Stoke To Go Down? Southampton Out Of The Play-Offs? The Championship’s ‘Second Half’ Table

The football world is now dominated by stats, and while some are taken to the extreme and are often deemed irrelevant to football fans, they still have their significance.

In a league as exhilarating as the Championship, fine margins often determine the positioning of clubs come the end of the season. The second period of games often have late twists, particularly with the implementation of more added time that gives the final half of games added importance.

So who in the second tier are the best performers? Who leaves it late to secure points, or which teams crumble as time goes on? Let’s take a look at what the Championship table would look like based on the second half of games…

Automatic Promotion

In terms of the top two, there is no difference, Leicester City still leads the way over Leeds United. But both sides are nine points worse off in the second half of games, and yet the gap between the two promotion contenders and the chasing pack is greater. Games involving the Whites have much fewer goals in the second half, scoring only 28 times but they have an excellent defence that has conceded just ten.

Ipswich Town maintain their position of third, but slip a massive fourteen points below their tally over 90 minutes. Similar to Leeds, they have a much worse scoring record, and thirteen draws is an indication that they have a susceptibility to let leads slip as the game progresses.

Play-Offs

Coventry City are a win better off, crucially lifting them into fourth spot. West Bromwich Albion’s tally is three points in the opposing direction, but they would still occupy a Play-Off position. Norwich City complete the top six, taking only a point more but that is good enough to move them up two places.

Southampton are another to see a big points drop off, with sixteen fewer points in this table. That takes them as low as seventh, again with draws providing the bulk of the points difference. Middlesbrough rise four points to put them within touching distance of Play-Offs, while North-east rivals Sunderland also perform slightly better in the final 45 minutes of games.

Hull City appear to be the big losers, dropping out of the top six and down to eleventh place with nine fewer points. Preston North End have also suffered a similar poor second period in games, dropping six places and eleven points which leaves them looking over their shoulder at the bottom three.

Relegation

South Yorkshire’s Championship contingency occupies the bottom two, but Rotherham United are much better in the second 45 of games. The Millers points tally of 27 is eight better than the normal table, which would give them a deficit of just seven points to the drop zone and a much more realistic shot of survival.

Sheffield Wednesday remain within the drop zone, while Stoke City’s 31 points in the second half of games sees them in the drop zone. Despite Birmingham City’s recent revival, they slip to 21^st in this table, though they do have an improved goal difference.

Swansea City’s relegation concerns are eased in the second half of games, picking up two more points that sees them jump up three places. Only two points separates the five sides that are directly above the relegation zone.

The Full ‘Second Half’ Table