26/04 - 20:00
We run down our top 10 best performing teams from England's top four tiers. Number of games played are taken into consideration, as are domestic cups, with European cups and the EFL Trophy excluded as not all teams participate in either. Point percentage is used to compare teams' season long performances, mitigating different leagues and number of games played.
Last 5: WWDDW Point Percentage: 61% League Cup: Second Round FA Cup: Third Round
©Getty / NurPhoto
Returning to our rankings after an extended hiatus are Crewe, who jump all up to second in League Two with a 2-1 win away at Walsall and some of the best form in the division, unbeaten in five after a patchy spell. Daniel Powell has scored in his last three to lead his side with nine goals, but their even spread of goalscorers will give them hope in an intense play-off fight, while Charlie Kirk leads the league with 12 assists.
Last 5: WDDWW Point Percentage: 59% League Cup: Second Round FA Cup: IN
A scoreless draw with Fleetwood and a win over Bristol Rovers cap off a week of tricky away trips for Coventry who remain in the top six in League One. A side with realistic dreams of Championship football, Coventry have just one league loss in their last 15, although they’ll need to halt the draws if hopes of automatic promotion are to come to fruition.
📈 Unbeaten in the league in 2020 (top four tiers):
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) February 3, 2020
PL: Arsenal, Liverpool*
Ch: -
L1: Coventry, Gillingham, Portsmouth
L2: Northampton
* unbeaten in 2019/20.#EPL #EFL #AFC #YNWA #PUSB #Gills #Pompey #NTFC pic.twitter.com/fy6Iu6Q1Ru
Last 5: WDWDW Point Percentage: 49% League Cup: Third Round FA Cup: IN
©Getty / Tottenham Hotspur FC
It’s hard to say it was deserved after Sergio Aguero and İlkay Gündoğan squandered a pair of golden opportunities each, but nonetheless, Tottenham are back on course for Champions League football, heading the pack of challengers in fifth. An FA Cup win over Middlesbrough and draw against Southampton help patch up some imperfect Premier League form, but even with recent defeats to Liverpool and Southampton in the league, Spurs sit just four points short of fourth, meeting the current holders of that birth, Chelsea, in two games time. While cup progress will hardly go amiss.
Last 5: WWWLW Point Percentage: 55% League Cup: First Round FA Cup: Third Round
Two away wins on the bounce, and zero goals conceded in four, move Bristol City back into the play-off picture when it was starting to look like a tough ask. Keeper Daniel Bentley has made his way up the divisions and is now looking solid in net for City, while Jamie Paterson has added two goals in this streak to a team already boosted by the massive arrival of 13 goal Nahki Wells from QPR. Keeping a sturdy defence whilst adding a proven goalscorer means Bristol City now need to be taken very seriously as play-off contenders.
Last 5: WDWWW Point Percentage: 62% League Cup: Second Round FA Cup: Second Round
Argyle will have been disappointed to have dropped two points at home to Crawley midweek, but follow it up with yet another win against Newport thanks to Tyreeq Bakinson. England’s top scorers since the start of the year, Plymouth have gone from outside bets for the play-offs to a reasonable shout for the automatic promotion places, and if they can carry this on, anything is possible in an increasingly tight League Two.
📈 Most league goals scored (top 4 tiers; 2019/20):
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) February 3, 2020
15⚽: 🔥PLYMOUTH🔥
13⚽: Liverpool, Peterborough, Rotherham, Crewe, Crawley, Mansfield
12⚽: Brentford, Northampton, Swindon#pafc @Only1Argyle pic.twitter.com/AVo2is03hP
Last 5: WWDDW Point Percentage: 57% League Cup: First Round FA Cup: IN
Two wins in a week move Northampton up our rankings with four goals scored and none conceded against Scunthorpe and Macclesfield, extending a nine game unbeaten run which has seen FA Cup upsets against Burton and Derby. Much like Plymouth, Northampton have started 2020 as well as anyone in England and are looking on course to be a solid play-off pick. They’ve been in and out of the picture for a while with some impressive runs, but right now even the automatic spots aren’t out of the question for Keith Curle’s improving side.
📈 Most league points won (top 4 tier teams; 2020):
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) February 3, 2020
1⃣6⃣: 👉NORTHAMPTON👈, Plymouth
1⃣5⃣: Rotherham
1⃣4⃣: Sunderland, Crewe
1⃣3⃣: Doncaster, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Swindon#NTFC @ntfc #PAFC #SAFC #CreweAlex #DRFC #PUFC #Pompey #STFC pic.twitter.com/Z1bdlvpcsf
Last 5: WWLWW Point Percentage: 60% League Cup: Second Round FA Cup: Third Round
Rotherham reclaim top spot in League One with the help of some poor showings around them, helping them back into our top 10. Moving three points clear, Rotherham continue their steady and impressive climb to set themselves apart in a division that twice looked almost wrapped up by Ipswich and Wycombe. The former of the two they beat this week, before following it up with a battling 3-2 over Burton to recover from defeat to Peterborough last weekend. Rotherham’s +23 goal difference is the best in the division by four, and might be the biggest clue to who the best team is in the league heading towards crunch time.
