The FPL half-term report: Liverpool

All 20 Premier League clubs’ seasons so far are analysed as the countdown to the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) restart continues.

In this Half-Term Report series, we look at which FPL players and teams are graduating with honours and who needs to repeat a year.

FPL bosses get unlimited transfers before Gameweek 17, so these articles will hopefully help you pinpoint some key targets for the Boxing Day resumption.

Here, we focus on Liverpool, who have already lost four league games and drawn four, leaving them 15 points off leaders Arsenal.

ATTACK: SEASON SO FAR

Liverpool have been ridiculously inconsistent this season, yet their underlying attacking numbers are very good.

Yes, nine of the 28 goals they’ve scored arrived in one match against Bournemouth back in Gameweek 4, but that only accounts for 3.32 of their expected goals (xG) total, which is the third best in the division behind only Manchester City and Arsenal on a per game basis.

They also finished particularly strongly before the World Cup break, scoring five goals against Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, a period which saw them rack up eight big chances. They also averaged the best minutes-per-NPxG figure (56.00) in the division from Gameweeks 11-16:

Above: How Liverpool compare to other Premier League sides for minutes per NPxG across 2022/23 (click to expand)

There has been a bit of bad fortune, too, having hit the woodwork six times in 2022/23, more than any other side bar Newcastle United. Of these, three have come via Darwin Nunez (£9.0m) shots.

With six of their first nine post-restart matches on the road, it’s also worth noting that their minutes-per xG tally is 66.1 away from home, compared to 48.8 at Anfield. Still, it’s the fourth-best tally in the division, so there is hope they can improve upon their current record of just over one goal per game in away matches.

DEFENCE: SEASON SO FAR

Liverpool’s underlying defensive numbers are a bit of a mixed bag, with the big chances conceded column causing the most concern. In terms of the volume of shots allowed, there isn’t much wrong, it’s just that 28.4% of the efforts they have conceded so far have been deemed ‘big chances’ by Opta.

After a solid enough start, standards slipped, which we can see via their minutes-per-NPxGC averages:

Above: How Liverpool compare to other Premier League sides for minutes per NPxGC across 2022/23 (click to expand)

But for the excellence of goalkeeper Alisson (£5.5m), things could have been much worse. He’s often been left exposed by Liverpool’s backline this season but has pulled off many outstanding saves.

Above: Opta’s xG Prevented metric places Alisson top among all Premier League goalkeepers

Jurgen Klopp will now hope the return of Joel Matip (£5.9m) can help tighten up the Reds’ backline, with his partnership with Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) key to their defensive prospects moving forward. If they can hit top form upon the Premier League’s resumption, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) and Andrew Robertson (£6.8m) could still yet have a role to play in our FPL seasons.

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