Thread by @BigManBakar

The Review: GW 4 - A thread

Hello everyone, welcome to the latest edition of The Review. With Premier League football coming to a standstill over the international break, it's time to reflect on the key numbers of the first month of Premier League action: #FPL

1) Nicolas Pepe has positionally been Arsenal’s most advanced player in both the games he has started so far. With two big chances created, five shots inside the box in that period and keeping in mind that they were against tough opposition...

...in Liverpool and Spurs, he has the potential to be FPL dynamite with better fixtures to follow.

2) Liverpool have conceded less than half as many shots inside the box over the previous two gameweeks than they did over the first two gameweeks (8 vs 17). There has been a marked improvement in the big chances conceded and the xGc (expected goals conceded) over...

...this period too. While in isolation Liverpool’s defensive stats are still not great, this gradual improvement suggests that more clean sheets might be around the corner – particularly against a toothless Newcastle attack...

...with the lowest xG (expected goals scored) recorded over the season so far.

3) If you are a Marcus Rashford owner, look away! No Premier League forward has statistically underperformed as much over the past two gameweeks as Man United’s Marcus Rashford. 7 shots inside the box including...

... 3 big chances (including one missed penalty) 3 chances created, joint top for penalty area touches of all forwards - Rashford has been unbelievably unlucky just to have accumulated just 2 points...

...over these 2 gameweeks. Still a few favorable fixtures to follow though, so plenty of time for fortunes to change.

4) Speaking of underperforming players, Brighton’s Leandro Trossard is another one which comes to mind. Over the past two gameweeks, he has a better xGi (expected goal involvement) than the likes of De Bruyne and Mane yet has come away with no attacking returns to his credit...

... If he can get over his groin injury, he is another one who is likely to reward his owners in the times to come.

5) At the cost of repeating myself and sounding like a broken record, West Ham’s attacking assets are yet again topping the charts for some key performance indicators. Over the season so far, West Ham are only second to Man City for xG (expected goals scored)...

...Manuel Lanzini sits top for midfielders over the past two gameweeks for chances created having supplied 10 key passes to his credit. Sebastien Haller continues to impress – over the past two gameweeks, no Premier League forward has accumulated as many...

... big chances and shots inside the box as him hence it comes as no surprise that he has the highest xGi (expected goal involvement) over that period as well.

6) No player recorded as many big chances over GW 4 as Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham. The fact that he was also Chelsea’s top chance creator too further suggests that he richly deserved his brace for his all round display. Abraham’s underlying numbers over the first 3 GW’s...

...have been nothing to write home about (for instance GW 4 was the first time he managed to record a big chance) - hence it will be interesting to see whether he can keep up his form and his minutes, particularly with the UCL around the corner...

...Nevertheless, £7.2m for a first choice Chelsea forward might be too good to pass up.

7) Surprisingly, Leicester City are ranked top for the best xGc (expected goals conceded) having conceded the least amount of big chances over the season so far. This is particularly impressive given the loss of Harry Maguire, but with tough fixtures on the horizon, whether...

... they sustain their defensive numbers is a completely different question. Another team which has caught my eye recently for their defensive numbers is Southampton - despite the fact...

...that they have played Liverpool, Man United and had a couple of tricky away games sandwiched in between, they sit 4th best for expected goals conceded over the season.

8) Roberto Firmino is not someone you’d relate to as a penalty box player or a poacher, hence it comes across as a big surprise to me that no FPL forward has had as many penalty area touches as Firmino has had over the season. Over that period, he is ranked second...

... for shots inside the box among forwards as well. To put things into context, Firmino has had more shots inside the box than Salah and double those than Mane, though has played a game more than the latter...

...Whether this is down to Klopp’s instructions remains to be seen over a greater sample size, but Firmino’s involvement is certainly one to keep an eye out on.

That brings me to the end of the article. Thank you once again for your continuous encouragement and support, I hope you enjoy the international break!