It’s often implied that the sign of a good defence is the number of clean sheets they keep. Yet it’s a stat heavily reliant on luck and one that doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. For example, a team could be peppered with shots throughout the match but due to poor finishing and goalkeeping exploits,…
Has there ever been as much interest in football stats as there is now? Sky Sports, BT Sport and Match of the Day have all embraced the new offerings while banter accounts on social media now dabble in them, if only to antagonise a fanbase. This is both a positive and a negative. The more…
It’s penalties galore in the Premier League this season. We’re into matchday 17 of the 2020/21 campaign and, on average, we’re seeing four penalties every weekend in the English top flight. Prior to this, the highest was 2.76 during 2016/17. Previously, seeing multiple penalty awards in a single match was a rarity, yet it’s happened…
Standing out in a saturated market isn’t ever easy. Especially not when those in the market are becoming more knowledgeable. We’ve already covered how social media users are becoming banner blind, but potential bettors are now used to seeing big odds being pushed in an attempt to capture their attention and ultimately gain their custom. …
In the first feature of our Game State series, we focused on player behaviour. We explained why Liverpool sit a little deeper after taking the lead and how this directly impacts the threat of Mohamed Salah. This time around, we’re going to take a look at how game state impacts a player’s mentality. We often…
It’s that time of the year again. With the Bundesliga now on a winter break, we’re able to review the previous 12 months to come up with the Team of the Year. However, unlike others, we’re looking to make ours as practical as possible. This isn’t about getting the most popular players into a starting XI.…
Everybody does things differently. Often, an off-the-shelf solution will work well enough, but it’s always better to let people go their own way if possible. It’s with that in mind that we’ve added the ability to make custom stat groups in the Twenty3 Toolbox’s Football Lab. Since the Toolbox’s launch, we’ve grouped statistics in the…
Mikel Arteta is almost a year into his reign as Arsenal manager. Many had expected a clear plan to be in place by now at the Emirates, but the team appear to be struggling with a bit of an identity crisis. The stats back this up. Using Twenty3 Advanced Metrics, we’re able to paint a…
For most promoted clubs, sitting in 14th position at Christmas would be a job well done. Leeds United should be no different, but because they have Marcelo Bielsa as their manager, expectations are somewhat skewed. The enigmatic Argentine was shortlisted for FIFA’s men’s manager of the year award and is considered by many to be…
It wasn’t that long ago that Expected Goals (xG) was the footballing equivalent of Lord Voldemort; few dared mention the phrase out loud. Some people what xG would do to the game, others feared how they’d be viewed for using it. Now, though, we see xG popping up on Sky Sports and BBC’s Match of…