The Numbers Behind the Table

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Two clubs on six points who have spent four gameweeks refusing to string anything together. The Ernies have gone 51, 41, 52, 33, winning in the first and third weeks and losing in the second and fourth; the Bombers have gone 41, 66, 38, 55 and done the exact opposite. Rogers has been the steadiest player on either roster — eight, five, six, eight, and 27 for the season — while Isak's thirteen in gameweek three became two last week. Elgin arrive with the division's joint-top scorer in Haaland on 33, and with the worst defensive record in the division at 186 conceded. They also left 20 on the bench last week, more than anyone, and still won by 25. Elgin lead the all-time series 6–4.

Fourth against fifth, both on six points, and neither club has won or lost back-to-back all season — the Ernies have gone win, loss, win, loss and Elgin have gone loss, win, loss, win, exactly out of phase. Elgin lead the all-time series 6–4, and only three points separate fourth from eighth.

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The meanest defence in the division against its most disciplined selection. The Tikkas are 4-0-0 and have conceded 104 — forty-two fewer than any other club, with the next best at 146 — and their top scorer is a goalkeeper, Raya on 29 after fourteen last week. Palmer opened with thirteen and has managed seven, one and five since, which has not mattered yet. The Sharks have wasted three bench points in four gameweeks, a selection record only the Bulls can better, and Gvardiol's 33 from defence makes him the joint-highest scorer in the division. They have also scored 140, the second-fewest. Chicken Tikka lead the all-time series 13–7.

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The Flying Lions arrive off 73, the highest total the Premier League has produced this season, and are unbeaten at 3-0-1 with 221 scored. João Pedro and Groß are both on 33, and Groß got seventeen of his in that one week. The Owls are 1-3-0 and have been the same club every week — 34, 36, 47, 35 — with the 47 their one win, over Elgin. Schade has 30 including fifteen last week in defeat, and Osborn have left 28 on the bench across four gameweeks. West Adams lead the all-time series 12–6, and no fixture on this card is more lopsided historically.

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The only winless club in the division leads this all-time series 9–7–1, which is the whole match in one line. The Albis are 0-4-0 and have conceded 200, the worst mark in the division, but last week they scored 53 — twenty-four more than any previous week — and still lost, because the other side put up 73. Saka has 30 and Andover have left twelve on the bench in each of the last two gameweeks. The Red Devils have won two straight and sit sixth on six points, though their 28 in gameweek three came with 24 unused, the most any club has wasted in a week this season. Calafiori leads them on 28; Cherki's fourteen in gameweek two has become one.

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The Bulls have named the right eleven every single week — zero bench points wasted across four gameweeks, the only club in the division that can say it — and have still scored 91, thirty-eight fewer than anyone else. Bruno Fernandes has 29 for the season and 23 of those came in one afternoon in gameweek two. The Gulls did the reverse last week: 30 scored, 18 left on the bench, their worst week of the season after going unbeaten through three. Gakpo leads them on 29 but managed one last week, and Mbeumo's 23 has stalled at two. Devilishly Seagulls lead the all-time series 7–2.

Championship PreviewSep 16

Gameweek Five Asks Loxingham to Keep Pace

One of the division's two perfect records travels while the other gets the bottom club, the two unluckiest sides in the league finally meet, and the club with the second-fewest points scored sits three off third. Here's the full slate.

Game of the Week

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The Lox are one of two clubs still perfect and have conceded 125, eleven fewer than anyone else in the division. They have gone 34, 53, 44, 60, and only Hiberian's 61 has bettered that 60. They have also already beaten the clubs currently third and fourth. The Lews are 2-2-0 and arrive off 48 against the league leaders, the best they have scored all season and a four-point defeat — nobody has run Hiberian closer. First meeting between the clubs, and with Hiberian facing the bottom side, Loxingham need this to stay level at the top.

The Lox are 4-0-0 with the best defensive record in the division, and because Hiberian play the bottom club this week, anything less than a win costs them top spot. The Lews arrive off their highest score of the season.

V

The two clubs the table has treated worst, and they have not met before. The Commuters are 0-4-0 having lost by fifteen, two, one and ten, and have still scored 141 — more than OTP Rovers, who sit seventh on six points. The Nor'Easters are 1-3-0 with 183 scored, the third-most in the division and more than the club in fourth, but they have conceded 200, the worst mark in the league. They put up 52 last week and lost by seven. Between them these two have one win from eight and 324 points scored. One of them finally gets something here.

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The LiverBirds have won three straight since opening with a defeat to Loxingham, going 28, 46, 39, 59 — last week's 59 their best of the season and the fourth-highest total the division has produced. The Corgis are the quiet story of the season: 118 scored, the second-fewest in the division, and yet seventh on six points with the second-best defensive record at 136 conceded. They have also improved in every single gameweek — 25, 26, 31, 36 — which nobody else in the league has managed. Third against seventh, first meeting.

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Level on six points, both 2-2-0, and heading in opposite directions. The Eastsiders have lost two straight, by four and then by 23, after opening with 44 and 54. Los Lechoneros beat Everywhere 48–13 last week, a 35-point margin that is the biggest the division has produced, and have conceded 143, behind only Loxingham and OTP. Kirkwood have scored more across the season, 170 to 152, but have also conceded thirty-six more. First meeting, and three points separate this pair from third.

V

The division's best attack against the club that has scored 31 points in two gameweeks combined. The Wolf Hounds are 4-0-0 with 222 scored, thirty-one more than anyone else, and their 61 in gameweek three is the highest total the Championship has produced. The Rascals are 0-4-0 with 101, the fewest in the division, and have posted its two lowest totals — 18 in gameweek three and 13 last week. First meeting, and Hiberian know a win keeps them top whatever Loxingham do.

