How many points are needed to win League One?

It's starting to reach crunch time at the top of the League One with a number of teams battling it out to secure automatic promotion. As it stands, Sheffield Wednesday top the table, just ahead of Plymouth Argyle on goal difference. However, the likes Ipswich Town and Bolton Wanderers lurk not too far away in the distance and a dip in form from either of the top two could see them capitalise.

With all teams having played at least 30 games, we take a look at what the respective automatic promotion chasing clubs still need to do in order to reach the average points required to not just win promotion, but to win League One.

Sheffield Wednesday currently top the table with 68 points at the time of writing, having played 31 matches. With 15 games to go, another nine wins would see them reach 95 points, 1.6 higher than the average points required to win League One. However, at this point, all Pilgrims fans will be thinking about is automatic promotion. The average points required since the 1995-96 season for a place in the top two is 87.0, which means another 19 points (six wins and a draw) should be enough.

However, Sheffield Wednesday know that a strong finish to the season could see them pip Plymouth to the League One title, with Argyle on 68 points from 32 fixtures played. Darren Moore's side will no doubt be eying up another nine victories, which would see them hit the 95-point-mark, a feat very much achievable with the squad at his disposal. However, when taking into account the form of both Argyle and Wednesday, the likelihood is that it may take more than the average of 93.4 points to win League One this season.

Note that the 2019-20 season was not factored into the analysis as a shorted season was played (due to COVID-19)