Why fans of Premier League strugglers should worry about big-priced underdogs on League One coupon

The Premier League and the Championship have enjoyed their moments in the spotlight thanks to a hectic schedule of midweek fixtures but now it's time to focus on the serious business in League One.

It's been a fascinating season in the third division, although you could be forgiven for mistaking the penultimate coupon of the campaign for an FA Cup first-round card given all the eye-catching prices on offer.

Obviously, motivation is a huge factor with only two regular-season games left but it's still unusual to see so many massive underdogs in a single set of league fixtures.

Fleetwood are 5-1 to win at Bolton, eighth-placed Portsmouth 11-2 at Derby, and Bristol Rovers and Burton are rated 7-1 shots for their trips to playoff-chasing Peterborough and leaders Plymouth. 

And League One romantics will be hoping the magic of the third tier strikes at Portman Road, where plucky Exeter – who are no mugs and sit 14th in the table, 12 points clear of the relegation zone – go off at 16-1 to beat Ipswich.

To put those odds in perspective, seventh-tier Coalville were also 16-1 when they took on League One Charlton at The Valley in this season's FA Cup third round and Portsmouth were 18-1 for their third-round trip to Premier League Tottenham.

Exeter actually opened up at 20-1 – the same price as League Two Stevenage were for their colossal cup upset at Aston Villa in January – but Grecians backers appear to be ploughing a lone furrow as the last of the 2-9 about the Tractor Boys disappeared on Friday.

Ipswich's superiority over Exeter is no secret. Kieran McKenna's men have won 12 of their last 13 league games, scoring 37 goals and conceding just two during that run, and Saturday's visitors have lost their last five matches.

The market clearly believes, as it has for most of the season, that Ipswich are no ordinary League One team yet they are still not assured of automatic promotion, trailing Plymouth by 95 points to 94 with Sheffield Wednesday still mathematically in touch on 90.

Wednesday are one of only five clubs, along with Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa, to have beaten Newcastle this season, ending a 15-game unbeaten run for the Magpies with a 2-1 victory in the FA Cup third round.

Incidentally, the Owls' cup run started with a 2-0 home win over fellow League One side Morecambe, who were 11-1 underdogs at Hillsborough, and they are 8-15 for an away victory at 6-1 Shrewsbury on Saturday.

Those kinds of odds, plus a points-per-game average of 2.05, suggest Wednesday would not look out of place in the Championship, although seeing off Barnsley and two of Bolton, Derby and Peterborough in the playoffs will be a tough task.

Sunderland have shown recently that getting out of League One is harder than competing in the second tier. The Black Cats finished fifth, eighth, fourth and fifth in four frustrating seasons in the third division but are now dreaming of back-to-back playoff triumphs and a return to the Premier League.

Speaking of the Premier League, fans of Southampton, Everton, Leicester and Leeds probably have more pressing things on their minds than the conclusion of the League One promotion battle.

However, the quality of this season's third-tier promotion contenders is a concern for relegation-threatened top-flight clubs. Whoever comes up will strengthen an already-competitive Championship and punters are unlikely to be able to back Ipswich at 16-1 at Elland Road or Goodison Park next season.

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