It’s fair to say that Lincoln City have had a challenging start to life in the Championship.
Performances have been decent, and the side have amassed a decent points total, but in terms of difficulty, we’ve had one of the most challenging starts to the Championship season.
There are a number of metrics we could use, and all of them point to us having a more challenging start than most of the division. The first one worth looking at is the average position of teams we have faced this season. Currently, Three of our games have been against top six sides, and just one against a team in the bottom six. When avergaed out, we’ve played teams with an avergae position of 10 (10.45 to be exact) which is the third-hardest run of fixtures the division could offer. We’ve played all of the current top three and seven teams from the top half.
In fact, we’re the only side outside the bottom six to have currently only played one of the bottom six, and that was away from home. Norwich and Preston have also only played one of the current bottom six, but they’re both in it, technically making our first 11 games the toughest, although Norwich and Derby could argue otherwise.
Average position of opponents played
| Rank | Team | Average opponent position | League position | Points | Top six | Bottom six | Opponents’ positions, in order played | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwich | 9.09 | 21 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 22 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 13 |
| 2 | Derby | 10.18 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 22 | 14 | 9 | 6 |
| 3= | Lincoln | 10.45 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 16 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 12 |
| 3= | Wolves | 10.45 | 7 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 22 | 13 |
| 5 | Burnley | 11.73 | 22 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 3 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 7 |
| 6 | Sheff Utd | 11.82 | 11 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 15 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 13 | 16 |
| 7 | Millwall | 12.00 | 12 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 21 | 8 | 14 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 24 | 1 | 18 |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 12.09 | 3 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 22 | 9 | 21 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
| 9 | Watford | 12.18 | 20 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 24 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 19 | 17 |
| 10 | QPR | 12.27 | 9 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 19 | 3 | 17 | 5 | 24 | 2 | 23 | 4 |
| 11= | Blackburn | 12.45 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 24 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 19 | 16 | 5 |
| 11= | Bolton | 12.45 | 15 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 9 | 18 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 13= | Southampton | 12.73 | 8 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 1 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 21 | 15 |
| 13= | Wrexham | 12.73 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 20 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 8 | 23 | 5 | 24 |
| 15= | Birmingham | 12.82 | 4 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 23 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 9 |
| 15= | Cardiff | 12.82 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 23 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 17 | 10 | 20 | 3 |
| 17 | Preston | 12.91 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 17 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 18 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 14 |
| 18 | Stoke | 13.18 | 6 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 3 | 23 |
| 19 | West Brom | 13.64 | 5 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 22 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 10 |
| 20 | Swansea | 14.27 | 1 | 23 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 22 | 18 | 21 | 12 | 2 |
| 21 | West Ham | 14.36 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 17 | 20 | 7 | 23 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 18 | 1 |
| 22= | Bristol City | 14.45 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 13 | 24 | 22 | 8 | 18 | 20 | 17 | 10 | 11 |
| 22= | Charlton | 14.45 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 2 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 19 | 16 | 22 | 20 |
| 22= | Portsmouth | 14.45 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 16 | 23 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 21 | 7 |
Win Loss Draw
Opponents’ positions are as at 22 October 2026. Top six: positions 1-6. Bottom six: positions 19-24.
The Points Performance Index is a little different, it works out the average points teams we have faced have accumalated, both home and away. So, rather than just dividing their points by games, it is weighted home and away, and that sees us having had the tenth most difficult start, playing teams with an average of 1.42 points per game.
Points Performance Index
Championship 2026/27. Ordered by opponents’ points per game, highest first.
| League position | Team | GP | Points | Team PPG | Opponents’ PPG | Points Performance Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Millwall | 11 | 15 | 1.36 | 1.60 | 2.18 |
| 11 | Sheffield Utd | 11 | 15 | 1.36 | 1.54 | 2.09 |
| 21 | Norwich City | 11 | 9 | 0.82 | 1.54 | 1.26 |
| 23 | Derby County | 11 | 6 | 0.55 | 1.53 | 0.84 |
| 24 | Preston | 11 | 4 | 0.36 | 1.51 | 0.54 |
| 22 | Burnley | 11 | 8 | 0.73 | 1.47 | 1.07 |
| 6 | Stoke City | 11 | 19 | 1.73 | 1.46 | 2.53 |
| 7 | Wolverhampton | 11 | 18 | 1.64 | 1.44 | 2.36 |
| 8 | Southampton | 11 | 17 | 1.91 | 1.44 | 2.75 |
| 18 | Lincoln City | 11 | 12 | 1.09 | 1.42 | 1.55 |
| 15 | Bolton | 11 | 14 | 1.27 | 1.40 | 1.78 |
| 17 | Charlton | 11 | 14 | 1.27 | 1.38 | 1.75 |
| 3 | Middlesbrough | 11 | 22 | 2.00 | 1.36 | 2.72 |
| 9 | QP Rangers | 11 | 17 | 1.55 | 1.34 | 2.08 |
| 16 | Bristol City | 11 | 14 | 1.27 | 1.30 | 1.65 |
| 20 | Watford | 11 | 11 | 1.00 | 1.30 | 1.30 |
| 19 | Cardiff City | 11 | 11 | 1.00 | 1.26 | 1.26 |
| 4 | Birmingham City | 11 | 20 | 1.82 | 1.22 | 2.22 |
| 13 | Portsmouth | 11 | 15 | 1.36 | 1.22 | 1.66 |
| 14 | Wrexham | 11 | 14 | 1.27 | 1.21 | 1.54 |
| 2 | West Ham Utd | 11 | 22 | 2.00 | 1.19 | 2.38 |
| 10 | Blackburn | 11 | 15 | 1.36 | 1.18 | 1.60 |
| 5 | West Brom | 11 | 20 | 1.82 | 1.17 | 2.13 |
| 1 | Swansea City | 11 | 23 | 2.09 | 1.15 | 2.40 |
How it works: PPG means points per game. Points Performance Index = team PPG x opponents’ PPG. Lincoln City: 1.09 x 1.42 = 1.55, rounded to two decimal places.
Source: SoccerSTATS. Figures retained as supplied, including Southampton’s 17 points and 1.91 team PPG.
Of course, people will tell you this means nothing, and it’s points on the board that matter, and they’d be right, but it does suggest, again, that we’re holding our own in the division. Tomorrow is the first big test of this, when we play a side in the bottom six at home for the first time this season.
Can we press home the advantage? I’ll be honest, it does feel like a huge game for us, but then I guess this season, they all do. it just seems we’ve had bigger games than at least half of the division in our 11-game introduction to Championship life, including a former Premier League club and all three of the beaten play-off finalists from last season.
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