Premier League GW4 - Starts 31 August 2019
We referenced clean sheets in our previous stats article, and it seems that they don't seem to be in fashion in this early part of the season - especially when we look at it from a ‘Both Teams To Score' point of view.
The first week of the season saw just three matches end with either side breaching the opposition's net and although it could have been down to teams being a bit more pragmatic on the opening weekend, it seems as if that approach has been tossed aside in these past two weeks.
That's because in gameweek two of the season, no less than eight matches ended with no clean sheet for either side and this trend now looks like it is set to continue, as in the week just passed there were seven in comparison.
This means that in the first three weeks of the season alone, we've witnessed 60% of all matches ending with a BTTS outcome, a figure that is far higher than any percentage that has been recorded in the past five complete seasons.
Now admittedly, it is perhaps a little too early to jump to conclusions and subsequently suggest we are going to see a new wave of over-attacking football week in week out but at the same time, it does suggest that perhaps you shouldn't be locking too much value in your FPL defenders.
WHO ARE THE BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE KINGS?
After three Premier League gameweeks, there are a trio of teams that have played out a BTTS fixture each week and therefore have perhaps been a bit of a nuisance from an FPL manager point of view, with those teams being:
- Bournemouth
- Norwich
- Liverpool
Now the top two outfits in this rather small list, won't be all of that of a surprise to anyone reading this article and especially when you consider that both Bournemouth and Norwich are outfits that like to play on the front foot.
Which although it is great from at attacking point of view, will leave you susceptible at the back and that is why they may be considered good candidates from a BTTS angle but not if you are looking at it from an FPL clean sheet one.
While Liverpool, are yet to keep a clean sheet themselves but at the same time with three wins from three, it is apparent that they have more than enough attacking threat to worry about whether their defence is breached or not.
SHOT CONVERSION KINGS
With three weeks of attacking data to hand, we can now take a deeper look at who has best shot conversion rate in the Premier League to date and in doing so, we can get a better idea of which teams are the most efficient in front of goal.
| R | Team | Goals | Shots | % Conv |
| 1 | Norwich | 6 | 33 | 18.18% |
| 2 | Liverpool | 9 | 55 | 16.39% |
| 3 | Man City | 10 | 63 | 15.87% |
| 4 | Man United | 6 | 42 | 14.29% |
| 5 | West Ham | 4 | 29 | 13.75% |
| 6 | Arsenal | 4 | 32 | 12.46% |
| 7 | Burnley | 5 | 41 | 12.17% |
| 8 | Brighton | 4 | 33 | 12.12% |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 2 | 17 | 11.70% |
| 10 | Bournemouth | 4 | 35 | 11.40% |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 4 | 36 | 11.11% |
| 12 | Tottenham | 5 | 51 | 9.80% |
| 13 | Sheffield United | 3 | 31 | 9.71% |
| 14 | Southampton | 3 | 37 | 8.13% |
| 15 | Leicester | 3 | 38 | 7.87% |
| 16 | Chelsea | 4 | 55 | 7.29% |
| 17 | Newcastle | 2 | 29 | 6.87% |
| 18 | Wolves | 2 | 31 | 6.47% |
| 19 | Everton | 1 | 34 | 2.95% |
| 20 | Watford | 1 | 42 | 2.38% |
It probably comes as something of a surprise to see Norwich as the most efficient team in terms of shot conversion percentage, but that also comes with the caveat that Manchester City in third have created almost twice as much.
Which when you look at City's draw with Tottenham in Week 2 and see that they created thirty chances but only scored twice, will highlight that sometimes it's not about how many chances you produce but how efficient you are in front of goal.
While at the other end of the scale, spare a thought for Watford who have averaged 14 shots per game so far this season but have found the net on just one solitary occasion, giving them just a paltry 2.38% shot conversion rate in front of goal.
