Could Leicester City Beat Reading’s 106 point Championship record?

With Leicester City winning 13 of their opening 14 games, putting them 14 points clear of third place Leeds United, the question on everybody’s lips, including our expert Matthew O’Regan, is ‘could Leicester City beat Reading’s 106 point Championship record?’ With a helping hand from BETSiE, we predict whether this feat can be beaten, analysing statistics and delving into looking at previous teams who have fallen short of the phenomenal record.

In this article:

• Could Leicester City Beat Reading’s 106 point Championship record?
• BETSiE Predicts The Championship Table
• The Top 5 Championship Teams Ever
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Safer Gambling

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Could Leicester City Beat Reading’s 106 point Championship record?

From August through to November, throughout their first few months of the season, Leicester dropped just three points from 14 games, establishing themselves as one of the leading forces in the division. Their only loss in this timeframe came at home to Hull, five games into the season. Enzo Maresca’s side were arguably the better side on the day, recording 64% and having 21 shots compared to Hull’s seven, but a 15th-minute Liam Delap goal gave The Tigers the victory.

In this timeframe, they had the joint best goalscoring record and the best defensive record by six goals. The Foxes averaged 63.7% and have only failed to record the most possession once in a match- away to Russell Martin’s Southampton.

Another question posed by many neutrals is, could they sustain it? Well, delving deeper into the statistics suggests that while Leicester was slightly overperforming their xG and xGA thus far, their form suggested they could maintain it.

The Foxes scored 29 goals in the opening three months from 25.8xG, outperforming this metric by 3.2. However, with proven, clinical goalscorers such as Kelechi Iheanacho, Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi in their attack, this is to be expected.

In terms of xGA, Leicester had only conceded eight goals from 11.5 xGA. This shows how good Mads Hermansen has been, with the Dane keeping five clean sheets in his first thirteen starts since he signed from Brøndby.

Leicester only lost two games in the opening three months on xG- the opening day against Coventry (1.5-1.8) and the third game of the season to Cardiff (0.7-1.1), showing that Maresca’s side is building momentum- which is crucial when pushing for the title.
Maresca seems to have found his preferred formation- 4-3-3, after trialling a back three in their cup games. The only time he played a back three in the league in the opening 14 games was the 1-0 loss to Hull.

So, could they?

Could Leicester break Reading’s 106-point record? I believe they will. They have a squad littered with Premier League quality players, a manager who has them playing wonderful football and financial backing due to parachute payments and big-money sales.

Due to the money in the Premier League, the quality of the Championship, while remaining competitive, is arguably getting weaker by the year – as shown by Burnley, Sheffield United, and Luton’s early Premier League struggles. The Foxes beat fellow relegated side Southampton 4-1, showcasing their strength compared to the rest of the league.

Maresca seems content with his squad, so the January window may be better spent preparing the team for next season. If he were to dip into the transfer budget, a holding midfielder and a winger would be a priority.

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BETSiE Predicts The Championship 2023/24

POS.	CLUB	GAMES	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	Leicester	46	29.2	7.6	9.2	78.3	38.2	40.1	95.1
2	Ipswich	46	24.5	10.6	10.9	79.5	57.4	22.2	84.0
3	Leeds	46	23.9	11.7	10.4	74.3	45.3	29.0	83.5
4	Middlesbrough	46	21.9	10.4	13.6	73.2	55.2	18.0	76.3
5	Southampton	46	21.8	10.6	13.6	72.2	63.0	9.2	75.9
6	Sunderland	46	21.4	9.8	14.8	70.2	49.9	20.2	73.9

 

As you can see, BETSiE is not so hot on Leicester’s dominance to continue in such a dominant fashion. The underlying data suggests that they’ll run away with the league. That eleven-point gap from 1st to 2nd will no doubt put a smirk on those of a Leicester persuasion. Yet, when it comes to steamrolling the Championship on course to breaking new records, BETSiE predicts that Enzo Maresca’s gang of merry men in Leicester will fall short.

Leicester are currently running at a 76.3% likelihood of winning the league, with an automatic spot seemingly already wrapped up at 92%. All probabilities for all 24 Championship clubs, plus much, much more, can be found on BETSiE’s Championship page, which updates each and every week.

