5 clubs that have surprised everyone in Europe this season

The first half of the 2017/18 campaign has seen a number of clubs across Europe defy pre-season expectations and enjoy surprisingly strong starts. Improvement is usually a gradual process but for some coaches, positive shifts in performances and results can be obtained more rapidly.

Others draw every last ounce from meagre budgets to shock their country’s big boys. Here are 5 European clubs that have surprised everyone so far this season.

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#1 Burnley (Premier League)

Sean Dyche did an excellent job to keep Burnley in the Premier League last season, taking a team whose wage bill was among the very lowest in the division to a 16th place finish. But what he has achieved this time around is even more impressive.

With no appreciable increase in budget, Dyche’s Burnley currently sit 7th in the Premier League table - just four points shy of Arsenal in sixth and a full 16 points clear of the relegation zone. A strong defensive record and enough goals to secure points currently sees them on course for their best top-flight finish since the mid-70s.

They have also managed to cause some problems for the country’s biggest clubs, winning away at Chelsea on the opening day of the season and then securing draws away at Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Manchester United.

Dyche may not be the most fashionable choice and his methods may require fidelity he is unlikely to find in more well-established players, but his work at Burnley deserves to earn him the chance to try his luck at a bigger club.

#2 Schalke 04 (Bundesliga)

Domenico Tedesco: Schalke's man for the long term?

Schalke give the impression of being in a perpetual search for their managerial lodestar. Each of their previous three head coaches have lasted just a single season, while over the last decade, 12 different coaches have led them in one form or another.

After Andre Breitenreiter and Markus Weinzierl, Domenico Tedesco became the latest managerial upstart to take the reigns when he left second division side Erzgebirge Aue to take charge at the Veltins-Arena this summer.

The upswing has been immediate. A side who finished 10th in the Bundesliga last season now find themselves second at the halfway stage of the new campaign. The race for the top four is tight but Schalke are better positioned than they have been at this stage of the season in six years to qualify for the Champions League.

If Tedesco and his side can maintain their form until the end of the campaign, it might just produce the biggest shock of all: Schalke keeping a coach on board for a second season.

#3 Bayer Leverkusen (Bundesliga)

Bayer Leverkusen are going well this season.

Like Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen under-performed in the Bundesliga last season. They finished way down in 12th - their worst finish since 2003.

The turnaround this season has been nothing short of remarkable. The club made a €25 million profit in the summer transfer market yet have nevertheless enjoyed a superb first half of the season under the tutelage of former forward Heiko Herrlich.

With a variety of forwards all in good form and the highly promising Kai Havertz providing creative impetus from midfield (5 assists so far), Leverkusen have averaged two goals per match on route to 7 wins, 7 draws and 3 defeats.

Recent defensive tightening bodes well for the second half of the season, as do their very solid underlying statistics. After a surprisingly good campaign to date, Leverkusen will hope to complete the job by securing the top-four finish that would get them back into the Champions League.

#4 Valencia (La Liga)

Valencia are scoring for fun this season.

Marcelino is a very competent coach and so when he took over at Valencia in the summer, the expectation was that, if given time to work, he would steadily improve a side who had finished 12th in each of the previous two campaigns.

But the former Villarreal coach has done much more than that. Los Che currently sit third in La Liga, ahead of Real Madrid and with a 5-point lead over Sevilla in fifth.

A run of 8 consecutive victories from mid-September through to mid-November, in which they scored twice or more in every match, provided the basis for their surprisingly good season to date.

Marcelino has drawn an excellent output from forwards Simone Zaza and Rodrigo. Portuguese winger Goncalo Guedes has been unstoppable at times while Dani Parejo has rediscovered his form alongside Geoffrey Kondogbia in midfield.

Although there is still room for improvement, there are signs of strong relationships being formed in defence.

A run of three defeats in four matches prior to the festive break leaves work to be done in the New Year, though. But after a first half of the campaign that has defied expectations, Valencia still look on course to secure a return to the Champions League come the end of the season.

#5 Lazio (Serie A)

Lazio recorded a famous victory away to Juventus in October.

A cursory glance at the Serie A table would give little reason to believe that Lazio have surprised during the campaign to date. They are currently positioned fifth in the table - the same place they finished last season.

However, a deeper look into their circumstances and the quality of their performances and results tells a different story.

Prior to the commencement of the campaign, Lazio sold live-wire forward Keita Balde - provider of 16 goals and 3 assists during the 2016/17 campaign - to Monaco, defensive midfield lynchpin Lucas Biglia to Milan, and central defender Wesley Hoedt to Southampton.

This was, therefore, expected to be a season of rebuilding for Simone Inzaghi and his side. With the likes of Milan spending big to get themselves into the mix at the top of the table, a repeat of last season’s top-five finish looked unlikely.

But Lazio do indeed look on course to not just equal that finish but to genuinely challenge for a place among the top four. Bastos has further established himself as a strong choice in defence, new signing Lucas Leiva has slotted seamlessly into midfield, while Luis Alberto has been transformed from a big-part player last season to a key attacker this time around.

They have have played bold and attractive football that has yielded an average of over 2.5 goals per match. A 4-1 thrashing of Milan in September signalled their intentions and a highly impressive 2-1 win away to reigning champions Juventus a month later provided further evidence of their quality.

If they can continue along the same lines for the remainder of the season, it would suggest that Inzaghi has a very bright future ahead of him.