The League Two promotion battle is starting to take shape, with Exeter City and Notts County among the early front runners for the title.
After missing out on promotion through the play-offs last season, the Grecians are looking to go up this season.
They have started well, taking 28 points from 12 matches to top the table - they also sit four points ahead of fourth-placed Wycombe Wanderers, who they face this weekend in a big match.
But, for those sides looking to go up, how many points are needed to win promotion? Below is a table outlining the points tally for third and fourth place for every season League Two has been in existence, with the minimum points total that was required to win promotion that season.
| Season | Third-placed side | Fourth-placed side | Points difference | Points required to go up |
| 2004/05 | Swansea City 80 points | Southend United 78 points | Two | 79 |
| 2005/06 | Leyton Orient 81 points | Grimsby Town 78 points | Three | 79 |
| 2006/07 | Swindon Town 84 points | MK Dons 84 points | Zero | 84 |
| 2007/08 | Hereford United 88 points | Stockport County 82 points | Six | 83 |
| 2008/09 | Wycombe Wanderers 78 points | Bury 78 points | Zero | 78 |
| 2009/10 | Rochdale 82 points | Morecambe 73 points | Nine | 74 |
| 2010/11 | Wycombe Wanderers 80 points | Shrewsbury Town 79 points | One | 80 |
| 2011/12 | Crawley Town 84 points | Southend United 83 | One | 84 |
| 2012/13 | Port Vale 78 points | Burton Albion 76 points | Two | 77 |
| 2013/14 | Rochdale 81 points | Fleetwood Town 76 points | Five | 77 |
| 2014/15 | Bury 85 points | Wycombe Wanderers 84 points | One | 85 |
| 2015/16 | Bristol Rovers 85 points | Accrington Stanley 85 points | Zero | 85 |
| 2016/17 | Doncaster Rovers 85 points | Luton Town 77 points | Eight | 79 |
| Average | 80.3 |
As we can see, the average number of points required is around 80, which means City would need to take at least 52 more points this season if they want to be assured of promotion.
If a team achieves 80 points in a season, they have averaged a surprisingly modest 1.7 points a game - with two generally the target for teams who want to challenge at the very top of the division.
With City currently averaging 2.3 points per game at the moment, if they can keep this up for a whole season, then the Grecians could well be celebrating come the end of the season.
