The Analyst: Salah, Wilson and Krul among the Premier League chart-toppers 11 games in

Paul Okey
19 November 2021

Planet Sport breaks down the stats and finds some unexpected nuggets, including an unheralded keeper high up in the clean sheet charts.

They say you can't look at the league table until ten games in. Similarly, we at Planet Sport believe you can't look at the Premier League stats until 11, which is handy as the international break has given us a chance to do just that.

And as well as highlighting trends and information you may be aware of, we've picked out some interesting stats that may help you select your bets and bet-builders for the coming weeks.

Goals, goals, goals

Eleven games in and there have been 302 goals across the 110 Premier League fixtures, an average of 2.75 goals a game. That is an average of 2.75 goals a game, slightly up from the previous two seasons (2.69 and 2.72). It is still a little way behind the 2018/19 campaign, however, which proved the peak season for Premier League goals with an average of 2.82.

Mo Salah, of course, leads the way with 10, which could have been even better had he not missed five big chances, the second highest number in the top flight. Sadio Mane leads the way there, having seen six big chances go begging.

Salah's ten goals have come from 44 shots, with next-best Jamie Vardy on seven, having netted his from 19 fewer shots.

Salah does have the better shooting accuracy, however, with 55% of his shots hitting the target as opposed to Vardy's 48%.

The Egyptian also tops the charts for the forward who has made the most passes alongside Brighton striker Leandro Trossard.

And spare a thought for Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo who has hit the woodwork an incredible six times this term, twice as many as his nearest rival Christian Benteke.

Using your head

Newcastle striker Callum Wilson leads the way with headed goals this term having scored three of his four goals via that method.

Despite that, Newcastle's figure of 179 crosses only puts them 14th of the 20 Premier League clubs. They do have the division's most prolific crosser in Matt Ritchie, who has centred the ball 83 times, including 12 times on the opening weekend of the season. He has one assist.

Chelsea's Kai Havertz and Liverpool's Diogo Jota are the only other players to have scored more than one goal with their head this season, with headed goals accounting for 39 of the 302 goals scored (7.75%) across the 11 rounds of fixtures.

Interestingly, despite Harry Maguire netting with his head for England during the international break, he is yet to score a header for Manchester United this season. Both his goals for United last season were with his head.

Ever-presents

Only 26 players have played the full 990 minutes this campaign with West Ham, Crystal Palace and Burnley leading the way with three ever-presents.

Aaron Cresswell, Declan Rice and Lukasz Fabianski are the Hammers stalwarts, with Marc Guehl, Vicente Guaita and Joel Ward having played every minute for Palace and Matthew Lowton, Nick Pope and James Tarkowski the constants in the Burnley line-up.

Of the 26 ever-presents, only two are midfielders, Rice and Newcastle's Ritchie, with Salah and Brentford's Ivan Toney the only forwards to have played the 990 minutes.

Keeping them out

Perhaps unsurprisingly for the keeper behind the worst defence in the league, Norwich City's Tim Krul has made the most saves this season with 40. The overworked Dutchman will have to go some way to make the most high claims, however. His total of five is some way behind Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez, who has made an incredible 30 in his 11 appearances.

As you would expect from the top two, Chelsea's Edouard Mendy and Manchester City's Ederson have the most clean sheets to their name, with six.

Southampton's Alex McCarthy is next best on five, along with Aaron Ramsdale at Arsenal and Alisson at Liverpool.

Burnley's Dwight McNeil, meanwhile, is the sole outfield player to have made more than one goal-line clearance this season.

Odds and sods

Burnley striker Chris Wood has been offside the most in 2021/22, having fallen foul of the flag 13 times. Toney and Vardy are next best with 11 apiece.

Paul Pogba and Mo Salah lead the assists with seven apiece, with Mateo Kovacic a surprise third having set up five of Chelsea's goals this term.

Declan Rice is fourth in the list of most tackles (30), behind Tottenham's Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Everton's Allan and Crystal Palace's Tyrick Mitchell, all with 33.

Watford's Emmanuel Dennis has already served a suspension having picked up five bookings. Dennis also leads the way in fouls committed, with 26, one ahead of team-mate Juraj Kucka.

And, finally, Wilfried Zaha has been dispossessed a not-too-impressive 38 times in his ten matches, putting him eight clear of his nearest rival (Allan Saint-Maximin).