Is your team playing horrid football? Do you want an underdog to route for? Matthew Saunders picks his favourites from the first quarter of the season.
Football is an ever changing game with new rules, new kits and new styles of play for every team coming each season. But one of the things that never changes is that there will always be underdog stories. Those teams that shouldn’t be doing well which go on and defy everyone’s pre-season expectations. Two months is all the time needed for some of these underdogs to show their faces. We take a look at some of those underdogs across England’s top four leagues.
Editor’s note: At the time of writing, these stats were correct. We are aware some of these statistics and teams seasons have dramatically changed.
Sunderland:
Considering that the past two Premier League seasons have seen every promoted team go back down to the Championship, it seemed like that was going to be the same fate for the Black Cats. However, Regis Le Bris has taken Sunderland to a cozy 9th in the league with 11 points gained thanks to three wins, two draws and two losses. It’s not been an easy run of fixtures for the Tyne side. Shock results against teams like Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and West Ham has showed they are a force to goint to be a walk over like many people imagined.. Striker Wilson Isidor has been the main man up top as Sunderland’s top scorer with three goals so far and seasoned veteran Granit Xhaka assisting the same amount from the midfield. Will Sunderland be able to dig their claws into Premier League survival by the end of the season?
Bournemouth:
With a completely new defense needed in the summer and the need to bulk up after their 9th place finish last season, it seemed like the Cherries would be stretched too thin in the transfer market. But, their smart investments and some individual brilliance has meant that the club on the south coast has reached 4th in the table. 14 points picked up with four wins, two draws and only one loss to Liverpool at the start of the season has seen Andoni Iraola take the club to new heights. As well as this, Antoine Semenyo has been one of the best players in the Premier League so far, with six goals and three assists becoming the club’s leader in both stats. Will the Vitality Stadium soon be seeing European football for the first time in the club’s history?
Leicester:
Losing club legend Jamie Vardy as well as star players like Bilal El Khanouss, Wilfrid Ndidi and Mads Hermansen as well as a potential points deduction coming into the season meant that Leicester City stocks could not be lower. Most predictions had Leicester City in midtable if not lower. And yet, with a new manager in Marti Cifuentes leading the charge, the Foxes have impressed in their Championship campaign so far, sitting in 3rd only two points away from 2nd place Middlesbrough. With four wins and four draws adding up to a respectable 16 points over nine games with Abdul Fatawu leading the charge on the pitch as the top scorer with three goals for Leicester so far. The academy prospects are also making their name in a big way, especially 16-year-old Jeremy Monga who made an appearance eight times in their first nine games of the season. Will Leicester be able to quickly hop back into England’s top division or will the EFL have more to say in this story?
Preston:
After finishing 20th in the previous season and only staying in the league thanks to results elsewhere, it seemed destined the Lilywhites’ ten year stint in the Championship would be coming to an end. However, with a transfer strategy in mind to pick off free transfers and loan players that have been proven in the league, Preston are quickly becoming the shock of the season. With manager Paul Heckinbottom getting the best out of players like Daniel Iversen and Milutin Osmajic, they have been put up to 4th position on 16 points only suffering one loss so far. Playing in a 3-5-2 formation, will Preston’s luck continue on to the end of the season?
Stevenage:
A mid table finish last season saw Stevenage’s momentum after getting promoted to League 1 slowed down as many thought it would be a similar season for the Boro. But it seems like Stevenage have already put last season’s display behind them as they currently lead the League 1 table with 25 points in ten matches. Eight wins and only one draw and one loss has led to Alex Revell’s side dominating the league and putting themselves as early title contenders. Jaimie Reid has been pivotal to the side’s form, scoring five goals so far in this campaign which has earnt the striker a call up to the Northern Ireland national team. Stevenage seem to be readying themselves for their first promotion since 2023 but will the Boro manage to keep the good times rolling at the Lamex Stadium?
Gillingham:
After retaining a lot of the same squad that finished 17th last season in League 2, it seemed to many fans that this would be the curtain call for the Kent club. Those fans would be very much mistaken as Gareth Ainsworth has taken his side to 3rd in the league table and have accumulated 22 points with six wins, four draws and two losses. Bradley Dack is the one who leads the way in goals, scoring three goals in ten matches so far this season with Remeao Hutton getting the same amount of assists across 12 matches. It has been over a decade since Priestfield Stadium has seen promotion celebrations and after a dismal previous season, there is a real hope that the streak will be ended this season.
Barnet:
The newly promoted side from the National League made their first return to the 92 for the first time since 2018 and many were unsure of where the Bees would fit back in after such a long time away. This answer seemed to be leaning toward relegation as Barnet struggled in their first games back in the league. However, tides would quickly change at The Hive as defeats turned to wins and they have been unbeaten since the start of September. A 7th place position for Barnet who sit on 20 points thanks to six wins, two draws and four losses over the first 12 matchweeks. Top scorer Lindokuhle Ndlovu leads the goalscoring charts for Bees with three in nineW matches. From one extreme to another, Barnet have been at both ends of the table so early on and now they look to cement themselves in the promotion charge early on.
