International and FA Cup football have granted us all a breather before Gameweek 30 and the multitude of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) doubles and blanks set to follow it in quick succession.
It also gives us a chance to dive back into the Opta and StatsBomb data available in our Premium Members Area, for the latest instalment of Big Numbers.
As we enter the final stretch of the 2024/25 campaign, there’s a mix of selected statistics covering the entire season and others that provide a more recent snapshot of goings on across the league.
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GOALKEEPERS
+4.60 expected goals (xG) prevented by Guglielmo Vicario (£4.8m) is the best mark in the league – essentially meaning he has let in over four goals less than statistically expected based on the quality of shots he has faced. Though the Italian missed a chunk of the campaign through injury, he’s comfortably ahead of the next-best first-choice ‘keepers this season and also sits behind only Alphonse Areola (£4.2m) for total xG prevented since making his return in Gameweek 25, which has undoubtedly had some bearing on Spurs’ performance in another metric we’ll get onto later.
90% is the best save percentage among first-choice goalkeepers in their last six appearances, held by Areola – who has saved 18 of the shots on target he’s faced in that time, conceding five goals and keeping two clean sheets as West Ham continue to tighten up at the back under Graham Potter.
Scanning the rest of this table, we can see nobody has made more saves in their last six appearances than Vicario, adding further credence to his importance to Spurs’ defensive efforts. By contrast, the worst performers for save percentage among first-choice goalies over their last six appearances are Nick Pope (£4.9m), at 52% – 13 saves from 25 shots on target faced – and Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m), at 52.6% – 10 saves from 19 shots on target faced.
5 clean sheets (and only five goals conceded) in his last eight matches gives Dean Henderson (£4.6m) the best recent shut-out rate of any goalkeeper in the division. Crystal Palace’s shot-stopper recorded a season-high 10 points – courtesy of a clean sheet, seven saves and two bonus points – in his last outing against Ipswich in Gameweek 28, and has recorded save points and/or a clean sheet on six other occasions since the start of Gameweek 21. Henderson has also saved 22 of the 27 shots he’s faced (81.5%) in that time. It’s struggling Southampton up next, shot-friendly Brighton after that, and then a double-header of Manchester City and Newcastle.
DEFENDERS
1 month, 7 days ago2,753,880 is a big number! Huzzah!