The 2023/24 EFL Championship season has seen some teams play exciting football. Several managers are young, emerging and not far away from managing at the highest levels of European football.

The visualisation below looks at each team’s average possession in the championship so far and the number of counterattacks that ended up as a shot for their team. This gives a picture of which teams like to retain possession, staying patient in the buildup, and which teams are not hesitant to see less of the ball but attack with speed when there is an opportunity.

Ipswich Town have been the team of the season so far in the Championship. Currently third in the table and only one point behind Leeds United and Leicester City (who have a game in hand), Kieran McKenna’s style involves having a lot of the ball — ranking sixth for average possession (53.8%) and fourth for counterattacks with shots.

When Southampton hired Russell Martin, the reason for hiring him was that he suited their vision for their style of play, which is to be a possession-heavy team, patient in the build-up, and creating opportunities.

The Saints’ owners can brag about being right in their choice, as Southampton rank number one for average possession (65.3%). Only five other teams — including relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday (1.16) and Rotherham United (1.03) have completed fewer counterattacks leading to shots per game than Southampton (1.19).

Enzo Maresca’s Leicester City, who could go to the top of the table if they win their game in hand, have brought a mix of possession (53.8%) and counterattacking to the championship, with the Foxes ranking high for both these metrics. In fact, they’ve completed more counterattacks leading to shots than any other team in the league (2.54). The same is true for Daniel Farke’s Leeds United, whose average possession this season is 57.9%, with 2.16 counterattacks that lead to shots.

Swansea City, another side that likes to keep a lot of the ball (52.4%), are the only team to have fewer than one counterattack with a shot per game.

Coventry City, Cardiff City and Preston North End are the only three teams in the top of the table who quite often have less of the ball than their opponents.

Watford, Swansea City, Stoke City, and Blackburn Rovers are teams in the bottom half of the table who have more of the ball than their opponents quite frequently. Rotherham United are the side with the lowest average possession (38.9%).