It’s tight at the top and even tighter at the bottom of the play-off picture with several sides fighting for a top seven place.
Torquay United’s last minute equaliser against Notts County sent them ahead of Hartlepool United to the top of the table.
The top nine sides in the National League have between six and nine games remaining this season so we’ve analysed each side’s run-in to assess who has the toughest remaining fixtures from a statistical standpoint.
We’ve calculated every opponents’ points per game totals to work out the average total for each side’s remaining fixtures.
Points per game totals are weighted to whether the opposing side is at home or away. For example, Hartlepool’s PPG at home is 2.17 while away it is 1.56 so match difficulty will be weighted accordingly.
Scroll down and click through the pages to see each side’s run-in ranked from easiest to hardest…
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. National League promotion run-in comparison
The top nine National League sides have had their remaining fixtures ranked in order of difficulty using the average points per game totals of their upcoming opponents. Photo: HUFC
. Sutton United - 1.08
Third placed Sutton United statistically have the easiest run in based on their remaining fixtures and could go top with their games in hand. Two matches against bottom of the table Barnet as well as home games against Weymouth and Woking make for a fairly comfortable run-in on paper, although they still have to travel to Notts County and host Hartlepool United. Photo: Jacques Feeney
5. Chesterfield - 1.338
Chesterfield sit just outside the play-off places at the moment but will be hoping to secure a top seven spot with upcoming games against Bromley, Hartlepool, Torquay and Halifax. They also face struggling King's Lynn, Woking and Wealdstone. Photo: Alex Pantling
6. Torquay United - 1.347
Current leaders Torquay United have a reasonably difficult final run of games with games against Chesterfield, Bromley and Stockport coming up. Barnet and Altrincham are the only sides The Gulls will face who have nothing to play for and sit near the bottom of the table. Photo: Dan Mullan
7. Notts County - 1.358
The Magpies have dropped out of the top seven following a poor run of results and have a difficult and busy end to the season with nine games remaining. That includes home and away games against Bromley as well as a trip to Wrexham and home game against Sutton. Games against Weymouth, Barnet and Altrincham make the run in appeal slightly easier on paper. Photo: Laurence Griffiths
8. Hartlepool United - 1.396
Second placed Pools have taken more points off top seven sides than any other team in the division so far this season. So they may not be to deterred by their difficult final run of fixtures which sees them face Chesterfield, Bromley and Sutton. A final day game at home to Weymouth is the only side they'll face who currently have nothing to play for as they eye a first league title in the club's history. Photo: Chris Booth