Gameweek 4 ResultsSep 15

West Adams Post 73, the Highest Score the League Has Seen

A new season record, a club that scored 53 and still lost, and the champions beaten by twenty-one. Chicken Tikka are four from four and nobody else is close.Update · Sep 19: To be precise, the 73 is the highest total of the 26-27 season, not the highest the league has recorded. Bramley Red Devils scored 83 in gameweek nine of 25-26, and that remains the single-gameweek record.

73–53

Seventy-three points, the highest total the division has produced this season, and it took seventy-three to win comfortably. Pascal Groß produced seventeen — the second-best individual return of the year — with João Pedro on twelve, Calvert-Lewin on ten, and Verbruggen and Tavernier both on eight. Five Flying Lions in double figures or close to it, and only two points left on the bench. The cruelty is on the other side. Andover scored 53, their best week by twenty-four and the highest losing total the division has seen, with De Cuyper on eleven and Emersonn on twelve. They are still 0-4-0. Foden went to minus two. West Adams lead the all-time series 14–5.

MOTMPascal GroßSeventeen points in a club-record 73 — the second-best individual return of the season, and the engine of the highest score the division has posted.

Game of the Week

54–33

Our Game of the Week, and the Tikkas answered the one question hanging over them. After 48, 46 and 36, they put up 54 — and did it from the back, David Raya returning fourteen behind Gabriel's nine and Virgil's eight. Chicken Tikka are 4-0-0, the only unbeaten club left, and have now beaten the side that owned them 10–5 all-time. The Ernies collapsed to 33, their worst of the season: Isak dropped from thirteen to two, Elanga was benched for nothing, and only Van Hecke and Rogers cleared five. Trey Burt Ernie also finally moved Sarr on, four weeks after Galatasaray's interest evaporated. The all-time series narrows to 10–6.

MOTMDavid RayaFourteen points from the goalkeeper, the highest score on the pitch, in the week the Tikkas finally beat the club that had owned them 10–5 all-time.

41–20

The Sharks' best week of the season against the Bulls' joint-worst. Gvardiol's eleven led it, Bruno G. added seven after two weeks of nothing, and Araujo and Konsa both returned six — 41 points, and their first back-to-back-beating performance since gameweek one. SaMo managed twenty for the second time in three weeks. Donnarumma's seven was their top score for the third time in four, Mukiele blanked, and Beto — who left for Fiorentina in the window — started again and returned zero again. Ninety-one points across four gameweeks is the lowest in the division by thirty-eight. SHRKFKRS lead the all-time series 9–2.

MOTMJoško GvardiolEleven points in the Sharks’ best week of the season, and a fourth straight gameweek as their leading scorer.

43–35

Two clubs traded their problems. Bramley had left twenty-four on the bench a week earlier; here they left five and won, Kostoulas's ten and Jacquet's nine doing the work while Cherki managed one. The Owls had the best individual score on the pitch and lost anyway — Kevin Schade's fifteen was five short of what the rest of the Osborn eleven managed combined, with Ødegaard down to three and Havertz to one after their eighteen-point week. Osborn are 1-3-0. Bramley lead the all-time series 12–8.

MOTMCharalampos KostoulasTen points on a night Cherki managed one — the top score in a win built by the parts of the roster that had been silent.

55–30

The Gulls' unbeaten run ended in their worst performance of the season. Thirty points, no starter above seven, Gakpo down to one from a league-leading 28 across three weeks, and Awoniyi on minus two — after six transactions in a single week, the most any club has made. Eighteen points sat on their bench, fifteen of them Bogle's. Elgin were efficient by comparison: Haaland and A.Becker both on nine, Gibbs-White on eight, Khalaili on seven, and 55 points. They also left twenty on their own bench, which is the only blot on the night. The all-time series narrows to 7–5.

MOTMErling HaalandNine points, joint-top on the pitch, in the win that ended the Seagulls’ unbeaten season and pulled Elgin back into the top four.

Championship ResultsSep 15

Loxingham Hit 60 as Two Clubs Stay Perfect

Second and first both won, the gap at the top is now six points over everyone else, and Everywhere posted the lowest total the division has recorded.

52–59

The highest-scoring match in the division this week, and the LiverBirds took it. Fifty-nine against fifty-two moves YNRA to 3-1-0 and third, a third straight win after opening the season with a defeat. The Nor'Easters have now scored 183 — the most of any club outside the top two — and have three points to show for it. Two hundred conceded is the worst mark in the division. First meeting, YNRA lead it 1–0.

Game of the Week

37–60

Game of the Week went to the perfect record. The Lox put up 60, their best of the season and the second-highest total the division has produced, to beat the Eastsiders by twenty-three — comfortably the widest margin in a match between top-three clubs. Loxingham are 4-0-0 with 125 conceded, still the best defensive mark in the division. Kirkwood, whose first three matches were decided by sixteen, two and four, have now lost two straight and dropped to fourth. First meeting, the Lox lead it 1–0.

48–13

Everywhere managed thirteen points — the lowest total the Championship has recorded this season. Los Lechoneros needed 48 and got it, a thirty-five point margin that is the biggest blowout the division has seen. Boricua are 2-2-0 and back in the top half. The Rascals are 0-4-0 with 101 scored, the fewest in the division. First meeting, Boricua lead it 1–0.

