Leeds United and Sunderland set best record in eight seasons, even without Burnley

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Leeds United have eight points, Sunderland have 11 points, and Burnley have four points following their promotion to the Premier League from the Championship.

Daniel Farke’s Leeds United side have that total from six games despite the fact Burnley and Sunderland both outspent Leeds, with Farke also having a particularly difficult opening set of fixtures at Leeds as well.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
5	SunderlandSunderland	6	3	2	1	7	4	3	11
6	BournemouthBournemouth	6	3	2	1	8	7	1	11
7	Manchester CityManchester City	6	3	1	2	14	6	8	10
8	ChelseaChelsea	6	2	2	2	11	8	3	8
9	BrightonBrighton	6	2	2	2	9	9	0	8
10	FulhamFulham	6	2	2	2	7	8	-1	8
11	LeedsLeeds	6	2	2	2	6	9	-3	8
12	EvertonEverton	5	2	1	2	6	5	1	7
13	BrentfordBrentford	6	2	1	3	9	11	-2	7
14	Manchester UnitedManchester United	6	2	1	3	7	11	-4	7
15	NewcastleNewcastle	6	1	3	2	4	5	-1	6
16	Aston VillaAston Villa	6	1	3	2	4	6	-2	6

At the start of the summer, Leeds fans thought Burnley would be relegated by the end of this campaign. However, the newly-promoted Premier League trio have each started well despite Burnley’s heavy loss to Man City on Saturday afternoon.

Statistically, Leeds were far better than Burnley last season but they both collected 100 points, which was 24 more than play-off winners Sunderland managed in the regular season. None of that matters with these new-look sides, though.

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Leeds and Sunderland put other newly-promoted clubs to shame with points total

Each team will be desperate to buck the recent trend for newly-promoted teams, with a number of factors going into that. That includes experience, where Leeds’ Premier League appearances are more than Sunderland and Burnley in their squad.

That factor, combined with intensity and physicality, has meant Leeds have been able to compete in every game outside of the hammering at the hands of Arsenal.

Sunderland’s win away to Nottingham Forest and Leeds’ draw with Bournemouth now mean that they have 19 points between them, and 23 if you also include Burnley within that.

After six games, only the 2017/18 newly-promoted clubs (Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Huddersfield Town) managed more points after six games than the current trio.

In fact, discounting Burnley entirely and, by themselves, Leeds and Sunderland have 19, which is only matched by the promoted sides in 2022/23. It was 16 in 2018/19, 18 in 2019/20, 14 in 2020/21, and 16 in 2021/22.

In the last two seasons of 2023/24 and 2024/25, it was just six and eight cumulatively for the trio after six games. Burnley may well be lagging behind, but it shows how well each side has adapted compared to previous years.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
16	Aston VillaAston Villa	6	1	3	2	4	6	-2	6
17	Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest	6	1	2	3	5	10	-5	5
18	BurnleyBurnley	6	1	1	4	6	13	-7	4
19	West HamWest Ham	5	1	0	4	5	13	-8	3
20	WolvesWolves	6	0	1	5	4	13	-9	1

Alan Shearer thinks one of Burnley and Leeds survive while others think like Jamie Carragher, who believes Leeds have the strongest chance over their newly-promoted rivals this term.

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Graham Smyth on the relegation picture and Leeds’ survival chances

Speaking on The Square Ball Podcast, Graham Smyth provided his verdict on the situation at the bottom of the table and with the newly-promoted teams compared to previous seasons.

He said: “Well, I think we’re already seeing that they’re a different proposition to last season’s teams. Last season’s teams, was it like November before one of them got double figures?

“Something like that. I think someone of the established order is in real trouble this season. I just, I think already you could say it would be a surprise if all three newly-promoted teams went down.

“I think Leeds have given themselves enough chances to win points that I think it’s already feasible that they could stay up. I think it’s going to be hard.

“They’re going to have to take the chances. They’re going to have to learn their lessons. You know, we can’t we can’t keep saying, ‘deserved more today.’

“You’ve got to reward yourself. But, you know, it could be a lot worse. It could be playing out like it played out for those three or the three before them.

“But I’ve been very encouraged by the competitiveness of this team and the fact that they can draw other teams into a battle and make life so difficult and draw Elland Road into it.

“I think the home games could be absolutely enormous for them.”