Last 5: WWWWL Point Percentage: 54% League Cup: First Round FA Cup: Third Round
Some were starting to doubt whether Peterborough could ever get back on track after slipping all the way down to mid table in League One, but they do it in some style and deservedly jump back up our rankings, making the podium on re-entry. Four wins on the bounce also take Peterborough third in the league, a point shy of the automatic promotion places, with 12 goals scored and two conceded in that run.
They might be without legendary assist machine Marcus Maddison for the first time in recent history, but the goals are well on their way back, with loan signing Sam Szmodics netting four in his last three featuring a brace at the weekend. This run has also featured victories over rivals for the title, Rotherham, Wycombe before Ipswich at the weekend, showing Posh are well and truly back.
↗️Highest EFL goalscorers (league; 2019/20):
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) February 1, 2020
56⚽️: 🔥PETERBOROUGH🔥
55⚽️: Swindon, Crewe
53⚽️: Rotherham, West Brom
49⚽️: Brentford@theposhofficial #PUFC pic.twitter.com/H6VF7smssa
Last 5: WWDWW Point Percentage: 97% League Cup: Quarter Finals FA Cup: IN
©Getty / Daniel Chesterton/Offside
Thanks to Manchester City’s loss to Spurs on Sunday Liverpool go a frankly ridiculous 22 points clear at the top of the Premier League with a thumping 4-0 win over Southampton at Anfield, but not everything went their way. A game that was scoreless at half-time, Liverpool had to step up a gear for once to dispatch of a side who posed plenty of questions after the Reds had made simple work of West Ham midweek in a 2-0 win.
The fixtures don’t get much harder though for a Liverpool side well on their way to clinching a record early title, and now attention will turn to putting in a statement performance against an Atlético Madrid side in all sorts of trouble as the Champions League recommences.
Last 5: WWWWW Point Percentage: 58% League Cup: Third Round FA Cup: IN
©Getty / Ian Horrocks
There was a huge air of anticipation around Portsmouth’s meeting with Sunderland on Saturday, as the two former Premier League regulars met in superb form, ready to put their increasing play-off chances to the test.
Goals from Christian Burgess and James Bolton ticked a lot of boxes, displaying their scoring depth, whilst moving them sixth on an eight game winning run in all competitions. The feel good factor is well and truly back for Kenny Jackett’s Pompey, and showing this level of performance in all competitions, as they remain in the FA Cup and EFL trophy, Portsmouth’s current run leaves them three points from the automatic promotion places in League One.
After years of struggle everything is heading in the right direction for Portsmouth in 2020, and as League One closes up once again, they look as well places as anyone to head in to the business end of the season on a charge.
📈 Fewest league goals conceded (top 4 tiers; 2020):
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) February 3, 2020
1⚽: Liverpool
2⚽: ⛔PORTSMOUTH⛔
3⚽: Spurs, Brentford, Coventry, Northampton#Pompey @Pompey @Alexbass137 pic.twitter.com/uEN1wOQECF
Dropping out;
Derby: (Previously 10th) A 4-0 thumping of Stoke may look impressive, but not when it comes off a midweek loss to lowly Luton.
Ipswich: (Previously 7th) Two losses this week to promotion rivals Rotherham and Peterborough bring Ipswich worryingly back down to earth.
Sunderland: (Previously 6th) Sunderland stay in the League One hunt but a 2-0 loss to Portsmouth knocks them out our top 10.
Stoke: (Previously 5th) A 4-0 thumping by Derby puts Stoke dangerously close to the relegation zone.
Exeter: (Previously 3rd) Exeter endure an awful week with back-to-back losses against Port Vale and Swindon
Potential Risers;
Everton, Fulham, Preston, Blackburn, Birmingham, MK Dons, Salford, Crawley, Oldham, Carlisle
🏆First place in Germany, seven consecutive titles in Austria, four F1 championships.
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 30, 2020
🇵🇹🇪🇸 Red Bull are on the rise, are about to add Portugal to their list, & are aiming for La Liga.
⚠️Could Red Bull begin a take over of European football?
Full story:👉https://t.co/Eqxp6DmuI6 pic.twitter.com/wwH3GVr554