36–26

The Corgis have won two straight, and the Commuters have now lost four. Red Line's 26 was their worst return of the season, which finally made the defeat a straightforward one — their first three came by fifteen, two and one. They have scored 141 across four gameweeks, more than three clubs above them, and have nothing at all to show for it. First meeting, OTP lead it 1–0.

48–52

The Wolf Hounds are 4-0-0, and this was the first time anyone made them work for it. Fifty-two against forty-eight is their narrowest win of the season by three, and their lowest total — 49, 60, 61, 52 — after three straight weeks of improvement. The Lews have now lost twice by a combined five points. Hiberian lead the division on 222 scored, fifty-two more than anyone outside the top two. First meeting, Hiberian lead it 1–0.

Gameweek 4 PreviewSep 10

Gameweek Four Sends the Last Unbeaten Club at the Champions

The only club in the division yet to lose plays the club that owns them historically, the two lowest-scoring sides meet with neither able to use a bench, and Andover run out of gameweeks to fix anything. Here's the full slate.

Game of the Week

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The Tikkas are 3-0-0 and have conceded 71 points, thirty-four fewer than anyone else in the division. What should worry them is the other column: 48, then 46, then 36. Palmer has gone thirteen, seven, one, and the win in gameweek three came from Josh King instead. The Ernies arrive off their best week of the season — Isak's thirteen led six starters past five points, and 52 was the highest total of the gameweek. They also own this fixture, leading 10–5 all-time against the club currently top of the table. Something has to give: Chicken Tikka have not lost, and Trey Burt Ernie have not lost to them often.

First against fourth, the division's last unbeaten record against its in-form club — and the table leaders trail this fixture 10–5 all-time. The best match on the card by some distance.

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Second against tenth, and the Flying Lions lead the all-time series 13–5 — the most lopsided fixture in the division. But West Adams are trending the wrong way: 57, 51, 40, with the bench waste climbing the other direction at three, eleven and thirteen. Tavernier's ten was their only score above seven last week. The Albis are 0-3-0, the only winless club in the division, and their problem has moved. Saka gave them nine and eleven in the first two weeks and two last week; Egan's six was their best return. They left twelve on the bench, nine of it Van de Ven. Three gameweeks, seventy-six points, no answer yet.

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The two lowest-scoring clubs in the division, meeting with a shared and unusual distinction: neither has left a single point on the bench in any of the three gameweeks. They have named the right eleven every week and it has not helped much. The Sharks lead the all-time series 8–2 and have lost two straight, held to 27 and 33 after opening with 39 — Gvardiol's 22 for the season is doing most of the work. The Bulls are the more volatile: 11, then 40, then 20, with Bruno Fernandes on 27 for the season and 23 of those coming in a single week. They also started two departed players last week. Ninth against eighth, and the loser is bottom on points scored.

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Both 1-2-0, both won last week, and both arriving with the same question about their bench. The Red Devils won gameweek three with 28 points while leaving 24 unused — the most any club has wasted in a week — and their top scorer was a defender on five after Cherki and Calafiori had carried them for a fortnight. The Owls peaked at 47, their best of the season, with Ødegaard and Havertz producing eighteen together after managing five between them the week before. Bramley lead the all-time series 11–8. Whoever wins moves level with fourth.

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The division's most productive roster against its most consistent. The Bombers have scored 145 and conceded 156 — the worst defensive mark in the division — and have gone 41, 66, 38, which is the whole club in three numbers. Haaland has 24 for the season. The Gulls have not lost, and have done it without a single week above 47: 47, 45, 40, with Gakpo leading the division on 28 points and Mbeumo behind him. Devilishly Seagulls lead the all-time series 7–4. If Elgin have a 66 in them, this is the week they need it.

Championship PreviewSep 10

Gameweek Four Brings the Only Meeting of the Top Three

Second plays third with a perfect record on the line, the division's runaway leaders go to a club on a two-match winning run, and the two winless sides both get a chance they cannot afford to miss. Here's the full slate.

Game of the Week

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The Lox are 3-0-0 and have conceded 88 across three gameweeks, the best defensive mark in the division by twenty-two. They have also improved every week — 34, 53, 44 — after posting the lowest winning score of the opening weekend. The Eastsiders' perfect start ended last week in a four-point defeat, which fits: their three matches have been decided by sixteen, two and four. Six points against nine, first meeting between the clubs, and a Kirkwood win takes them level at the top.

The only match this week between two clubs in the top three. Loxingham are perfect, Kirkwood have played three matches decided by sixteen, two and four points, and the winner can go top.

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The best team in the division against the club that has quietly climbed to fifth. The Wolf Hounds are 3-0-0 with 170 points scored — thirty-seven more than anyone else — and have improved in every gameweek: 49, 60, 61. Only Elgin have conceded more than Hiberian among unbeaten clubs, which is the one crack. The Lews opened with a 21-point defeat and have won twice since, the second by a single point. First meeting.

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The Nor'Easters have scored 131, the third-most in the division, and sit sixth on three points — they put up 54 last week and lost by seven, which is the sort of week that defines a season the wrong way. Two straight defeats now, and 141 conceded is the worst in the division. The LiverBirds have won two in a row after opening with a defeat and are the quieter story: 28, 46, 39, and a defensive record second only to Loxingham. Fourth against sixth, first meeting.

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Los Lechoneros have gone 41, 32, 31 and lost two straight; the Rascals have gone 28, 42, 18 and lost three. Everywhere's 18 last week is the lowest total the division has produced. Seventh against tenth, first meeting, and a defeat leaves Boricua closer to the bottom than the top with a quarter of the season gone.

