Around the sports: League tables put the crowd in its place
Start with the tables, because the crowd and reality are not quite seeing eye to eye. Crawley Town and Cardiff City FC are both rated lower by the crowd than their actual positions. In the week to 25 September 2026, that gap between expectation and reality was a useful warning: confidence does not settle results.
Championship
Results called right
27%
Up 2 points on the season (25%)
Exact scores nailed
6%
Level with the season (6%)
League One
Results called right
15%
Down 4 points on the season (19%)
Exact scores nailed
1%
Down 1 points on the season (2%)
League Two
Results called right
21%
Up 3 points on the season (18%)
Exact scores nailed
4%
Up 1 points on the season (3%)
Nations League
Results called right
23%
Down 5 points on the season (28%)
Exact scores nailed
3%
Down 3 points on the season (6%)
Time to give a little more credit?
Wigan Athletic and TSG Hoffenheim are also rated lower in the crowd tables than in reality. There is a conversation for the group chat: are we giving these teams enough credit when making our calls?
The weekly results offered a mixed answer across their competitions. Championship and Bundesliga result accuracy both reached 27%, against season figures of 25%. League Two also bettered its season mark, returning 21% against 18%. League One went the other way, with 15% result accuracy compared with 19% for the season. Plenty of room for a rethink, then.
Crowd vs reality
Castres Olympique 29-27 RC Toulon
Hawthorn 122-131 Brisbane Lions
Atlanta Falcons 3-34 Carolina Panthers
Lyon 51-25 Section Paloise
Nice 2-1 Lille
Sparta Rotterdam 0-4 SC Heerenveen
Football refuses to follow the script
Nice v Lille delivered a particularly sharp reminder. Nice beat Lille 2-1, with 0% of the crowd backing the winning outcome.
It was the same story for support in Sparta Rotterdam v SC Heerenveen: Sparta Rotterdam lost 0-4 to SC Heerenveen, whose winning outcome had 0% backing.
Across the wider football picture, Women's Super League result accuracy was 9%, against 20% for the season. MLS finished at 8%, with exact-score accuracy of 0%. Not a week for leaving your confidence unchecked.
Some confidence was well placed
There were happier returns in Castres Olympique v RC Toulon. Castres Olympique beat RC Toulon 29-27, rewarding 75% crowd backing for the winning outcome.
Hawthorn v Brisbane Lions also rewarded 75% backing: Hawthorn lost 122-131 to Brisbane Lions.
AFL led the listed competitions for weekly result accuracy at 63%, compared with 51% for the season, although that came across just 2 games. Top 14 and MLB both recorded 55%, while NFL returned 53%. Those are the parts of the round-up where the group chat can allow itself a little satisfaction.
Split opinions, shared frustration
Crewe Alexandra v Shrewsbury Town was the week's most divided fixture. The split had Crewe Alexandra on 40%, the draw on 20% and Shrewsbury Town on 40%.
Naturally, it finished 1-1. Neither equally backed side supplied the winning answer; the least-supported option did. A neat little summary of the week: agreeing that someone will win is not much help if the match has other ideas.
The week ahead
There are no most-backed teams listed for the coming week, so no early crowd favourites to weigh up yet. For now, those gaps between the crowd tables and reality offer something to chew over with your mates. Stick with your judgement or give the overlooked teams another look, then make your calls.