Every season produces at least one promoted club capable of turning heads, and 2026-27 is no exception. In Serie A, Como marked their return to the top flight with a transfer strategy built with unusually high ambition for a newly-promoted side: top-flight-calibre reinforcements across every area of the pitch have let the Lombardy club start the season as a credible outsider even against historically stronger opposition, to the point that bookmakers list them as favorites in several of this season's opening fixtures despite their rookie status.
In the Premier League, the story is similar as the season's opening rounds unfold: Sunderland, Leeds United and Hull City have all returned to English football's elite after years away, and their form in these first matches is being watched closely. Historically, newly-promoted English clubs have struggled in the opening months to adjust to the pace and individual quality of the top flight, but this generation of promoted clubs appears to be arriving with more structured preparation and more targeted recruitment than in years past.
This isn't a phenomenon confined to the continent's biggest leagues. In Belgium, Charleroi have surprised everyone by winning their first four Pro League matches, sitting top of the table ahead of heavyweights like Club Brugge and Gent. In Italy's Serie B, the table is extremely tight after the opening rounds, with Modena, Mantova and Palermo sharing the lead on points — evidence of a division that looks unusually balanced from the very first matchdays. In Argentina, Independiente Rivadavia have emerged as one of the league's most consistent surprises, holding top spot in the annual table ahead of historically bigger clubs like Boca Juniors and River Plate.
What explains these surprising starts? Continuity is often the key factor: many of these clubs have kept the coaching staff and the core of the squad that earned promotion, or that built steady progress over time, avoiding the wholesale rebuilds that have often hurt newly-promoted sides in the past when stepping up in class. On top of that sits more targeted transfer business, with signings chosen to fit an already-established system rather than marquee names bought without regard for tactical context.
For anyone following the odds and the predictions, these early-season starts are a reminder of a familiar statistical truth: opening-weeks form should always be read with some caution, but early surprises are rarely pure chance, and they're worth watching closely over the following weeks to see how sustainable they turn out to be.