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The unluckiest club in the division gets the club it should beat. The Commuters are 0-3-0 despite scoring 115 — more than four clubs above them — having lost their three matches by fifteen, two and one. The Corgis got off the mark last week with 31, the lowest winning score of the gameweek, and have scored 82 all season, the fewest in the division. First meeting, and Red Line have now gone three weeks being the better side on the numbers and worse on the table.

Gameweek 3 ResultsSep 7

The First Draw of the Season, and Osborn Finally Get One

Forty apiece in Game of the Week, the division's bottom club taking the highest-scoring roster apart, and a winning side that left more on the bench than it put on the pitch. Chicken Tikka are the last unbeaten club standing.

Game of the Week

40–40

The season's first draw, and both clubs will feel they gave one away. Gakpo's eleven was the highest score on the pitch and Mbeumo added eight, but the Gulls got nothing at all from two starters and only 40 from a side that had been averaging 46. West Adams matched them almost exactly — Tavernier ten, Pedro Porro seven, Cash six — while João Pedro, who had twenty points in two weeks, managed one. The Flying Lions will look hardest at their bench: thirteen points sat there, ten of them Scott's, which is more than the margin in seven of the ten matches played this week. Level on the day and level on the season, both now 2-0-1. The Gulls lead the all-time series 10–8–1.

MOTMCody GakpoEleven points, the highest score on the pitch in a match that finished level — and the reason the Gulls took anything at all from it.

47–38

The Owls are off the mark, and they did it against the highest-scoring roster in the division. Ødegaard's ten and Havertz's eight finally arrived in the same week — the pairing produced seventeen in gameweek one, five in gameweek two, and eighteen here — with Milenković adding seven from the back and Kinsky keeping a clean sheet. Forty-seven is Osborn's best of the season by eleven. Elgin never got going: Haaland's nine was the only score above six, Rúben chipped in six, and the other nine starters managed twenty-three between them. Thirteen points on the Bombers' bench, eight of them A.Becker's. Dead level all-time coming in, Osborn now lead the series 7–6.

MOTMMartin ØdegaardTen points in Osborn’s first win of the season, the third time in three weeks he has been their top scorer, and this time the rest of the roster showed up with him.

20–28

Two clubs found new ways to lose a match one of them won. SaMo started Gabriel Jesus and Beto, both of whom had left the league in the transfer window, and both returned zero — two of the eleven shirts were empty before kickoff. Donnarumma's seven was their leading score for the second time in three weeks. Twenty points is the second-lowest total posted in the division this season. Bramley won it with twenty-eight, their worst return of the season, and left twenty-four points on the bench doing it — Suzuki ten, Tzolis five, Jacquet five, Shaw four. That is the most any club has wasted in a single week, and it was still enough. The Red Devils lead the all-time series 7–5.

MOTMAbdukodir KhusanovFive points, and the highest score in a 28-point win — a defender top-scoring in the lowest-scoring victory of the season.

52–33

Alexander Isak's thirteen was the highest individual score of the gameweek and the champions built properly around it: Guéhi eight, Van Hecke eight, Rogers six, Šeško five, Kerkez five. Six starters at five or more, and fifty-two points — their best of the season. The Sharks had two big returns of their own in Gvardiol and Araujo, both on eight, and almost nothing else: Thiaw went to minus one, three starters returned one or fewer, and Gyökeres finally got on the board with a single point in his third gameweek. Nothing on the bench again, which has now been true in all three weeks. Trey Burt Ernie take the all-time series 8–7–1.

MOTMAlexander IsakThirteen points, the best individual return of the gameweek, in the champions’ highest-scoring performance of the season.

24–36

The Tikkas are the last unbeaten club in the division, and they did it on a night when Palmer managed one point. Josh King's ten carried them, N.Williams added seven from the back, and 36 was enough because Andover could not find anything either. The Albis are 0-3-0, the only club in the division yet to take a point, and Saka has now gone from eleven to two. The cruelty came on the bench: Van de Ven returned nine there, more than any Andover starter managed. Chicken Tikka lead the all-time series 12–6.

MOTMJosh KingTen points on a night when Palmer managed one — the only Chicken Tikka player above seven, and the difference in keeping the division’s last unbeaten record intact.

Championship ResultsSep 7

Hiberian Win a 115-Point Shootout as Red Line Lose by One

The highest-scoring match the division has produced, a one-point defeat for the unluckiest club in the league, and two clubs still perfect at the top.

Game of the Week

61–54

One hundred and fifteen points, the highest-scoring match the division has produced this season, and the Wolf Hounds are still perfect. Sixty-one is their third straight improvement and the highest single-gameweek total the division has posted. The Nor'Easters scored 54, which would have beaten every other club in the division this week and in most weeks so far, and lost by seven. NELA are 1-2-0 and have now conceded more than anyone in the division.

37–38

The cruellest record in the division got crueller. The Commuters lost by two points in gameweek two; here they lost by one, 38–37. Red Line are 0-3-0 with 115 points scored — more than four clubs above them — and have now lost three matches by a combined eighteen. The Lews take it 1–0 in the first meeting and are 2-1-0.

18–31

The Corgis are off the mark, and it took the lowest score the division has seen to do it. Everywhere managed eighteen — seven fewer than any other Championship total this season — and OTP's thirty-one was enough by thirteen. The Rascals are 0-3-0 and bottom on points scored. First meeting, OTP lead it 1–0.

