Derby County have been found to be the dirtiest team in Premier League history, according to a new study conducted by the Daily Mirror.
The findings are based on the average disciplinary points per game picked up by any team to have played in the Premier League for a minimum of three seasons since its inception in 1992/93.
With an average of two yellow cards a game and a red card every 15.6 matches, Derby have racked up an average of 2.21 disciplinary points per Premier League match.
The Rams are just ahead of second place Stoke City at the top of the table, with the Potters boasting an average of 2.15 points – that’s 1.9 yellows per game and a red card every 10.3 games.
The Mirror’s ‘Dirty Premier League’ table in full (team: disciplinary points per game)…
1. Derby County: 2.21
2. Stoke City: 2.15
3. Sunderland: 2.13
4. Hull City: 2.09
5. Bolton: 1.98
6. Wigan Athletic: 1.95
7. Blackburn: 1.93
8. Middlesbrough: 1.91
9. Wolves: 1.91
10. Birmingham City: 1.91
11. West Ham: 1.88
12. Leeds: 1.87
13. Chelsea: 1.84
14. Everton: 1.80
15. Arsenal: 1.73
16. Leicester City: 1.73
17. Man City: 1.73
18. Newcastle: 1.73
19. Portsmouth: 1.73
20. West Brom: 1.72
At the other end of the scale, Oldham Athletic (0.98 points per game) are technically the cleanest side to have played in the Premier League though they only stayed for two seasons.
As such, Ipswich and Swindon are neck-and-neck at the top of the clean league (1.0 points), with Sheffield Wednesday (1.26) and Norwich (1.35) in second and third place respectively.
Make of that what thou wilt.