Sunday 20 November 2016 13:23, UK
Newcastle are top of the Sky Bet Championship but just how good are Rafael Benitez's side? Whoscored.com dig into the stats ahead of Sunday's clash with Leeds United live on Sky Sports...
The return of the Championship is bookended by the two biggest matches of the weekend, with the Sky cameras pitching up at the Amex Stadium for Brighton's clash with Aston Villa on Friday night before Newcastle's clash with Leeds at Elland Road on Sunday.
High-flying Brighton are unbeaten in 10 games and host a resurgent Villa side who are yet to lose under new boss Steve Bruce. It's not an easy game, but it represents a chance for Chris Hughton's charges to move level on points with the team to beat at the top of the table.
In the summer the bookies priced up Newcastle as the strongest favourites ever to win the Championship, such was the support behind a club that invested heavily in the transfer market and, crucially, kept hold of a manager whose CV is unrivalled at this level.
Rafael Benitez's decision to stay on at St. James' Park despite last season's relegation from the Premier League was arguably the biggest factor behind the Magpies' early billing as the second tier's best ever side.
Optimism was dampened after they lost their opening two matches to Fulham and Huddersfield at the start of the campaign, but having acclimatised to their new surroundings and bedded in a large number of summer arrivals, they are once again being touted as overwhelming favourites, despite Brighton's close proximity in the table.
A look at WhoScored.com's statistical team ratings actually suggests the Seagulls have been the stronger side over the course of the season. Their score of 7.02 is the highest in the league ahead of Newcastle's 6.98, though both figures rank highly in relation to previous promoted sides.
In fact, the only two teams to have gone up in the last two seasons with a higher rating than either of this season's top two are Leicester (7.00), in their title-winning 2013/14 campaign, and Bournemouth (7.04), when they won the league the following season. The subsequent success of both of those sides in the top-flight certainly suggests that both Newcastle and Brighton are well-equipped to make the step up.
Moreover, if you were to exclude Newcastle's ratings from their first two games of the season, the Magpies' WhoScored.com rating would be 7.07. It's a figure that will surely rise further if they continue in their current vein of form, demonstrating that few teams in the Championship's history can match the current leaders' strength.
One of the key factors behind the success of Benitez's side thus far has undoubtedly been their effective movements in the summer transfer window. While Dwight Gayle steals the spotlight in that regard, leading the scoring charts in England's second tier with 11 goals for a rating of 7.34, the impact of a number of less heralded recruits has been just as decisive.
Of their first team regulars this season, four of Newcastle's top six rated players are new arrivals.
Top of the list is Ciaran Clark (7.42), who few would have expected to become such a key member of the side. Indeed, when Newcastle announced the capture of the defender from touted promotion rivals Aston Villa, it seemed a slightly odd move at the time. Benitez had already signed Grant Hanley to bolster his defensive ranks, had named Jamaal Lascelles as his captain and could also call upon Chancel Mbemba.
In fact, Clark's addition was tipped in the local media to provide competition at left-back as much as centre-half, perhaps reading too much into the fact that the Ireland international had made a handful of appearances in that position at Villa.
Make no mistake, though, Clark is central defender, and he's proving to be a very good one at this level. He has scored twice and is offering both the most interceptions (2.1) and clearances (8.1) per game for the club, while Newcastle's record with the 27-year old at the back is exceptional.
Ironically, the only game in 11 that Clark has not been on the winning side this season was a 1-1 draw back at Villa Park, with the Magpies losing three of five without him in the XI.
Meanwhile, alongside the impressive Jonjo Shelvey in the middle of the park, Isaac Hayden has also played an important role in ensuring Newcastle's defence has been much improved. The Magpies were exposed to counter-attacks last season, but Hayden has provided the necessary protection. His average of 2.6 tackles per game is a team high, with 1.9 interceptions bettered only by Clark, helping him to a rating of 7.25.
Along with Gayle, Matt Ritchie was the other real marquee signing and while the winger took a little time to adjust, he has also proven an astute acquisition. With two goals and five assists to his name in the league - the latter is a joint high in the Championship - he is beginning to have the sort of effect Benitez would have hoped in the final third.
Ritchie, after all, is a player that has excelled in a title-winning campaign, ranking among the top ten players in the second tier as Bournemouth were promoted, with a rating of 7.44 courtesy of superb figures of 15 goals and 17 assists.
It's clear then, that while Newcastle's enviable firepower in the form of Gayle, Mitrovic and Perez is seen as their greatest asset, Benitez has built a team that warrants its billing as outright favourites.
Their credentials will be tested against an improving Leeds side on Sunday in a fixture steeped in top-flight tradition. While both will certainly be aiming to be back in the big time before long, it's the Magpies who are flying right now. They are justifying the hype to make an immediate return appear a near certainty.
