Leeds United centre-back Pascal Struijk has expressed astonishment that Sunderland are currently leading the Championship promotion race.
Leeds will most certainly be relieved that they are not in the same position as they were after 12 games last season.
By this point last season, Leicester City had opened up an 11-point lead over third-placed Leeds, while Leeds and Sunderland were only five points apart.
Championship table as it currently stands: Sunderland look to keep top spot in November, with Leeds lurking.
Things could have been very different if Illan Meslier had caught that easy pass into his area, allowing Sunderland to earn a draw against the odds after Leeds dominated big sections of that game earlier in October.
They responded admirably to being outplayed on Friday night, increasing their lead over Burnley and Leeds to five points last week with a home win against Oxford United, while Leeds and the Clarets could only draw 0-0.
| Position | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Sunderland | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | +14 | 28 |
| 2 | Burnley | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | +8 | 23 |
| 3 | Leeds United | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | +12 | 23 |
| 4 | Sheffield United | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | +11 | 22 |
| 5 | West Brom | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | +6 | 20 |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | +4 | 19 |
West Brom take on Luton Town tonight, while Sheffield United face Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Saturday lunchtime, before Leeds host Plymouth Argyle and Sunderland visit QPR at 3pm.
Burnley travel down to Millwall on Sunday afternoon.
Pascal Struijk surprised by Sunderland start this season
Stand-in captain Pascal Struijk is focused on how he and the Leeds team perform, although Sunderland’s start has shocked him.
In an interview with BBC West Yorkshire Sport, he described the Black Cats as follows:
“We have always had great hopes. I’m astonished by Sunderland, by the way. They have had a great start.
“But this league is long and extremely competitive. It is about how we cope with problems throughout the season, such as current ailments, and how we play through them to achieve team success.”
We all know Leeds has what it takes to win the league this season, and our results versus the teams surrounding us this season provide ample confirmation.
We played Sunderland and Sheffield United off the park, were unlucky to lose to Burnley despite being completely dominating, and fought hard for a point at West Brom.
If we can maintain the consistency we showed throughout the winter months last season when we began our unbeaten streak, the league may be ours to take.
It will be intriguing to see if Sunderland can keep up their performance.
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