Sheffield Wednesday lead League One by seven points

Sheffield Wednesday sit seven points clear at the top of League One after six games, but Derby's John Eustace faces pressure of his own this weekend.

Seven points. After six games of the League One season, Sheffield Wednesday already have a gap at the top of the table that would make most managers in the division quietly envious. The Owls have made an early statement in the third tier, and while it is far too soon to talk about destinations in May, the numbers are already doing some of the talking.

A cushion built early

According to the BBC Sport round-up of EFL talking points ahead of this weekend's fixtures, Wednesday lead the League One table and hold a seven-point advantage over Leicester City, who have managed just five points from their opening five games. For context, Leicester were in the Premier League not so long ago and are among the clubs most neutrals expected to challenge at the top of the third tier from the first whistle. That they are already seven adrift underlines how convincingly Wednesday have started.

Seven points from six games is a decent but not exceptional return in isolation; it averages out at slightly better than a point per game above a play-off pace. The gap, however, is what gives it meaning. Wednesday have not simply won their own games; they have done so while others around them have stumbled. Four games is four games, as the saying goes, and Leicester's five-point haul from five outings is the kind of return that triggers alarm buttons at a club of that recent stature.

The wider picture

The source also notes that Oxford United, the other club to come down from the Championship alongside Leicester, inflicted a 4-0 home defeat on the Foxes in their most recent outing. That result, combined with Wednesday's own momentum, means the early narrative of the division is already taking shape: the Owls are riding the wave while some of the promoted heavyweights are still finding their footing on the lower rung.

It is worth tempering that reading slightly. League One is a division that has a habit of compressing over a full campaign. A team can look runaway leaders in September and find themselves embroiled in a play-off scrap by March. Wednesday themselves will know better than most that form tables over short stretches flatter and deceive in equal measure. But a seven-point lead is a genuine asset, not a mirage, and building one before the autumn internationals even arrive gives the Owls a margin for the inevitable wobble that comes for every side.

Injury concerns and context

The BBC report flags that Wednesday are carrying a troublesome injury list, which makes the early table position all the more creditable. Managing a threadbare squad through the congested early fixtures of a third-tier campaign is a test of depth as much as quality, and the Owls appear, so far, to be passing it. A failed takeover on the eve of the season added off-pitch noise that might have unsettled a less focused group, yet the points have kept coming.

There is a long road between September and the final day. Stockport, Wycombe, Peterborough and any number of other clubs with genuine ambitions will have their say before the table means anything conclusive. But for now, Wednesday's supporters have every reason to enjoy the view from the summit. The momentum, as the Ban Ki-moon quote that opens the BBC's feature puts it, is what keeps you upright and moving forward. At the moment, the Owls are pedalling smoothly.

The challenge is to sustain it. The division will not stay quiet for long.

Frequently asked

How many points are Sheffield Wednesday ahead in League One?: Sheffield Wednesday lead League One by seven points after six games of the season, according to reports ahead of the weekend's fixtures.
How have Sheffield Wednesday started the League One season?: Wednesday have made a strong start, sitting top of the League One table despite carrying a notable injury list and off-pitch disruption from a failed takeover before the campaign began.
Where do Leicester City sit in League One after coming down from the Championship?: Leicester have struggled to adapt to the third tier, managing just five points from five games and sitting seven points behind leaders Sheffield Wednesday early in the season.