After publishing its first ‘Emerging Talent’ season review earlier this week, OptaPro has now released analytical reviews from the 2018/19 Premier League and Championship campaigns.
Both reviews provide key performance insights at both team and player level, showcasing applied metrics exploring playing styles, the quality of chances created from both in open play and at set pieces and finishing ability in front of goal.
The analysis also identify players who are regularly involved in build-up play leading to shots, as well as assessing goalkeepers.
Key findings published in each review include:
Premier League
– Manchester City’s xG output from open play was nearly 25% higher than the next best team.
– From defensive set pieces, Newcastle United’s xG conceded the highest in the competition.
– Everton were the fastest team in getting the ball forward during sequences, averaging 1.81 metres gained per second.
– Leroy Sané led the Premier League in xA (0.33) and assists per 90 (0.39).
– Lukasz Fabianski enjoyed a strong campaign for West Ham, recording a goals prevented output of nearly 13.
– After returning from a loan spell with WBA, Harvey Barnes was involved in 12.2 shot-ending sequences per 100 sequences for Leicester, without being the shooter or shot creator.
Championship
– Norwich City’s goals output from open play exceeded their xG by nearly 20.
– Nearly a third of all Aston Villa’s goals came from set-pieces.
– Leeds United’s high-pressing approach was reinforced by their volume of high turnovers (202), the highest output in the league.
– Dwight Gayle exceeded his xG per 90 output, with nearly a third of his goals coming from headers. 40% of his total shots occurred from low pressure situations.
– Two Sheffield United players, Kieron Freeman and Enda Stevens, were in the top three full-backs for xA output per 90.
– Brentford’s Neal Maupay was involved in more shot ending sequences from open play than any other Championship player.
You can read the full Premier League review here, with the Championship summary available here. Each section includes a number of interactive tables and graphics, including pitch maps and goalmouth templates, to provide further context to the findings.
Further season reviews, focusing on a number of leading top-flight competitions from around Europe, will be made available later in pre-season.
If you have any questions relating to our findings, please get in touch with us on pro@optasports.com.