44–31

The Lox are 3-0-0 and level on points with Hiberian at the top. Forty-four against Los Lechoneros makes it three wins from three and 88 conceded across the season is the best defensive mark in the division. Boricua are 1-2-0 and have now lost to both of the clubs above them.

39–35

The Eastsiders' perfect start is over, and it went the same way their two wins did — narrowly for the last two. Kirkwood have now played three matches decided by sixteen, two and four points. The LiverBirds took it 39–35 for a second straight win after opening the season with a defeat, and both clubs sit on six points. First meeting, YNRA lead it 1–0.

Gameweek 3 PreviewSep 2

Gameweek Three Sends the Two Unbeatens at Each Other

First plays third with both still perfect, the division's two winless clubs get separate lifelines, and four squads take the field for the first time since the window took a player off them. Here's the full slate.

Game of the Week

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Both are 2-0-0, and one of those records is gone by Monday. The Flying Lions sit top on 108 points scored — the most in the division — and have won both matches from losing positions, Groß's thirteen and João Pedro's twenty across two weeks doing most of the damage. The Gulls have won differently: 92 scored, only 68 conceded, and a spread that produced eight starters at three or more last week rather than one big number. Two complications. Devilishly Seagulls lost Woltemade to Juventus and have now made five transactions in two weeks, more than anyone. And West Adams left eleven points on their bench in gameweek two, the kind of margin that decides a match between clubs this evenly matched. The Gulls lead the all-time series 10–8.

Two unbeaten clubs, first against third in the table, and the only match on the card where both sides arrive on six points. Nothing else comes close.

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The most productive club in the division against the one that cannot buy a win. The Bombers have scored 107, one fewer than league-leading West Adams, and are only 1-1-0 because they have also conceded 109 — the worst mark in the division. Haaland's thirteen and Gibbs-White's thirteen finally arrived together last week. The Owls are 0-2-0 having led both matches they lost, and their problem is repeatable: thirteen points on the bench in gameweek two, Tzolakis's ten among them, after Ødegaard and Havertz dropped from seventeen combined to five. Dead level all-time at 6–6, the only Premier League fixture on the card with nothing between the two clubs.

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The two clubs at the bottom on league points, and neither deserves to be there for the same reason. The Red Devils are 0-2-0 having scored 93 — more than four of the seven clubs above them — with Cherki on 22 for the season and Calafiori on 20, and they have still lost twice. The Bulls are the opposite: 51 points scored, the fewest in the division, 25 of them from Bruno Fernandes alone. They also arrive a forward light in both directions after the window took Gabriel Jesus to Barcelona and Beto to Fiorentina. Bramley lead the all-time series 6–5, and the loser here is bottom.

V

The only fixture in the league that has ever been drawn, and it sits at 7–7–1 all-time — the most evenly matched series on the board. Both are 1-1-0, both won in gameweek one and lost in gameweek two. The Ernies have the bigger names and the bigger problem: Hinshelwood's sixteen in week one became a benched zero in week two, and Sarr is still here after Galatasaray's interest went nowhere. The Sharks lost their goalkeeper, Sánchez, to Como on loan, and have now gone two gameweeks getting nothing at all from Gyökeres. Neither club has left a single point on the bench all season — they are the only two who can say that.

V

Bottom against second, and the gap is not subtle. The Tikkas are 2-0-0 with 94 scored and 47 conceded — the best defence in the division by twenty-one points — and have not needed a big week from Palmer to do it. The Albis are 0-2-0 with 52 scored, the fewest anywhere, and have now lost Watkins to Al Hilal with no replacement yet in. Saka has twenty for the season and Foden gave them nine last week; almost nothing else has arrived. Chicken Tikka lead the all-time series 11–6.

Championship PreviewSep 2

Gameweek Three Puts Hiberian's Perfect Start in Front of NELA

The division's best attack meets the club that led it after one gameweek and has since fallen away, and the two winless sides at the bottom finally meet each other. Every match is still a first meeting. Here's the full slate.

Game of the Week

V

The Wolf Hounds are 2-0-0 with 109 scored and 57 conceded, both the best marks in the division, and their 60 in gameweek two is the highest single-gameweek total the division has managed this season. The Nor'Easters opened with 48 and looked the most convincing side on the board, then managed 29 and lost by twenty-four. They are 1-1-0 and have now conceded more than they have scored. First meeting between the two.

The division's highest-scoring club, unbeaten, against the side that looked strongest of all a fortnight ago. First against fourth, and the biggest name in the Championship's short history.

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The cruellest record in the division against a club that has already had its reprieve. The Commuters are 0-2-0 despite scoring 78 — more than three clubs above them — and lost gameweek two by two points after posting 52, the fourth-highest total of the week. The Lews were twenty-one points down after their opener and responded by winning by seventeen. First meeting, and Red Line have to win one of these eventually.

V

Ninth against tenth, both 0-2-0, and the two lowest points-for totals in the division. The Corgis have scored 51 across two matches and conceded 92, the worst differential anywhere. The Rascals are marginally better on both counts and have lost by sixteen and by four. First meeting, and whoever loses is alone at the bottom with a third of the opening month gone.

V

The Lox are 2-0-0 and quietly the most improved club in the division — 34 in gameweek one, the lowest winning score of the week, then 53 to beat NELA by twenty-four. They have conceded 57, level with Hiberian for the best defence in the division. Los Lechoneros are 1-1-0, ran into that Hiberian 60 last week, and have the fourth-best attack on 73. First meeting.

