The table makes Sunderland the bigger side: 7th against 11th of 20 last season. Against the block the other keeps: Sunderland takes 1.67 points a game, Fulham 1.54 -- nothing between them.
Sunderland: 39 league matches in the bank, 1 from this season and the rest from last season. Fulham: 39 league matches in the bank, 1 from this season and the rest from last season.
The question this step asks
Step one is THE TABLE: rank against rank, and the blocks -- the table cut into a top, middle and bottom block, drawn from last season's final standings. The question is not just where each side stands but how it behaves against the company the other keeps: does it play to rank against the blocks above and below, or come apart?
The two sides
Sunderland -- at home
Where it stands
Stands 14th of 20 after 1 game, with 0 points -- too few games yet to mean much. Last season it finished 7th of 20 in this division.
Its block
By last season's final table it sits in the middle block (7th to 13th). Blocks are drawn from last season because the current table is only 1 game old.
Against today's opponent's block
Today it faces a side from the middle block (7th to 13th). Against that block it has won 6, drew 2, lost 4 of 12 -- 20 points of 36. At home against them: won 3 of 6. Away against them: won 3 of 6.
Across all the blocks
Across the blocks, over the last two seasons: against the top block won 1, drew 6, lost 5 of 12 (0.75 a game); against the middle block won 6, drew 2, lost 4 of 12 (1.67 a game); against the bottom block won 7, drew 4, lost 3 of 14 (1.79 a game); against sides new to the division won 0, drew 0, lost 1 of 1 (0.00 a game).
Fulham -- away
Where it stands
Stands 15th of 20 after 1 game, with 0 points -- too few games yet to mean much. Last season it finished 11th of 20 in this division.
Its block
By last season's final table it sits in the middle block (7th to 13th). Blocks are drawn from last season because the current table is only 1 game old.
Against today's opponent's block
Today it faces a side from the middle block (7th to 13th). Against that block it has won 6, drew 2, lost 5 of 13 -- 20 points of 39. At home against them: won 5 of 7. Away against them: won 1 of 6.
Across all the blocks
Across the blocks, over the last two seasons: against the top block won 1, drew 2, lost 9 of 12 (0.42 a game); against the middle block won 6, drew 2, lost 5 of 13 (1.54 a game); against the bottom block won 8, drew 3, lost 3 of 14 (1.93 a game).
Built 06:33 from matches completed before
kick-off. Every figure is an observed count with its denominator —
not a forecast, and nothing here is a tip or a selection.