Analytics

Showing posts with label Swansea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swansea. Show all posts

Sunday, 6 September 2015

Home comfort no longer an advantage

Whether the club is fighting for the title or fending off relegation, home results are important. With familiar surroundings and the home crowd roaring the team on, the home team certainly has the advantage.

But is this the case? Not, if one look at the results from the first 40 games in the Premier League. It reads, played 40, 9 wins, 14 draws and 17 defeats.

Among the casulties, Chelsea and Stoke City, who have gained a reputation of being hard to beat at home. Between them, they have garnered just a single point.

So, did the teams performed better away from their comfort zone?

Let us take a look at the statistics, provided by WhoScored.com


Shots per game / Possession (%) / Pass Success (%) / Aerials Won / Rating

Manchester City
[home] 18 / 53.2 / 87.9 / 12 / 7.31
[away] 18 / 58.4 / 88.5 / 14 / 7.29

Swansea
[home] 14 / 50.5 / 84.0 / 12.5 / 7.10
[away] 18.5 / 53.8 / 81.8 / 19 / 6.90

Arsenal
[home] 20.5 / 60.8 / 85.4 / 26 / 7.03
[away] 21 / 62.5 / 88.7 / 14 / 7.05

Leicester
[home] 16 / 42.6 / 70.8 / 16 / 7.00
[away] 7 / 40.9 / 65.7 / 20.5 / 6.85

Watford
[home] 14.5 / 55.3 / 79.5 / 21 / 6.93
[away] 9 / 40.9 / 79.7 / 16 / 6.77

Manchester United
[home] 14.5 / 56.6 / 86.1 / 10.5 / 6.91
[away] 10 / 57.7 / 84.0 / 20 / 6.80

Southampton
[home] 20 / 56.0 / 84.9 / 18.5 / 6.90
[away] 14 / 47.9 / 77.2 / 22.5 / 6.99

Aston Villa
[home] 13 / 52.2 / 82.5 / 20.5 / 6.88
[away] 9 / 47.4 / 78.6 / 22 / 6.94

Tottenham
[home] 16.5 / 50.8 / 82.9 / 16.5 / 6.86
[away] 14 / 55.4 / 82.3 / 18 / 6.69

Crystal Palace
[home] 13.5 / 46.8 / 79.8 / 19.5 / 6.75
[away] 12 / 40.7 / 74.0 / 11.5 / 7.04

Chelsea
[home] 18.5 / 55.1 / 82.2 / 17.5 / 6.74
[away] 12.5 / 53.1 / 82.1 / 18.5 / 6.58

Everton
[home] 10 / 53.8 / 81.3 / 15.5 / 6.69
[away] 9 / 48.6 / 81.6 / 14 / 7.06

Sunderland
[home] 8 / 43.1 / 68.6 / 15.5 / 6.63
[away] 9 / 47.9 / 76.3 / 23.5 / 6.68

Liverpool
[home] 15.5 / 56.7 / 83.7 / 20 / 6.60
[away] 11.5 / 45.5 / 75.8 / 25 / 7.10

Newcastle United
[home] 5 / 42.7 / 79.9 / 11.5 / 6.57
[away] 5.5 / 37.1 / 75.4 / 10 / 6.62

Norwich
[home] 18.5 / 51.6 / 80.9 / 10.5 / 6.56
[away] 12 / 48.0 / 76.7 / 16.5 / 6.64

Bournemouth
[home] 8 / 54.9 / 80.0 / 21.5 / 6.52
[away] 14 / 49.6 / 74.5 / 22 / 6.78

Stoke
[home] 10 / 48.0 / 78.8 / 14 / 6.46
[away] 10.5 / 52.1 / 82.8 / 11.5 / 6.75

West Ham
[home] 10 / 54.7 / 78.1 / 23 / 6.45
[away] 10 / 40.9 / 72.1 / 16.5 / 7.28

West Brom
[home] 12 / 40.6 / 78.6 / 11 / 6.43
[away] 10.5 / 45.4 / 79.4 / 18 / 6.96

Looking at the numbers, this is definitely so, with only 7 teams managed a better average home ratings.

Why is this so? A theory is that the home teams have to take the game to the oppositions and in the process, exposed themselves to the counter-attack which the away teams usually deployed.

But whatever the reason, one can be sure that as the season progress, it will be business as usual.

Monday, 31 August 2015

Manchester United and Chelsea lost further ground

Manchester City continue their winning start to the season with a victory over Watford. Raheem Sterling scored his City goal shortly after half time and Fernandinho added a second to ensure that City goes into the international break with a three points lead at the top of the table.

