Thread by @BigManBakar

The Review: GW 3 - A thread

Greetings everyone, welcome to the latest edition of The Review. Here I am penning my thoughts on how the Premier League drama in GW 3 unfolded: #FPL

1) Salah and Sterling sit top of the charts for big chances of all players in the league over the first 3 games, reaffirming their status as modern day FPL royalty. Hence, it comes as no surprise that the pair of them also have the best xGi (expected goal involvement) for...

...players to have started each of the 3 games so far. The icing on the cake is that with both of them categorized as midfielders, they get extra points per goal and clean sheet and hence in my opinion, are the go-to captain choices in the game.

2) Burnley are ranked joint top for least big chances conceded since the season has started. The Clarets have also conceded the 3rd highest number of shots from outside the box in the given period, which bodes well for Nick Pope meaning that he has to face considerably easier...

... shots to save. What also helps the Burnley keeper is that he has the best minute to baseline bps ratio of all Burnley defenders - his reading stands at 5. Compare that to the next best of Pieters’ 6.8 and it tells me that Pope will...

...inevitably always end up getting bonus points whenever Burnley are to keep a clean sheet.

3) Since the season has started, West Ham rank worst for shots inside the box conceded, big chances conceded and xGc (expected goals conceded). With the Norwich attack in form and Pukki still ranked top for shots inside the box and shots on target, the Finnish international...

... looks all set to notch once again when his side comes up against the Irons.

4) In the Liverpool-Arsenal game, Trent Alexander Arnold recorded 59 touches in the final third, 6 chances created (including 1 big chance created) and 3 shots inside the box. This makes Trent second only to Kevin De Bruyne for chances created and big chances created since...

...the season began. These stats are unheard of coming from a FPL defender - what this tells me is that a gigantic haul is not far away once Liverpool sort their defence out and start keeping clean sheets. Surprisingly, Oleksandr Zinchenko created 5 chances in Man City’s game...

...vs Bournemouth, and that makes him second only to Trent in defenders for chances created since the season began.

5) A lot has been said and written about John Lundstram ever since the season began. So far, he has recorded the most big chances of all defenders and has a better xGi (expected goal involvement) than the likes of Kane, De Bruyne and Aubameyang - as hilarious as that sounds!...

...The hype surrounding Lundstram has meant that his defensive colleagues have been overlooked - they are posting stats which deserve attention in their own right. George Baldock sits second for defenders for most touches in the final third...

... while Jack O’Connell is second for defenders for shots inside the box.

6) Ryan Fraser was a very popular bandwagon in pre-season but the Scottish international has failed to live up to the expectations so far. His form hasn’t hit the heights of last season - and that is reflected in his numbers. Over the season, he has accumulated just...

...3 chances created, 2 shots inside the box and 4 penalty area touches. Bournemouth need more from him if they are to get back to their free flowing best.

7) The game that statistically caught my eye the most this weekend was the Watford-West Ham game. Chances were aplenty for either side, with both sets of attackers racking up their stats. The forgotten man, Gerard Deulofeu recorded 6 shots inside the box including 1 big chance...

...while his counterpart Sebastien Haller racked up 4 shots inside the box with 2 big chances. Felipe Anderson and Manuel Lanzini were at their creative best - Felipe Anderson now stands second after De Bruyne in midfielders for big chances created while Lanzini is ranked...

...second in midfielders for chances created. Haller and Anderson in particular had very impressive xGi (expected goal involvement) and will surely be amongst the points with favorable fixtures to follow.

8) A team which was expected to be a great source of attacking points to FPL managers was Leicester City, so it comes as a huge surprise to me that so far, they stand second worst for xG (expected goals scored). Further introspection of the data suggests that the Foxes have...

...been overly reliant on Maddison for creativity, with no one in the Leicester team other than Maddison creating more than 4 chances or accumulating 3 shots inside the box over 3 games. The lack of fluidity in attack may be as a result of the new signings taking their time...

... to settle in. The likes of Tielemans and Perez need to be more involved if Leicester are to score more freely.

At the end I’d like to thank all the regular readers of my articles, your feedback has been hugely encouraging and I feel overwhelmed by your support. And to the new readers, welcome aboard! 🙂