Football Park’s 2025/26 Season 35/1 Outright

With the 2025/26 English football season just around the corner, everyone here at Football Park thought we should provide you with some outstanding outright predictions ahead of the new campaign.

This overall outright bet comes in at 35/1, so there are some risky selections, but there is a reason why we have chosen the picks we have. I will be running you through these selections down England’s elite four tiers, backing each choice up with in-depth reasoning behind each one and we hope you consider our selections in your own outright bets.

We found this excellent outright on Ladbrokes, who offer a superb £20 in free bets when you spend £5. Do not get carried away, however, and ensure to gamble responsibly and set your limits. Without further ado, let’s get underway with our first choice.

Sunderland – Top Promoted Team: 11/4

We start in the Premier League, with Sunderland and our prediction of them being the highest achievers in the Premier League among fellow promoted sides Leeds United and Burnley.

At first, you may be confused by this selection, but when you think about certain factors including playoffs and transfers, you quickly realise the Black Cats are much closer to their competition than they look at first glance.

Following their prized Championship play-off final victory over Sheffield United in May, Régis Le Bris’ side have been making their fair share of statement signings as they prepare for their return to the Premier League.

Being a newly promoted club, it was no surprise to see some of their gold dust get poached by England’s and Germany’s elite – with Tom Watson’s 95th minute goal to send the Black Cats to the promised land proving his final contribution before heading south to Brighton for €12m, while Jobe Bellingham followed in his brother’s footsteps, as he headed to Borussia Dortmund for €30.5m. This added even more cash for them to spend as they look to survive in the Premier League, and boy did they.

Sunderland have dealt smartly so far in this summer window, as they have welcomed six new faces to the Stadium of Light, as well as making Enzo Le Fée’s loan permanent from Roma, signing for €23m. Furthermore, they managed to pen down two more Premier League proven players in Brighton’s Simon Adingra (€24.4m) and Bayer Leverkusen invincible, Granit Xhaka (€15m). The Black Cats are also in talks with Chelsea for a potential loan deal for Marc Guiu, who would offer a solid option along their frontline. With an overall spend of far north of €100m on players who can certainly hold their own and compete at this level, Sunderland definitely now attain the capacity to finish above both Leeds and Burnley, who have both lost key players. According to Ladbrokes, all three promoted sides are likely to go down, but we believe Sunderland can finish higher than their promoted competitors.

We’ve got 👏👏 Granit Xhaka 🎶 pic.twitter.com/4HdAzct9uF

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) July 30, 2025

Birmingham City – Top 6 Finish: 4/7

Next up, we head to our Championship selection in Birmingham City. At odds of 4/7 provided by Ladbrokes for a top 6 finish, you may think that those odds are rather low for a recently promoted side who are competing in a very competitive league.

Tom Brady’s Brummies have been in the market, however, and have spent very smartly, while keeping departures to a minimum. They have had to let go of their 18-year-old winger Romelle Donovan to Brentford, and the talented Alfie May to Huddersfield, but Birmingham have their sights set on back-to-back promotions and are not messing around this summer in targeting key transfers to help them do so.

Unlike most EFL sides who try to stick mostly for signings within the EFL, Birmingham have been brave, scouting young Premier League talent and players throughout Europe and even Saudi Arabia. Signings such as Kyōgo Furuhashi, Eiran Doyle, Demarai Gray, and Bright Osayi-Samuel should be excellent additions to prepare for the Championship. Moreover, adding the more than promising James Beadle on loan from Brighton shows serious intent, as the goalkeeper recently followed James Trafford in starring in between the sticks during the U21 Euros, and he will look to follow suit by playing a pivotal role in the second tier to help the Brummies push for promotion over more seasoned rivals.

Huddersfield Town – Top 6 Finish: 4/6

After an abysmal end to last campaign, Huddersfield have set about completely rebuilding their side and have signed a young coach in Lee Grant, and they target promotion to the second tier this season. They are second favourites to win League One and come in with odds of 4/6 for a top six finish.

Our selection of the Terriers making the top 6 at a minimum this season comes as a result of their smart moves in the transfer market and not really letting go of any key players. They have looked for improvements and they have done just that. One man who will be key in helping Grant’s side return to the Championship will be the aforementioned Alfie May. The ex-Birmingham man has been scoring goals for fun in the past four seasons, accumulating 91 goals since the start of the 2021/22 campaign.

He has been the only player they have spent money on, and they will hope the 32-year-old still has plenty left in the tank to play a crucial role in helping them achieve a top six finish. Following their 10th place finish last term, they have improved immensely, signing plenty of Championship-level talent in the likes of Jack Whatmough, Marcus McGuane, Lynden Gooch, and Marcus Harness. There is absolutely no reason why Huddersfield shouldn’t be in a playoff position come May.

MK Dons – League Two Winners: 11/4

Milton Keynes Dons are the favourites to lift the League Two title in May, and it is no wonder why we are backing them as the fourth and final selection in this outright bet.

Although they faced immense struggles on and off the pitch with the Dons' end of season woes almost dragging them into a relegation battle. However, with new leadership in the dugout in the experienced Paul Warne, and plenty of new faces over the summer, there is now clear ambition at Stadium MK to be preparing for League One football next year.

MK Dons have made an array of key signings, boosting both defensive solidity and attacking threats in the transfer market. With Gethin Jones arriving on a free from Bolton, and Tom Finch joining from Norwich, the backline is certainly improved. Meanwhile, the signings of Callum Paterson from Sheffield Wednesday, Aaron Collins from Bolton and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing from Derby will bring heaps of experience and quality into this forward line who have the potential to bring lots of success to MK this season and certainly push them into that number one spot at the end of this season.

SQUAD NUMBERS #️⃣: MK Dons have released the squad numbers for the 25/26 Sky Bet League Two season. 👊

2 days to go, Dons fans! 💪

Bring the noise. 🔈 pic.twitter.com/bA53zYe5f7

— Real Dons Hub™️ (@RealDonsHub) July 31, 2025