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 a dunce hat.
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 Newcastle United, who sit in third place after an excellent start to 2022/23 in which they’ve only tasted defeat once.
ATTACK: SEASON SO FAR
| Total | Rank v other clubs (adjusted per game) | |
| Goals scored | 29 | 5th |
| Shots | 218 | 5th |
| Shots in the box | 156 | 4th= |
| Shots on target | 76 | 7th |
| Big chances | 38 | 7th |
| Expected goals (xG) | 24.99 | 4th |
| Non-penalty expected goals (NPxG) | 23.41 | 4th |
Averaging almost two goals scored per game, Newcastle are in the Champions League mix by merit.
They are top-seven material for all of the underlying metrics above, at one point (Gameweeks 9-14) in the below graphic boasting the best NPxG in the division:
Above: How Newcastle compare to other Premier League sides for minutes per NPxGC across 2022/23 (click to expand)
Set-piece prowess has been a big part of their goal threat.
No side has a better xG from set plays (7.00) this season, nor has any club registered more goal attempts from free-kicks and corners (78).
Over a third (35.8%) of the Magpies’ goal attempts have come from dead-ball situations, which you’ll again not be surprised to hear is a league-high.
While Newcastle’s overachievement on the xG front (+4.01) is something to note, the better players and teams tend to do this anyhow. The ‘big six’ have all scored more goals in 2022/23 than what Opta estimated they should have, for instance.
Indeed, no side has hit the woodwork on more occasions (eight) than Eddie Howe’s troops this season, suggesting that the Magpies have been on the wrong side of some fine margins in a number of matches.
Above: Newcastle’s attacking stats at home (left) and away (right). Most figures given are per game.
With most teams, you’ll see better attacking stats on home soil than on the road. That’s also the case with the Magpies (2.0 home v 1.3 away xG per match) but not to an extent that would cause particular concern. Howe’s squad are, for example, still top-10 material for minutes per xG in away fixtures.
Nevertheless, there’s no denying that it’s at a buoyant St James’ Park where the upward momentum is most keenly felt: only one defeat has occured in the whole of 2022 and none in the current campaign.
DEFENCE: SEASON SO FAR
| Total | Rank v other clubs (adjusted per game) | |
| Goals conceded | 11 | 1st |
| Clean sheets | 7 | 2nd |
| Shots conceded | 167 | 5th |
| Shots in the box conceded | 101 | 3rd |
| Shots on target conceded | 54 | 4th |
| Big chances conceded | 22 | 3rd |
| Expected goals conceded (xGC) | 14.56 | 3rd |
| Non-penalty expected goals conceded (NPxGC) | 13.77 | 4th |
Newcastle’s attacking stats are good; their defensive numbers are even better.
The Magpies can’t be beaten for total clean sheets or goals conceded, while the rolling NPxGC graph below shows how well they’ve done on the ‘expected’ front for much of 2022/23. Indeed, from Gameweeks 6-16 (meetings with Liverpool and Manchester City came in the first five Gameweeks) they have the second-best backline:
Above: How Newcastle compare to other Premier League sides for minutes per NPxG across 2022/23 (click to expand)
Their record at Fortress St. James’ in 2022 is examplary, with nine clean sheets and just 10 goals conceded in 17 home fixtures.
The big chance concessions on Tyneside in the current campaign are worth closer scrutiny, too:
| Score | Big chances conceded | |
| Gameweek 1 (v Nottm Forest) | 2-0 | 0 |
| Gameweek 3 (v Man City) | 3-3 | 7 |
| Gameweek 6 (v C Palace) | 0-0 | 0 |
| Gameweek 8 (v Bournemouth) | 1-1 | 1 |
| Gameweek 10 (v Brentford) | 5-1 | 1 |
| Gameweek 12 (v Everton) | 1-0 | 0 |
| Gameweek 14 (v Aston Villa) | 4-0 | 0 |
| Gameweek 16 (v Chelsea) | 1-0 | 0 |
Nine ‘big chances’ may have been conceded on home soil but seven of them arrived in the six-goal thriller against Manchester City in August, with none such gilt-edged opportunities allowed in the five home matches in which Newcastle kept a clean sheet.
While the home heroics are the headline news here, Howe’s backline still boasts the fourth-best minutes-per-xGC figure in the division on the road despite facing the likes of Liverpool, Man Utd and Spurs.
BIGGEST GOAL THREATS