V

The Eastsiders are 2-0-0 and have won the hard way twice, the second by two points in the closest finish the division has produced. They have also conceded 80, the most of any unbeaten club, so the margin has been thin. The LiverBirds lost their opener with 28, then found 46 to beat Everywhere. First meeting, and a Kirkwood win puts them level on points with Hiberian.

Gameweek 2 ResultsSep 2

Elgin Hit 66, Bruno Hits 23, and West Adams Come From Behind Again

The highest team total of the season, the highest individual score of the season, and a Game of the Week that turned on a thirty-three point second half. Three clubs are still perfect and three are still without a point.

Game of the Week

51–41

Pascal Groß watched gameweek one from the bench and then produced thirteen points in his first start, the highest score in Game of the Week. João Pedro added nine and Calvert-Lewin eight, and that trio — thirty of West Adams' fifty-one — was enough to overturn a fourteen-point deficit. The Ernies had led it through Elanga and Isak, both on eight, with a seven-point clean sheet from Horníček behind them, but nothing arrived after that: six of their starters returned three or fewer and Hinshelwood, worth sixteen a week earlier, sat on the bench for nothing. The Flying Lions have now won twice from losing positions, and lead the all-time series 7–5.

MOTMPascal GroßThirteen points off the bench of gameweek one and straight into the side, the single biggest piece of a thirty-three point second half that erased a fourteen-point deficit.

29–40

Bruno Fernandes scored twenty-three points on his own — the highest individual return of the season, and more than the entire SaMo eleven managed a week earlier. Mukiele's nine made it thirty-two from two players out of forty; the other nine starters contributed eight, and Donnarumma and G.Jesus both blanked. It was still enough, because Andover have the same disease. Saka's eleven and Foden's nine gave them twenty of their twenty-nine, and the remaining nine produced nine between them, with Van de Ven, Madueke, Maddison and De Cuyper all returning nothing. The Bulls take their first win of the season and now lead the all-time series 8–4; Andover are 0-2-0 for the season with the lowest points-for total in the division.

MOTMBruno FernandesTwenty-three points — the highest individual score of the season, more than SaMo's entire eleven managed in gameweek one, and more than eight of the twenty clubs scored all week.

46–36

Schade's ten and Ballard's eight had the Owls ahead 31–29 with a phase to play, which is a sentence nobody expected in a fixture the Tikkas own 16–3. What beat them was distribution. Chicken Tikka had six starters between four and eight points — Gabriel eight, Palmer seven, then Raya, N.Williams and Xhaka all on six, Branthwaite on four — and Gabriel and Raya were still to play when Osborn were finished. Fourteen closing points against five decided it. Ødegaard and Havertz, worth seventeen between them in week one, managed five. Tzolakis's ten sat on the Osborn bench, part of thirteen wasted. Osborn have now lost seventeen of twenty all-time in this fixture.

MOTMGabrielEight points in the closing stages with the Tikkas trailing, the decisive contribution in a fourteen-point finish that turned a two-point deficit into a ten-point win.

27–45

Mbeumo's eleven led it, but the Gulls won this on breadth: Ajayi six, Semenyo five, Gakpo five, Truffert, Sangaré and Woltemade four apiece, Barnes three. Eight starters at three or more, from a side that made four transactions during the week and got all four right. The Sharks had three players deliver — Neto seven, Munoz six, Gvardiol five — and nothing behind them: Sánchez, Araujo and Gyökeres all blanked, and Gyökeres has now returned nothing in either gameweek. Twenty-seven is SHRKFKRS' worst of the season with an empty bench to match. The Sharks still lead the all-time series, now 9–7.

MOTMBryan MbeumoEleven points in a win built on spread rather than spikes — the top score in a side where seven different starters returned three or more.

52–66

Cherki's fourteen and Calafiori's eleven would have won any other match on the card. Bramley scored fifty-two and lost by fourteen, because Elgin had five players in double figures or close to it: Gibbs-White thirteen, Haaland thirteen, Tarkowski twelve, Cunha nine, White seven — fifty-four of their sixty-six from five names. Haaland's return is the story. First pick in the draft, two points on debut, and now the joint-top scorer in the highest-scoring performance of the season. Sixty-six is the best total any club has posted in the division. The Red Devils are 0-2-0 for the season despite outscoring four of the seven clubs above them in the table, and left sixteen on the bench — Hall's eleven among them, the most anyone has wasted in a week. Elgin lead the all-time series 8–3.

MOTMErling HaalandThirteen points, and the answer to the only question hanging over Elgin. The first pick in the draft managed two on debut; here he was the joint-top scorer in the highest-scoring performance of the season.

Championship ResultsSep 2

Hiberian Hit 60 as the Championship Splits in Two

The highest score the division has seen, a two-point thriller, and the club that looked strongest in gameweek one taken apart. Three sides are perfect and three are still without a point.

29–53

The club that looked strongest after gameweek one was taken apart. The Lox — whose 34 was the lowest winning total of the opening weekend — put up 53 and beat the Nor'Easters by twenty-four. NELA managed 29, nineteen fewer than their opening total, and have gone from the division's most convincing side to mid-table in a week. Loxingham lead this fixture 1–0 all-time, and are 2-0-0 for the season.

46–42

Two clubs who lost their openers with identical 28-point returns, and the LiverBirds were the ones who fixed it. 46–42 is the sort of scoreline neither managed a week ago, and both found eighteen points of improvement on the same afternoon. The Rascals are the only side in the division still without a point after two.

54–52

The match of the gameweek, and the closest finish the division has produced. Kirkwood held on 54–52 — a two-point margin, the narrowest the division has produced this season. The cruel part belongs to The Commuters: 52 was the fourth-highest total of the gameweek and more than double what they managed on debut, and it still left them 0-2-0 for the season. The Eastsiders are perfect.

