League 2 Predictions Today – Monday 29th December 2025

A full Boxing Day schedule didn’t exactly gift us a bonanza of goals, with just 1.8 per game across the board.

Hopefully, the remaining festive fixtures will be more generous and certainly we can expect plenty of drama as 4th meets 6th and 7th plays 8th.

Elsewhere, high-flyers Walsall and Bromley are fancied in the League Two betting to take their splendid form into the new year.

Newport County v Crewe Alexandra

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:30
• Rankings: 24th v 11th

Newport preview: The Exiles last won in late October, a winless streak that has rooted them to the bottom of the fourth tier, four points adrift of safety.

At least holding Barnet to a goalless draw over Christmas suggests the tide may be slowly turning even if some fortune was needed along the way.

Worryingly, Newport have faced an attempt on their goal every 4.6 minutes across their last five outings.

Crewe preview: There’s no shame in narrowly losing at Walsall and in-form Crewe will dust themselves down and go again. Midfielder Max Sanders is the player to watch, taking on multiple shots in seven of his last ten starts.

Score prediction: 0-1.

Accrington Stanley v Harrogate Town

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:45
• Rankings: 17th v 23rd

Stanley preview: Stanley needed a last-gasp winner to down Barrow on Friday but in truth they dominated proceedings as they put recent losses behind them and rediscovered good form mined up to early December.

In that period they beat Harrogate in Yorkshire, limiting their hosts to a single shot on target. A similar tale awaits here.

Harrogate preview: Winless in 12 and spiralling, the Sulphurites may have restricted Salford to just a single-goal margin of victory on Boxing Day but the stats tell the whole sorry story.

Harrowgate keeper James Belshaw was called into making eight saves as the hosts consistently – and easily – found routes to goal.

Score prediction: 3-0.

Bristol Rovers v Barnet

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:45
• Rankings: 22nd v 13th

Rovers preview: We have to put the Pirates’ 2-3 home loss to Bromley on Boxing Day in its proper context.

They were two up at the break and significantly more purposeful under new boss Steve Evans, apparently on course to securing a first win in 12 games. Only then Shaq Forde was dismissed early in the second half and a collapse ensued.

Still, shoots of recovery were evident at the Memorial Stadium.

Barnet preview: The Bees have won only once in ten, and that a routine victory over Bristol Rover in the corresponding fixture to this one three weeks ago. They won’t find it so easy this time out.

A clean sheet at Newport was a positive to take from their goalless Boxing Day encounter. Yet another glaring example of their lack of a cutting edge was the main negative.

Score prediction: 1-1.

Cheltenham Town v Swindon Town

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:45
• Rankings: 18th v 3rd

Cheltenham preview:  The hosts boast a long-standing hex over their West Country rivals, losing just three times in 20 previous meetings.

This impressive record continued three weeks back when they triumphed at the County Ground despite ceding two-thirds of the possession.

A revived proposition under Steve Cotterill, the Robins will no doubt fancy their chances of a league double here.

Swindon preview: Ian Holloway’s promotion-chasers may have lost their top six clash at MK Dons on Boxing Day but they created four big chances and were frankly the better team throughout.

Averaging 4.7 shots on target per 90 this term, Swindon will test their neighbour’s resolve for sure.

Score prediction: 2-2.

Chesterfield v Cambridge United

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:45
• Rankings: 7th v 8th

Chesterfield preview: The Spirates were excellent on Friday in securing a statement win over Notts County that places them just two points off an automatic promotion spot. Lee Bonis was again among the goals, bagging his ninth in ten starts.

Cambridge preview: The U’s fine form continued at Gillingham on Boxing Day, an eventful draw extending their unbeaten run to eight.

Though they were backed in the football betting to win in Kent it’s another valuable point as they hunt down a play-off place.

Score prediction: 2-1.

Crawley Town v Bromley

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:45
• Rankings: 20th v 2nd

Crawley preview:  Crawley succumbed to a 3-1 loss in the corresponding fixture three weeks ago but the Red Devils are harder to beat at the Broadfield Stadium, last bettered at home way back in September.

Conceding late-on has been their undoing this term, with only Bristol Rovers conceding more second half goals.

