Plymouth Argyle’s prospects of remaining in the second division are boosted because of this particular figure.
By no means have Plymouth Argyle appeared out of place in the championship.
Despite all odds, they finished with a League One championship last season after scoring a very outstanding 101 points.
Last week, Steven Schumacher’s club faced off against Sheffield Wednesday, another promoted team, and they humiliated the bottom team on home turf.
Argyle has one early edge going for them, and they can definitely hold their own in this division.
In fact, if there is a chance for relegation, Plymouth Argyle may have the advantage due to goal differential.
What is Plymouth Argyle’s advantage?
To begin with, given what they’ve witnessed thus far, many Plymouth supporters will be hopeful that relegation won’t be a problem for them.
If a run of poor results hits the team from Devon, though, they could easily get sucked into the scrap at the foot of the table, pointing to just how competitive the championship can be.
At the time of writing, they find themselves in 19th,, and their tally of 15 points has them six points points clear of the relegation zone.
Rotherham United, Queens’ Park Rangers, and Sheffield Wednesday currently occupy the three dreaded spots at the bottom, and it isn’t only points that give Argyle an edge.
Goal difference is the other key factor, with their defeats regularly coming by a much narrower margin than those in and around them.
Schumacher’s side have a GD of +1, which is bettered by only Swansea City of the teams outside of the top eight.
Below them, Huddersfield Town have a GD of -13, while the aforementioned trio in the drop zone are in a similar region to the Terriers.
Beating Norwich City 6-2 and putting three unanswered goals past Sheffield on Wednesday has certainly helped the Pilgrims’ cause on this front; their heaviest defeat to date was away at Bristol City when the score was 4-1.
Argyle drew with Hull City and West Bromwich Albion; they lost by a single goal to Southampton and Ipswich Town. Meanwhile, Huddersfield conceded four against Birmingham City, Cardiff City, and Leeds United all in October, and on Wednesday, they already lost by a two-goal margin four times already in 2023.
The Home Park faithful will be confident that their status as a championship club won’t come down to goal difference, but if it does, the numbers are certainly on their side.
Who will elude the fall?
With 13 league games played and no wins to their name, life was becoming more difficult for Sheffield Wednesday supporters.
However, Michael Smith gave his team a lifeline against Rotherham the previous time out, thanks to two goals under new manager Danny Rohl.
Although this was undoubtedly a positive step for the Owls, there are still games against Birmingham and Leicester City in November, and the situation still appears grave.
From an Argyle perspective, three clubs being worse than you is the only thing going for them, considering this is their first season back at this level in, what, ten years.
It seems pretty safe to say that there is a sizable gap in terms of ability between the Greens and the bottom four, even if some of those teams can boast more championship know-how.
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