Created by Sam Parry
Your Monday morning cheat sheet: scores, tables, form, goals, assists and the numbers that matter.
1️⃣ Championship | 2️⃣ League One | 3️⃣ League Two
Hello and welcome to The EFL Recap. We had a few issues with tables displaying up-to-date stats in email last week. Those should be fixed, but if anything looks odd, try reading in your browser or the Substack app.
In today’s edition, we’ve made a couple of top additions. First, Top Lines, a smattering of headline notes and stats from the weekend. And second, Top Scorers for each league, simply: goals, assists, goals + assists.
It’s been a breathless weekend of worldies, weird quirks and huge odds-against wins. They’re all starting to add up, and after only a fortnight we can already see the outlines of season narratives emerging.
Spotted anything yourself? Excited by something or someone? Or got anything you’d like Ali and George to make sense of? Then don’t forget to get involved in this week’s ‘Dear Ali and George’ podcast by dropping us a question.
Championship
Top Lines 🗞️
😬 A large crumb of comfort for the rest of the Championship: the three relegated sides have conceded 12 goals across their first six games, an average of two per match.
🧱 Millwall beat Norwich 3-0 to win their opening two league games for the first time since 2014-15. That’s five goals without reply to start the season.
💤 Sheffield United haven’t replied, and haven’t had to. They’re the only EFL side yet to win, lose, score or concede.
🔥 Hello Fer Lopez. He’s got three goals and an assist in his first three competitive games for Wolves this season, with a brace against Preston being the first of his professional league career.
☯️ (Yin) West Ham are winless after two league games for the first time outside the top flight since 1990-91 after (Yang) Charlton won at the London Stadium to make it two wins on the bounce.
⚖️ After two games, Middlesbrough's new signing Max Arfsten has completed the most successful dribbles per 90 (5.2) and most tackles per 90 (5.2).
🎮 And to round it off… One part Van Persie, one part glitching FIFA skill move: has Dom Ballard already scored the goal of the season?
Championship Scores
Birmingham 2-2 Bristol City
BLACKBURN 2-1 Middlesbrough
Derby 2-2 Cardiff
Lincoln City 1-3 PORTSMOUTH
MILLWALL 3-0 Norwich
Preston 1-3 WOLVES
QPR 0-0 Bolton
SOUTHAMPTON 3-1 Stoke
Swansea 0-0 Sheffield United
WEST BROM 3-1 Burnley
West Ham 1-2 CHARLTON
Wrexham 1-1 Watford
Championship Table
Championship ‘Last Past The Post’
Last Past The Post: Who’ll be the last team to win, lose, score or concede?
Championship Target Tracker
Our Target Tracker shows the PPG each club needs from here to reach our benchmark totals, based on the average points required to finish in the relevant automatic promotion, play-off and safety positions since 2020/21.
Championship Top Scorer
League One
Top Lines 🗞️
🐓 Cock-a-hoop Bradford City are the only League One side to win their opening two games.
😮💨 Peterborough’s wait for a league win started in March and ended in the 93rd minute as Harry Leonard nicked it late against Mansfield.
📉 Woe for Wigan, who have lost their opening two league games for the third time over the last six seasons.
🧤 A strutting Bailey Peacock-Farrell provided a ‘keeper assist for Blackpool’s opener against Stockport, the first of his career.
🎨 Creator-in-chief for MK Dons: no player has created more chances (7) or completed more successful long balls per 90 (8.2) than Dan Barlaser.
🦊 Leicester City lost their first-ever league meeting with Burton. It was also their first opening home league defeat since 2011. And already there are, according to manager Russell Martin, “honest conversations to be had”.
League One Scores
AFC Wimbledon 0-0 Reading
Bromley 1-1 Cambridge United
Doncaster 0-0 Barnsley
Leicester 1-2 BURTON ALBION
Luton 2-2 Notts County
MK Dons 1-1 Huddersfield
PETERBOROUGH 2-1 Mansfield
Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 BRADFORD
Stevenage 1-2 OXFORD UNITED
Stockport 1-2 BLACKPOOL
Wigan 0-2 LEYTON ORIENT
Wycombe 1-1 Plymouth
League One Table
League One ‘Last Past The Post’
Last Past The Post: Who’ll be the last team to win, lose, score or concede?
League One Target Tracker
Our Target Tracker shows the PPG each club needs from here to reach our benchmark totals, based on the average points required to finish in the relevant automatic promotion, play-off and safety positions since 2020/21.
League One Top Scorers
League Two
Top Lines 🗞️
🍽️ Bristol Rovers and Newport served up the weekend’s most chaotic feast, Rovers winning 5-3 in a game featuring eight goals, a 13-second opener and one very Adebayor-esque Bobby Kamwa celebration.
⛔ Grimsby have opened the campaign with back-to-back clean sheets. Since the start of 2026, only Millwall can match their 13 shutouts.
🐝 Another team starting strongly, as they ended last season, are Barnet, who have now won seven straight League Two games.
🚶♂️➡️Crewe are on the march with… Josh March, who has scored both goals in two 1-0 wins, and this weekend’s was classic “he’s behind you” stuff.
🧤 Tranmere may already have seen one of the goalkeeping performances of the season. When centre back Bobby Faulkner volunteered to go in goal after an injury in the 53rd minute, his side were 1-0 down. In part thanks to his antics, they drew the game 1-1. As The Maccabees almost put it: Tranmere’s got a save machine.
Oo oo oo, oo-oo-oo…
League Two Scores
BRISTOL ROVERS 5-3 Newport County
COLCHESTER 2-1 Oldham
CREWE 1-0 Northampton
EXETER 2-0 Accrington Stanley
Fleetwood Town 0-0 Gillingham
Port Vale 1-1 Tranmere
Rochdale 1-2 CRAWLEY TOWN
Rotherham 1-1 York
Salford 0-1 CHESTERFIELD
Shrewsbury 1-3 BARNET
SWINDON 2-1 Cheltenham
Walsall 0-0 Grimsby