After eight games of the Championship season, England's second-tier football league is proving to be highly competitive. Just seven points separate the top 15 teams, with Swansea City leading the table on 17 points. Other teams in the upper half of the table include Queens Park Rangers (QPR), Stoke City, Bristol City, and Charlton Athletic. West Bromwich Albion has made a dramatic improvement, moving from the bottom five last season to the top five this time around. Since the league rebranded as the Championship in 2004, only once has a team topped the table after eight matches with fewer than 17 points. This suggests the league is wide open this season, with multiple teams capable of challenging for promotion. The Championship has seen a significant increase in scoring this season. So far, 277 goals have been scored—36 more than at the same stage last season, despite one fewer match. This is the second-highest total at this point in the league's history since the 2004-05 season. The rise in goals is attributed to more direct play and attacking quality on the flanks. A record 47 goals have come from crosses, the most at this stage in the past nine seasons. Additionally, 44 of the goals have been scored with headers, the most at this point in the past five seasons, while nine came from throw-ins, the second-highest number in the last 14 seasons. Burnley have struggled in their first eight games, earning just four points and no wins, placing them at the bottom of the table. This is the first time they have started a season without a win. No team has ever been promoted from the Championship without at least one win in their opening eight fixtures. However, seven of the past 10 teams that started the season without a win avoided relegation, suggesting that Burnley still have a chance to turn their season around. In the Golden Boot race, Southampton's Cyle Larin leads with seven goals in eight games, averaging a goal every 85 minutes. Middlesbrough's Will Lankshear is one goal behind, while Norwich City's Mo Toure has five goals but is expected to be out for several months due to a shoulder injury. West Ham United, the pre-season favorites for promotion, have scored 22 goals in their opening eight games—the most in 93 years. Six of the past seven teams to score that many in the opening eight games have gone on to win the title. Wolverhampton Wanderers are just three points behind Swansea, with a game against Portsmouth in hand. They have improved significantly from last season, earning 14 points from seven matches with an overhauled squad. QPR, who finished last season with just two points from their final six matches, have the second-best defensive record in the Championship, conceding only seven goals in their opening eight games. Stoke City has taken 13 points from their last five games, moving them to within four points of the top. Lincoln City, returning to the Championship for the first time in 65 years, have a division-best four clean sheets in eight games and are just two points outside the top six.