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A League Table of the Top 5 Championship Teams Ever

Position	Team	Games Played	Goals Scored	Goals Conceded	Points	Year
1	Reading	46	99	32	106	2005/2006
2	Sunderland	46	91	28	105	1998/1999
3	Newcastle	46	90	35	102	2009/2010
4	Leicester	46	83	43	102	2013/2014
5	Fulham	46	90	32	101	2000/2001

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Sunderland

Sunderland initially held the Championship points record with the 105 points they earned in the 1998/99 season. After suffering a defeat to Charlton in the playoff final the year before, Peter Reid’s side responded in an emphatic fashion. They also went up with the fewest defeats in Division One at the time, with just three coming all season against Barnsley, Tranmere Rovers, and Watford.

The Black Cats sat atop the league after a victory against Bury in October, and it was there they remained until the end of the season in a truly dominant season. In Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn, Sunderland had a deadly strike duo, with Phillips scoring 23 goals in just 26 appearances and Quinn scoring 18 in 36. Thomas Sorenson impressed in goal with 29 clean sheets.

Reading

Reading then bettered this record by one point in the 2005/2006 season, securing promotion to the top flight for the first time in their history. Despite losing the opening game to Plymouth, Steve Coppell’s side still managed to dominate the league and secure promotion in March. The Royals ended the season with 31 wins, 13 draws and just two defeats. With 99 goals scored in 46 games, Reading averaged over two goals a game. They only conceded 32 goals, too, ending the season with a staggering +67 goal difference.

Nineteen of Reading’s 23 home games ended in victory, with the Royals turning the Madjeski Stadium into a fortress. Ten wins in a row from November 1st – December 28th helped Reading stretch their league at the top, eventually finishing 16 points clear of second place Sheffield United. It is an unprecedented record that is yet to be beaten, although a couple of teams have gone close in recent years.

Newcastle United

After being relegated from the Premier League the season before, Newcastle United played in the Championship, aiming to bounce back at the first time of asking under the management of Chris Hughton. What followed was a dominant and impressive title win. With an incredible 102 points at the end of the season, they won the Championship and received automatic promotion to the Premier League.

With 90 goals scored and 35 conceded, the Magpies ended the season with an impressive goal difference of 55. The squad had a number of exceptional players, such as Andy Carroll, Joey Barton, and Kevin Nolan, who all had a big impact on the team’s performance. Among the players that impressed most was Andy Carroll, who scored 17 goals throughout the course of the season.

The 20-year-old made a name for himself, eventually earning himself a big-money move to Liverpool. A run of seven straight victories from October 24th to December 9th and again from March 23rd to April 19th helped secure the title, with Hughton’s side winning the league by 11 points over West Brom. After the death of Sir Bobby Robson in July 2009, this historic season was a very poignant tribute to a Newcastle legend.

Leicester City

Leicester City have previous notable, historic Championship seasons at this level, ending the 2013–14 season with 102 points. This was the last time the Foxes played in the Championship until their disappointing relegation in the 2022–2023 season. This triumph was Leicester’s seventh-ever Championship title, equaling Manchester City’s record.

Along the way, they broke several club records, including most points in a single season (102), most league wins in a single season (31), most league home wins in a single season (17), the most consecutive league wins (9), the most consecutive away league wins (5), the longest unbeaten run away from home in the league (13) and the most consecutive league games scored in (31).

The Foxes embarked on a 21-game unbeaten run, which started after losing 3-1 away to Brighton and ended with a 4-1 defeat to the Seagulls. Title-winning legends such as Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan, Danny Drinkwater, Riyad Mahrez, and Jamie Vardy were part of this squad, as well as Kevin Phillips, who was pivotal in Sunderland’s title-winning season.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When did the EFL Championship begin?

The second division was formed in 1892. In the 2004/2005 season it was a rebrand of the former Football League Division One, which in itself was a rebrand of the now-defunct Football League Second Division prior to the 1992 launch of the English Premier Division.

Who was the worst ever Championship team?

We have talked a lot about some of the best teams in Championship history, but Sheffield Wednesday’s torrid start to this campaign poses the question: who was the worst team in Championship history? The answer is Rotherham in the 2016/17 season. The Millers went through three managers in a dismal season that saw them finish on 23 points, with just five points under their name. They finished 19 points off 23rd place Wigan and 28 points off safety. With a goal difference of -58, it was a season to forget for Rotherham.

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NOVEMBER 13-19 IS SAFER GAMBLING WEEK 2023

November 13-19 marks an important date in the calendar. Safer Gambling Week is a significant industry-wide event that aims to shed more light on responsible betting. For more information and advice, head to the bettingexpert Safer Gambling hub or our brief explainer below.

What is Safer Gambling Week?