The giant-killing clubs in seventh heaven this season
Seven is the magic number for these in-form sides who all sit seventh in their respective leagues on the back of a remarkable run of form.
For every giant club making headlines there is a giant-killing one making strides up the ladder, often outside the attention of the football press.
This season three such clubs have upset the established order to sit seventh in their respective leagues.
1) Burnley
Sean Dyche has cemented his status as one England’s brightest coaching prospects with Burnely’s scintillating start to the Premier League season.
The seventh-placed side is unbeaten in 15 of its opening 22 Premier League games this season, with a solitary defeat away from Turf Moor.
The Clarets haven’t been flat-track bullies either, having picked up impressive draws against Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United along the way.
A 16th-placed finish last season saw Burnley secure top-flight survival for the first time since 1976 and with Dyche at the helm, the Clarets look set to extend that stay for years to come.
2) Eibar
Which LaLiga side is on a better run than Barcelona, PSG and Bayern? –Eibar (Yes, Eibar) is currently on the best run in Europe’s top five leagues, with 19 points from a possible 21 in its last seven games.
Only Manchester City and Juventus have matched Eibar’s streak, which stretches back to its five-goal rout over Real Betis in early November.
After the worst start to a top-flight season in the club’s history, its been a remarkable turn-around for Los Armeros, who are now in the fight for European qualification next season.
Eibar’s dream run will be put to the test once again as it hosts Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
3) Atalanta
Atalanta has only lost once since crushing Everton 5-0 in their UEFA Europa League clash on 24 Novermber, in a remarkable run which included wins over AC Milan, Lyon and Napoli.
The Italian side has been galvanised under Gian Piero Gasperini, with attacker Alejandro Gomez’s form reportedly catching the eye of Premier League giant Liverpool.
Atalana’s dream run will be put to the test on Sunday (AEDT) when it hosts high-flying Napoli, but its shown it can get the job done, having beaten the league leader in the Coppa Italia quarter final earlier this month.
