who will finish where.
One particularly tight battle is the race to avoid the drop. Only one team seem certain to be relegated at the moment, and that’s Port Vale. They are currently 10 points off Blackpool in 20th, but do have two games in hand.
The other three spots could go to one of several teams. The gap between 23rd-place Rotherham United and 16th-place Mansfield Town is just six points.
With fans nervously looking over their shoulder at a potential season in League Two, Opta’s supercomputer has predicted who will finish in the bottom four.
24th — Port Vale
As you would probably expect, Port Vale are predicted to finish at the bottom of the league.
The supercomputer has predicted that they will finish this season on 42.2 points and has given them a 96.26% chance of being relegated.
At the start of the season, Opta predicted Port Vale would finish 22nd. They gave Vale a 30.8% probability of being relegated before a ball had been kicked.
23rd — Northampton Town
Northampton Town were predicted to finish 23rd by Opta pre-season and still are now.
They’ve played more games than anyone in the relegation battle. They will need to win their games and hope others fail to pick up points in their games in hand to have any chance of staying up.
Before the season, they were given a 32.3% probability of going down. Now, with 11 games left to play, Northampton have an 80.52% chance of being relegated.
22nd — Rotherham United
The Millers weren’t even in the relegation talk, according to Opta, at the start of the season. They were predicted to finish 13th, with a 4.9% chance of going down.
Fast-forward to now, and they are looking at potential relegation to League Two.
Opta have given Rotherham United a 71.78% chance of going down and don’t think they’ll break the 50 point mark (48.43).
Matt Hamshaw’s side have a game in hand over Blackpool in 20th, but so do the next team on the list.
21st – Leyton Orient
Taking the last relegation spot according to Opta’s supercomputer is Leyton Orient. They are expected to come agonisingly close to survival, but will ultimately miss out.
Orient have a 40.84% chance of being relegated. They do have a game in hand over Blackpool and are just one point behind them. Making the most of that game will be crucial.
Their differential from Opta’s pre-season prediction is the most noticeable. Orient were predicted to finish 2nd and were given a 25.7% chance of being promoted. Instead, they are fighting for their life in League One.