Chasing the mid-season record

In the season 2013/2014, the Polish top division adopted a system called “ESA 37” which meant that the season consisted of 30 rounds along with 7 additional "playoff" matches during which the table was divided into two groups – championship and relegation. However, in 2020, the league returned to a more traditional system consisting of an autumn and a spring round, with a total of 34 games.

Hence, we have decided to compare the last three seasons to the current campaign and see how the teams were performing during the first 17 rounds. In the season 2021/2022 – when Lech Poznań won the Championship title – the team led by Maciej Skorża accumulated 38 points in their account by the mid-season break. Therefore, Niels Frederiksen’s squad needs to win at least 14 more points to equal the achievement. Interestingly, Lech already lost 2 matches this season, whereas back in 2021, they reached the winter break with just 1 defeat, 5 draws, and 11 wins. So far in this campaign, Frederiksen’s players won 8 games and hopefully, more triumphs will come in the upcoming weeks. Before the November international break, Lech has 4 league matches to play – against Cracovia (away), Radomiak (home), Puszcza Niepołomice (away), and Legia Warsaw (home). Then, after the players return from their national team groupings, Lech will face GKS Katowice (home) and Piast Gliwice (away).

Raków Częstochowa is the current record holder when it comes to the number of points accumulated by mid-season – back in 2022, they won 41 points before the winter break. At that stage, they already had a solid advantage over Legia Warsaw who was ranked second with 9 points less in their account. Interestingly, in 2023, Śląsk Wrocław had an impressive autumn run but they won only 37 points by December. How many points will Niels Frederiksen and his players accumulate before the winter holidays?