Champions Chelsea stuttering start continues as their lost 2-1 to Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge, only the second time in 100 home games under Jose Mourinho. All the scoring came in the second half with Bakary Sako putting Palace ahead only for Radamel Falcao to equalise. But it took the visitor only two minutes to restore their lead through Joel Ward.

Liverpool and Manchester United suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of West Ham and Swansea respectively.

Manuel Lanzini making his premier debut, got a dream start when he put West Ham ahead in the third minute. Mark Noble made in 2-0 after Lovren's mistake. Any hope of a fight-back was extinguished when Philippe Coutinho was sent off for two yellow card offenses. The numbers was even out when Mark Noble joined the Brazilian for an early shower. Diafra Sakho added a third just before the final whistle.

Over at Liberty Stadium, Juan Mata put the Red Devils ahead but the home team hit back in quick succession with goals from Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis.

Arsenal's poor conversion rate in front of goals continue as they struggled to beat Newcastle who had to play 74 minutes with 10 men, after Aleksandar Mitrovic got his marching order. The Gunners needed an own goal from Fabricio Coloccini to ensure they came away from St. James' Park with all three points.

Callum Wilson followed up his hat-trick the previous weekend with another goal to put Bournemouth in front. Jamie Vardy equalised from the spot on the 86th minute to maintain Leicester's unbeaten start to the season.

Yann M'Vila put Sunderland ahead at the Villa Park only for Scott Sinclair to hit a double before half-time. Jeremain Lens equalised for the visitor to share the spoils.

Tony Pulis, who was given a warm reception on his returned to Britannia Stadium, left his old hunting ground will all three points. Jose Salomon Rondon scored the only goal of the games after Stoke had Ibrahim Afellay and Charlie Adam sent off.

Southampton finally got their first win of season, a 3-0 victory over Norwich. Graziano Pelle scored on the stroke of half-time before Dusan Tadic added two more in the space of three minutes.

Tottenham was still searching for their first win as they were held to a 0-0 draw against Everton.

Top five performing team *
Manchester City: 7.3
Arsenal: 7.04
Swansea: 7
Southampton: 6.94
Leicester: 6.92

Top five performing players *
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester): 8.46
Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace): 8.36
Yaya Toure (Manchester City): 8.08
Pedro (Chelsea): 8.07
Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City): 8.04



*Statistics provided by WhoScored.com 

Monday, 10 August 2015

Liverpool, Man City and Man Utd wins

Finally the big kick off is here and normal service for weekends resumes.

The big four / five endured mixed results with only Manchester City making an early statement. The Citizens put West Brom to the sword with Yaya Toure (twice) and Vincent Kompany scoring the goals.

Holder Chelsea was held to a 2-2 by Swansea at Stamford Bride. The Blues led twice and had Courtois sent off.

Arsenal was humbled by West Ham at the Emirates Stadium. Both goals were results of Cech's mistake, the signing that many said tilt the title in the Gunners' favour.

Liverpool and Manchester United were hardly inspiring in their 1-0 victory. Liverpool needing a Coutinho superb goal and the Red Devils had Kyle Walker to thanks for the three points.

Steve McClaren's tenure as manager of Newcastle began with a 2-2 draw against last season surprise package, Southampton.

Leicester will try to avoid last season scrap and did their cause no harm with a opening 4-2 victory over Sunderland.

None of the newly promoted team manages a win. Watford earn a point with at 2-2 draw at Everton, while both Bournemouth and Norwich lost their home game against Aston Villa (0-1) and Crystal Palace (1-3) respectively.

Top five performing team *
1) Manchester City: 7.70
2) Leicester: 7.55
3) West Ham: 7.52
4) Watford: 7.42
5) Crystal Palace: 7.42

Top five performing players *
1) Riyad Mahrez (Leicester): 10.00
2) Marc Albrighton (Leicester): 9.31
3) Yaya Toure (Manchester City): 8.80
4) Adrian (West Ham): 8.78
5) Jamie Vardy (Leicester): 8.31




*Statistics provided by WhoScored.com

Monday, 22 June 2015

Season 2014/15 in review

Chelsea won the double of League title and cup. Arsenal retained their FA Cup. Hull, Burnley and QPR were relegated to the Championship and Manchester United snatched back their Champions League position.

We look back at the 2014/15 season and give our verdicts on the performances for the teams.

Chelsea - Led the table from day 1 and never relinguish the position, clinching the title with 3 games to spare. Beside the title, the Blues was won the League Cup. Our verdict: Excellent. Whoscored.com rating: 7.28

Man City - As the saying goes, "Winning the title is hard, retaining it is harder". Manchester City season prove just about right. The collective lost of form from the core players like Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero was their achilles heel. Our verdict: Good. Whoscored.com rating: 7.29.

