Portsmouth top the EFL League One table at the time of writing with 80 points on the board and only eight games to go. They were relegated to the third division of English football in 2012 and have since been relegated to the fourth tier before bouncing back and coming close to promotion to the Championship on numerous occasions, especially in recent years.

The visualisation below shows the club’s final points tally and the minimum points required for automatic promotion since their relegation to League One.

Last season, Portsmouth finished eighth with 70 points — seven behind the last play-off place and 28 behind second-placed Ipswich Town, who were automatically promoted that term.

In 2021/22, Portsmouth finished 10th, with three more points than last season, but that was still 17 away from the automatic promotion places — occupied by Wigan in first and Rotherham United in second.

In the pandemic-affected 2020/21 season, Pompey finished with 72 points — just outside the playoff places and 15 behind the second-placed Peterborough United.

During the 2019/20 and 2018/19 seasons, when Portsmouth lost in the playoffs to Oxford United and Sunderland, respectively, Pompey finished just two and three points, respectively, behind second place.

In 2017/18, the season Portsmouth returned to League One after getting relegated to League Two in 2012/13, Portsmouth (66 points) finished 30 points behind second-place Blackburn Rovers (96 points). That difference was the biggest, as they finished behind the team in the last automatic promotion place.

From 2013/14 to 2016/17, Pompey were in the fourth division of English football, League Two. In 2013/14, Portsmouth finished on 59 points – 13th on the table. In 2014/15, they finished 28 points behind the final automatic promotion place of third, occupied by Bury. Pompey finished seven points behind third and missed out on promotion to League One through the playoffs after defeat to Plymouth Argyle, and in 2016/17, they were finally promoted back to League One — moving in the right direction ever since.

With 80 points and a five-point lead over second-placed Derby, Portsmouth might finally be back to the Championship for the first time since 2012 next season.