A decade ago, Leicester were crowned Premier League champions. Now they are preparing for life in the third tier, and that shift alone tells you how much of this season is about reset as much as expectation. In ’s 2026-27 League One preview, Leicester are named as promotion challengers, with Russell Martin tasked with turning a dramatic fall into something closer to a new beginning.
The logic is easy to follow. Leicester still carry the scale of a club that has operated well above this level, and that matters in a division where experience, depth and composure can decide the top end of the League One table. A promotion push is not guaranteed just because the badge is bigger, but the preview clearly sees them as one of the teams most equipped to fight at the sharp end.
Who looks ready to contend
Leicester are the obvious headline name, but they are not alone in the conversation around the top of the division. Stockport are still defined by last season’s run to the playoff final, even with Jimmy McNulty taking over from Dave Challinor. That kind of continuity, even through change, keeps them relevant in the promotion picture.
Bradford also remain part of the upper-half discussion after missing out in the playoff semis last season. That is the sort of near miss that usually feeds belief rather than draining it, especially in a league where momentum can carry over quickly if a squad stays competitive.
Clubs with work to do
At the other end of the scale, the preview is less kind to Notts County and AFC Wimbledon, who are both flagged as clubs likely to have a difficult season. In a competition as unforgiving as League One, that warning matters. It suggests the margin between stability and trouble may be thin, and that neither club enters the campaign with the same level of confidence as the teams projected to challenge at the top.
The wider theme of the preview is that League One often turns on more than reputation. Transfer business, managerial turnover and squad fitness all matter, and several clubs are being judged through that lens. Oxford are a case in point: before the EFL imposed a transfer embargo, they managed only two incomings, and Frankie Kent suffered an ACL injury less than a month after signing. Those are the kinds of setbacks that can shape a season before it really starts.
So the League One table is already beginning to take shape in theory, even if no points have been played for yet. Leicester are being asked to behave like a contender, Stockport and Bradford have enough recent evidence to stay in the frame, and clubs such as Notts County and AFC Wimbledon are being warned that this could be a long year. Preseason is about projection, but in this division the projections can become reality quickly.