Game of the Week

32–60

Our Game of the Week, and the Wolf Hounds treated it as a formality. Hiberian's 60 is the highest single-gameweek total posted in the division this season, and it beat Los Lechoneros by twenty-eight. Two matches, 109 points scored, 57 conceded. Nobody in the Championship has been near them yet.

26–43

The Lews are off the mark. Both clubs came in on the back of the two heaviest defeats of the opening gameweek and Joe Lewis were the ones who responded, winning 43–26 and taking the first all-time meeting 1–0. The Corgis have now scored 51 across two matches — fewer than Hiberian managed on Sunday alone — and remain the division's only winless side yet to break 30.

Gameweek 2 PreviewAug 26

Gameweek Two Delivers a Top-Two Showdown and a Bottom-Two Scrap

Gameweek 2 puts first against second in the table in the closest rivalry the league has, and sends the division's two heaviest defeats straight at each other. Here's the full slate.

Game of the Week

V

First against second in the table, and the tightest series on the board at 6–5 all-time. The Flying Lions posted the division's highest total of the gameweek, 57, with João Pedro, Tavernier and Ndiaye all returning double figures or close to it. The Ernies answered with 51 and the single best individual score anyone managed — Hinshelwood's 16. Both are unbeaten, both are scoring heavily, and one of those records is gone by Monday. The subplot is Ismaila Sarr: benched, pointless, and still being circled by Galatasaray while seven points sat unused alongside him.Update · Sep 2: The window shut at 3pm PT on September 1 with no bid at Trey Burt Ernie’s valuation, and Sarr stays. The Sarr who joined Juventus on deadline day is Pape Matar Sarr, a different player.

First against second in the table, the two highest scores of the opening gameweek, the closest all-time series in the league at 6–5, and both perfect records on the line. Nothing else on the card comes close.

V

The two heaviest defeats of the opening gameweek, meeting immediately. Andover's 23 and the Bulls' 11 were the lowest totals in the division, and neither found anything resembling a match-winner — SaMo's leading scorer was their goalkeeper, on three. The Albis got nothing from Watkins with Al Hilal still circling, and nothing from three of their four defenders. SaMo are still without Saliba. The Bulls hold the series 7–4, but nothing either club did last week earns them favouritism.Update · Sep 2: The Al Hilal move went through — Watkins left Andover before the window shut at 3pm PT on September 1, which is why he had already been dropped. SaMo came out of deadline day worse off too, losing Gabriel Jesus to Barcelona and Beto to Fiorentina.

V

The most one-sided rivalry in the league at 16–3, and the opening gameweek did nothing to suggest a correction. Palmer's 13 was the second-best score in the division and the Tikka defence delivered exactly as advertised, Gabriel and Branthwaite both returning behind a Raya clean sheet. The Owls have the raw material — only three players in the entire division beat Ødegaard's 11 — but their other nine starters managed 17 combined. Rashford, still rumoured to be leaving the league, remains on the Chicken Tikka bench.Update · Sep 2: Rashford stayed. The window closed at 3pm PT on September 1 with no move, and he started gameweek two.

V

Two winners, two comebacks, and a series the Sharks lead 9–6. SHRKFKRS won without their marquee forward contributing anything at all: Gyökeres was benched and blank, and the work came from Gvardiol, Szoboszlai and Barry instead. The Gulls reached 47 behind Gakpo's 12 and a nine-point clean sheet from Trafford, written off pre-season as the worst number two on the board. Both perfect records are on the line — though Devilishly Seagulls left eight points on their bench, more than anyone.Update · Sep 2: Both clubs lost a player when the window shut at 3pm PT on September 1: Sánchez left SHRKFKRS for Como on loan and Woltemade left the Seagulls for Juventus. Gyökeres stayed.

V

Both led their opening matches and lost them anyway, which is an odd thing to share going into a fixture the Red Devils own 7–3. Cherki and Calafiori gave Bramley 17 between them and it still wasn't enough; the Bombers got 11 apiece from White and Dewsbury-Hall and lost by 16. The number hanging over this one is Haaland's two points on debut — first pick in the draft, and level with Elgin's lowest-returning starters. Richarlison's future is still unresolved on the other side.Update · Sep 2: It resolved quietly — Richarlison was still a Bramley player when the window shut at 3pm PT on September 1.

Championship PreviewAug 26

Gameweek Two Brings the Division's Two Best Attacks Together

Every match is still a first meeting, so there's no history to lean on — just one gameweek of results. Five clubs on three points, five on none, and the table is already splitting.

V

The Nor'Easters' 48 was the second-highest total in the division and comfortably the most convincing performance of the gameweek. The Lox also won, but 34 was the lowest winning score anyone posted and their six-point margin the narrowest. Both are 1-0. Only one of them looks built to stay there.

V

Both lost, both scored exactly 28, and both sit on nothing. The margins tell them apart — The Rascals were beaten by 16, the LiverBirds by six — but that's a thin distinction. Whoever loses here is bottom of the division on points scored and 0-2 before September.

V

The Eastsiders' 44 and sixteen-point win was the third-best performance in the division. The Commuters are still waiting for a first result under the new identity after losing by fifteen and posting 26. On the only evidence available this is the widest gap on the card — which is usually when one of these goes the other way.