Bromley preview: They may have needed a man advantage to mount a dramatic late comeback at Bristol Rovers but that pales to what the triumph represented. Subsequently gaining second spot in League Two it is the highest league position secured in the club’s 133-year history.

Set-pieces have proven key to their success to date, with centre-back Deji Elerewe racking up three goal involvements in three.

Score prediction:  1-2.

Gillingham v Colchester United

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:45
• Rankings: 12th v 10th

Gillingham preview: The Gills have drawn six of their last seven and languishing in mid-table it feels like an eternity ago when Gareth Ainsworth’s side were being widely tipped to go up this season.

Having the second-worst disciplinary record in the fourth tier has hardly helped their cause.

Colchester preview: Accruing 2.1 points per game since October is promotion standard and Colchester are well-placed to put together a play-off push in the latter half of the campaign.

An impressive 10.7% chance conversion rate is a big plus for a side that doesn’t create a tremendous amount of chances.

Score prediction: 1-2.

Grimsby Town v Shrewsbury Town

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:45
• Rankings: 16th v 21st

Grimsby preview: A first clean sheet in eight was a welcome tonic for the Mariners but it must be said their Boxing Day opponents Oldham are not exactly the most adventurous attacking side while the 0-0 draw only extended Grimsby’s miserable winless streak.

David Artell’s strugglers last secured all three points on October 18th.

Shrewsbury preview: The Shrews drew with Grimsby in early December and perhaps were fortunate to do so, ceding a trio of gilt-edged chances, two of which were spurned.

A solitary win attained away from Shropshire has them up against it here.

Score prediction: 2-0.

Milton Keynes Dons v Notts County

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:45
• Ranking: 4th v 6th

MK Dons preview: An entertaining 3-2 win for the Magpies played out when these promotion challengers recently met but crucially the Dons have tightened things up at the back in the meantime.

With Jack Sanders superb last time out vs Swindon, Paul Warne’s side have been breached only once in three.

County preview: As for the Magpies, after scoring in 12 consecutive games they have now fired blanks for two matches running.

At the back meanwhile they have conceded exactly twice in five of their six clashes with fellow promotion challengers to date, a stat that surprises given how well put together their rearguard is.

Score prediction: 2-1.

Salford City v Fleetwood Town

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:45
• Rankings: 5th v 9th

Salford preview: No team have registered more shots on target than the Ammies this season, an attacking mandate that has harvested nine goals in their last three at home. Manager Karl Robinson though will be far more pleased with a first clean sheet in six attained on Boxing Day even if it was against a terminally blunt Harrogate.

Fleetwood preview: Inconsistency continues to undermine the Fishermen’s promotion aspirations with Will Davies and Ched Evans both wasteful at Tranmere over Christmas. The return of Ryan Graydon to their attacking ranks should help address that.

Score prediction: 3-1.

Tranmere Rovers v Barrow

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:45
• Rankings: 14th v 19th

Tranmere preview: Rovers posted an xG of 2.32 in their 1-0 win over Fleetwood last Friday, their highest since mid-October. In doing so they put right recent heavy losses to Crewe and Oldham.

Pertinently, Andy Crosby’s men have notched in each of their last 11 outings.

An interesting quirk to this fixture is that Tranmere have committed the most fouls in League Two this term while Barrow have committed the fewest.

Barrow preview: The Bluebirds are yet to appoint a full-time successor to Andy Whing and some stability is desperately needed, both in the dug-out and in the heart of their defence. Barrow have shipped a goal every 42 minutes across a nine-game winless slump.

Three of these came against Tranmere at home earlier this month.

Score prediction: 2-0.

Walsall v Oldham Athletic

• Kick-Off: Mon, 19:45
• Rankings: 1st v 15th

Walsall preview: The league leader’s back-line was properly tested by Crewe on Boxing Day but they held firm as Aden Flint and co typically do.

The Saddlers have only been breached twice in their last nine hours of league football.

Oldham preview: No team have hit the woodwork more often than the Latics this term but if that intimates misfortune it doesn’t account for a plethora of missed chances elsewhere.

All told, Oldham have converted just 21 times – the same number as rock-bottom Newport – from 438 attempts on goal in 2025/26.

At the back a well-organised rearguard can frustrate the best of them but only to a point.

Score prediction: 1-0.

*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*