All seasons

First Division 1896/97

Aston Villa won the 1896/97 First Division with 47 points, 11 points ahead of Sheffield United. Burnley was relegated. The season's 240 matches produced 751 goals, 3.13 a game.

Aston Villa

Champions

751

Goals

3.13

Goals a game

49%

Home wins

Final table

1Aston VillaAston Villa3021547338+3547
2Sheffield UnitedSheffield Utd30131074229+1336
3Derby CountyDerby County30164107050+2036
4Preston North EndPreston North End30111275540+1534
5LiverpoolLiverpool3012994638+833
6Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wed30101194237+531
7EvertonEverton30143136257+531
8Bolton WanderersBolton30126124043-330
9BuryBury301010103944-530
10Wolverhampton WanderersWolves30116134541+428
11Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3098134449-526
12West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom30106143356-2326
13Stoke CityStoke30113164859-1125
14Blackburn RoversBlackburn30113163562-2725
15SunderlandSunderland3079143447-1323
16BurnleyBurnley3067174361-1819

▌ Champions ▌ Relegated. Two points for a win, one for a draw; clubs level on points are split by goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), as they were then. Sort and filter it on the all-time table →

The 1896/97 title race

The top four's points, match day by match day. Pick other clubs or measures on the race chart →

02040SepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprPreston North End34Derby County36Sheffield Utd36Aston Villa47

Points, Mon 26 Apr 1897

1

Aston Villa

47

2

Sheffield Utd

36

3

Derby County

36

4

Preston North End

34

Hover the chart to read any match day, or a club to highlight its line.

1896/97 · Mon 26 Apr 1897

An MP4 of this race to post on X, TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.

The 1896/97 scoreline grid

Every result of the season, home goals along the bottom and away goals up the side. Each square counts the matches that finished that way. Select a square to see those matches.

Away goals

Times it's happened

Never

Once

2

3–4

5–9

10–19

20+

First-ever results

Every result in 1896/97 had happened before.

Biggest wins

December 25, 1896Derby County 8–1 West Brom7-goal home win
January 9, 1897Sheffield Utd 7–0 Blackburn7-goal home win
November 21, 1896Derby County 6–0 Blackburn6-goal home win
November 28, 1896Everton 6–0 Burnley6-goal home win
December 28, 1896Sheffield Wed 6–0 Blackburn6-goal home win

Highest-scoring matches

December 25, 1896Derby County 8–1 West Brom9 goals
September 26, 1896Derby County 7–2 Bury9 goals
April 17, 1897Everton 6–3 West Brom9 goals
March 22, 1897Aston Villa 6–2 Bolton8 goals
September 12, 1896Preston North End 5–3 Sunderland8 goals

Most common results

#11–0 home win20 · 8%
#21–1 draw20 · 8%
#31–2 away win19 · 8%
#40–0 draw19 · 8%
#52–2 draw16 · 7%

How 1896/97 compares

At 3.13 goals a game, 1896/97 was the 40th highest-scoring of the 93 old First Division seasons (the average is 3.07). Home sides won 49% of matches, against 52% across all seasons; 23% were draws and 28% away wins.