Game of the Week

V

The match of the gameweek. The Wolf Hounds' 49 was the highest total in the division and Los Lechoneros' 41 was fourth, so the two most productive clubs in the Championship meet with both unbeaten and top spot genuinely at stake. Neither has conceded more than 26.

The two highest-scoring clubs in the division, both unbeaten, both with a defence that has yet to concede more than 26. First meeting, and top spot genuinely at stake.

V

The two heaviest defeats of the gameweek — 24 and 21 points — and the two lowest totals in the division. The Corgis shipped 49, more than anyone conceded anywhere. The Lews have real top-flight history behind them and nothing to show for it in this division yet. One of them gets off the mark.

Gameweek 1 ResultsAug 25

Two Comebacks, One Blowout, and a Winner Decided in the Last Minutes

Gameweek 1 delivered almost everything it could — a lead overturned on the final night, the champions erasing a sixteen-point deficit at the break, and the lowest total the division has posted. Here's how all five matchups actually unfolded.

41–57

Two elevens carried the Bombers and it still wasn't enough. Ben White and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall returned eleven apiece and Tarkowski added six — twenty-eight of Elgin's forty-one from three players, with Haaland managing two on debut and five other starters returning two or less. West Adams won it the opposite way. Nobody hit double figures until João Pedro's eleven, but Tavernier gave them ten, Ndiaye nine, and Verbruggen, Lacroix and Mosquera six each — seven starters at three or more against Elgin's three. The Bombers were still ahead 41–40 with only the Flying Lions left to play; João Pedro and Lacroix took it from there. Elgin owned this fixture 9–1 coming in. It is 9–2 now.

MOTMJoão PedroEleven points, and the only reason West Adams won — he scored inside the first minute of the last match standing with the Flying Lions a point behind.

47–41

Calafiori and Tzolis put the Red Devils fifteen points up before the Gulls had anything at all, and Cherki's eight kept them there. What turned it was Cody Gakpo, whose twelve was the highest score on the pitch, backed by a nine-point clean sheet from Trafford — written off pre-season as the worst number two on the board — and seven from Wieffer. Georginio's five made it four Seagulls in double-figure-adjacent territory while Bramley's contributions thinned out behind their top three. Twenty-nine points in one phase turned a five-point deficit into a six-point win. The closest series in the league is now dead level at 10–10, and the Gulls left seven on their bench doing it.

MOTMCody GakpoTwelve points, the highest on the pitch, and the strike that started a twenty-nine point second half from 15–1 down.

34–39

Ødegaard's eleven and Havertz's six gave the Owls seventeen points before SHRKFKRS had a player on the pitch. The problem was everyone else: Osborn's other nine starters managed seventeen between them, with Ballard and Thiago both blanking. The Sharks answered with three players rather than two — Gvardiol nine, Szoboszlai eight, Barry eight, twenty-five of their thirty-nine from a defender, a midfielder and a forward. Sánchez's clean sheet and a late Neto point closed a five-point win in which SHRKFKRS never led until the end. The Owls have now lost eleven of nineteen all-time in this fixture.

MOTMJoško GvardiolNine points in a five-point win — the single biggest contribution to a comeback the Sharks began 17–0 behind.

11–48

The Bulls' leading scorer was their goalkeeper. Donnarumma's three was the best return in a SaMo side where nine of eleven starters managed one point or none — Saliba, James, G.Jesus all blank, Bruno Fernandes held to two. Eleven points is the lowest total any club has posted. Chicken Tikka needed none of their best to win it and got it anyway: Palmer thirteen, with Raya, Branthwaite and Gonzalo all on six and Gabriel and McBurnie on five, six different starters outscoring SaMo's top man on their own. 48–11 is the biggest blowout of the season. The Tikkas lead the all-time series 8–5.

MOTMCole PalmerThirteen points, more than the entire SaMo Bulls XI managed between them, and 27% of the Tikkas' total on his own.

51–23

Jack Hinshelwood's sixteen was the best individual score of the gameweek, and the champions surrounded it properly — Guéhi ten from the back, Elanga nine with a goal five minutes into his match, Rogers eight. Forty-three of Trey Burt Ernie's fifty-one came from four players. The Albis had the opposite problem: Saka's nine and Pickford's seven accounted for sixteen of their twenty-three, and the remaining nine starters produced seven combined, with Watkins, Van de Ven, Palestra and Martinez all returning nothing. Andover actually led 22–6 at the break before the Ernies' thirty-seven point second half buried it. Andover had led this series 12–4 all-time; it is 12–5 now.

MOTMJack HinshelwoodSixteen points, the best individual score in the division, in a second half that turned a sixteen-point deficit into a twenty-eight point win.

Championship ResultsAug 25

Hiberian Set the Pace as the Championship Opens

Four comfortable wins and one genuine scrap in the division's first ever gameweek. Here's how all five went.

27–48

The oldest grudge in the division settled nothing. The Nor'Easters took the first Championship meeting 48–27, the second-highest total of the gameweek, and cut the Lews' long-standing edge in this fixture to 8–7. Two clubs with real top-flight history, and only one of them looked like it.

49–25

The division's highest score of the opening gameweek, and comfortably so. The Wolf Hounds put up 49 in the first competitive match the club has ever played and beat The Corgis by twenty-four. A first meeting between the two, and an emphatic way to open a ledger.

26–41

Los Lechoneros spoiled the debut. Boricua Bacon Brigade won 41–26 in the first meeting between the clubs, leaving The Commuters still waiting for a first win under the new identity.

28–44

The Eastsiders opened their history with a statement, beating The Rascals 44–28. A blank ledger going in, and Kirkwood now own every page of it.

34–28