Sunday, December 22, 2024

The stats behind Liverpool’s success and Man City’s struggles

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Liverpool and Manchester City go into Sunday’s Premier League fixture at Anfield with the Reds eight points clear at the top of the table and City on a six-match winless run in all competitions.

We have taken a look at some of the statistics behind their contrasting fortunes…

Graph showing Manchester City conceding an average of eight shots per game, but those chances being of a high quality for opponents

[BBC]

It is not the volume of chances that is the main issue for Manchester City defensively, but the quality of them. City concede by far the highest quality of chance in Europe’s top five leagues.

Only two teams are giving up fewer chances than City’s eight per game on average – German Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and Getafe, who are 15th in Spain’s La Liga.

Graph comparing stats from Liverpool's first 12 games of 2023-24 and 2024-25, with very little difference between the two seasonsGraph comparing stats from Liverpool's first 12 games of 2023-24 and 2024-25, with very little difference between the two seasons

[BBC]

Meanwhile, Liverpool have four more points compared to their first 12 games of last season. The level of their play has not changed dramatically – it is just a bit more defensive-minded.

They have faced 37 fewer shots, but taken 35 fewer.

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