Arsenal - Poor start means their title challenge was over by November. Put together an amazing run of 9 wins in 11 games towards the end. But gap proved too huge to overcome. Retain the FA Cup in emphatic style. Our verdict: Good. Whoscored.com rating: 7.38.

Man Utd - The appointment of Louis Van Gaal and new signings like Angel Di Maria, Macros Rojo, Luke Shaw, Danny Blind and Ander Herrara gave the fans plenty of look forward to. But, the Red Devils proved to be very much a team in transition. More importantly, they wrestle back their Champions League spot. Our verdict: Good. Whoscored.com: 7.20

Tottenham - Touted as the team to break the big four stranglehold but ended up as the bridesmaid yet again. The emergence of Harry Kane was the highlight of their season. Our verdict: Good. Whoscored.com rating: 7.08

Liverpool - After coming to within a whisker of finally ending their 25 years wait for the league title, Reds' fans started the season with high hopes. But the sale of Luis Suarez and the injuries substained by Daniel Sturridge dashed all hopes. Managed to make it to the semi-finals of both the FA and Capital One Cup but fans expected more. Our verdict: Poor. Whoscored.com: 7.06

Southampton - After the mass exodus of players, many predicted that Southampton will struggle. However, they exceed all expectation and remain in the top four for most part of the early season. Falter towards the end but still, managed to qualify for Europe next season. Surprise team of the season. Our verdict: Excellent. Whoscored.com rating: 7.08

Swansea - A mid table club who is not expected to challenge the big boys. However, they managed to overcome the lost of star striker Wilfried Bony, who joined Manchester City in the January transfer window, to stay in the top half of the table. Our rating: Good. Whoscored.com rating: 7.03

Stoke - Another of the mid table team, without any high hopes going into the season. Did well to retain their 9th position. Our verdict: Average. Whoscored.com: 7.04.

Crystal Palace - "One man's poison is another's meat". You can said that about Crystal Palace and Alan Pardew. Much hatred at the St James' Park, Pardew left the Magpies to join a Palace stuck in relegation zone and guided them to 10th position, their highest ever position in the Premier League. Pardew became the only manager to take over a club in relegation zone and eventually guided them to the top half of the table. Our verdict: Good. Whoscored.com rating: 7.00.

Everton - This is the season whereby we were suppose to see the rise of Ross Barkley after his breakthrough season the previous year. However, he did not really set the league on fire. So too did Everton. Our verdict: Average. Whoscored.com rating: 6.96.

West Ham - The highlight of an otherwise average season is their qualification to the Europa League first qualifying round after finishing top of the Premier League Fair Play table. Our verdict: Average. Whoscored.com rating: 7.01.

West Brom - Another of the mid table club who managed to meet what must be their main objective, which is to stay in the Premier League. Our verdict: Average. Whoscored.com rating: 6.91.

Leicester - Started the season brilliantly but lost their way. Look set for relegation until they went on an amazing run, collecting 22 points out of a possible 30 to secure their survival. Our verdict: Excellent. Whoscored.com: 7.02

Newcastle - Appointed John Carver in January after Alan Pardew left to join Crystal Palace. Under Carver, Newcastle only managed to collective 12 points in 18 games. A win on the last day of the season secured their survival. Our verdict: Poor. Whoscored.com rating: 6.89.

Sunderland - Draw specialist (17) and joint-second lowest goal scoring team, Sunderland spent the entire season hovering around the relegation positions. The club parted way with Gus Poyet and Dick Advocat was named as the replacement. The Blacks Cats eventually did just enough to retain their Premier League status. Our verdict: Poor. Whoscored.com rating:  6.89.

Aston Villa - Joint-second lowest goal scoring team, Aston Villa parted way with Paul Lambert in February. The appointment of Tim Sherwood coincide with an upturn in form. They managed to fend off relegation and made it in the FA Cup. Our verdict: Average. Whoscored.com: 6.82.

Hull - After the highs of playing in the Europa League as a losing finalist in the 2013-14 FA Cup, Hull was brought back to earth with a heavy landing. After a relatively good start, The Tigers managed only 5 points out of possible 30 during the Nov-Dec period. They tried to fight against the odds but was unable to reverse it, Newcastle's final day victory condemn Hull to the Championship next season. Our verdict: Poor. Whoscored.com rating: 6.92

Burnley - One of the favourites for the drop, Burnley put on a valiant fight but the difference in class was simply too great. Our verdict: Poor. Whoscored.com rating: 6.91

QPR -  The London club only managed to get their first away win, and indeed the first away points, in their 11th attempt. With such absyml away record, it is no wonder that they have been around their relegation zone. And their fate was sealed when they got hammered 6-0 by Manchester City. Our verdict: Poor. Whoscored.com rating: 6.91