The Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season is nearly a third complete – but which teams are the best and worst in the league from a stats perspective?

Every Premier League team has played 12 matches and with the international break upon us, now is a good time to take stock of how they are performing.

We’ll use the Hub’s Opta stats tool to delve into the data to see who’s in form and who’s struggling for survival.

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Who are the best attacking teams?

Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Newcastle

Liverpool and Manchester City are the only teams to make the top three for both expected goals (xG) and actual goals scored, although others come close.

It’s Liverpool who top the table for overall xG, with City in second.

Chelsea and Aston Villa are the only other teams to be averaging more than two expected goals per game.

Gameweek 1-12 expected goals per game

When it comes to actual goals scored, City lead the way with 32, followed by Villa on 29. Both are outperforming their xG.

Liverpool’s total of 27 goals is almost bang on their expected data (27.1) while Newcastle, who have also found the net 27 times, are ahead of their 23.85 xG.

The Magpies had a huge 8-0 win over Sheffield United in Gameweek 6, which helped boost their goal tally.

Injuries to Callum Wilson (£7.9m), Alexander Isak (£7.4m) and now Miguel Almiron (£6.3m) could however hinder their progress in their upcoming fixtures.

There are some surprises further down the table.

Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton have scored 25 goals (sixth) but their xG is only eighth best. This is in contrast to last season, when they were battling it out with City for the top spot.

Losing players such as Alexis Mac Allister (£5.8m) and a busy European schedule may have impacted the Seagulls’ performances, while Solly March (£6.2m) suffered a serious injury.

Arsenal’s xG of 21.86 is only marginally ahead of Brighton’s, although they have scored 26 times. Their xG is bettered by Brentford, who have recorded a tally of 22.63 but only scored 19.

Goals scored so far this season

Who are the best defensive teams?

Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle, Liverpool, Crystal Palace

While Arsenal have underwhelmed up top, their defence has been the best in the league.

The Gunners are the only team to have an expected goals conceded (xGC) of less than 10 (9.6), ahead of City (11.2) and Newcastle (13.9).

Their 10 goals conceded is level with Liverpool, while they have kept the joint-most clean sheets (five).

Their shutouts have come against a range of opposition, from struggling Sheffield United to Newcastle and City, with three away from home.

Newcastle and Crystal Palace have also managed five clean sheets.

But like their depleted attack, Newcastle also have injury issues in defence. Sven Botman (£4.6m) and Dan Burn (£4.6m) are out of action, meaning Jamaal Lascelles (£4.1m) has emerged as a budget FPL option.

Full-backs Lewis Hall (£4.3m) and Tino Livramento (£4.3m) are competing for Burn’s place, although Hall is ineligible to face parent club Chelsea in Gameweek 13.

The injury issues will need to be monitored closely by FPL managers to see if Eddie Howe’s men can maintain defensive solidity.

Palace rank sixth for xGC (17.7) and goals conceded (16), so are arguably weaker than the other teams in this section despite their five clean sheets.

Jamaal Lascelles’ defensive stats

Who are the worst attacking teams?

Sheffield United, Burnley, Fulham, Luton

Sheffield United have the worst xG (9.91) and are joined by Burnley in averaging less than one expected goal per game.

The Blades have scored 10 goals, one more than the Clarets and the same number as Fulham and Luton.

They lag behind for shots on goal, with their 105 some 17 short of Burnley.

Cameron Archer (£4.5m) scored a screamer in Gameweek 11 to help Sheffield United to their first win but the youngster has found the net just once more.

Burnley’s difficulties in front of goal have perhaps come as a surprise, given the praise directed at Vincent Kompany’s men for their attractive style of football.

They scored 87 goals on their way to winning the Championship, although their xG of 66.2 was only third best. There has been no such over-performance in the top flight.

Three-goal striker Lyle Foster (£5.0m) is unavailable while he seeks specialist support for mental health issues and Josh Brownhill (£4.7m) is the only other Burnley player with more than one league goal.

Luton’s xG puts them slightly ahead of their fellow promoted clubs but a figure of 13.27 is still fourth worst overall. Carlton Morris (£5.3m) is their top scorer with three goals.

Fulham are clearly missing talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has 10 goals for his new club in Saudi Arabia.

Joao Palhinha (£5.0m) and Bobby De Cordova-Reid (£5.4m) are the Cottagers’ top scorers, with two goals apiece.

Cameron Archer v Carlton Morris

Who are the worst defensive teams?

Sheffield United, Luton, Burnley, Bournemouth

It’s bad news once again for the promoted teams.

Sheffield United have both the worst xGC and actual goals conceded. They have let in an average of three goals per game, against an xGC of 2.2.

Luton’s xGC is next worst at 2.1 per game, while Bournemouth are the other club to average an xGC of two or more.

Burnley are hot on the heels of Sheffield United for goals conceded, having let in 30 goals – one fewer than the Blades.

None of the promoted clubs have kept a clean sheet either. Brighton are the other team without a shutout but their xGC is midtable and their expected clean sheets (xCS) is 3.3.

Elsewhere, the defensive record of David Moyes’ West Ham should be of concern to owners of the game’s most popular goalkeeper, Alphonse Areola (£4.3m).

The Hammers have conceded 22 against an xGC of 22.4, ranking them in the bottom five for both metrics.

They have particularly struggled aerially, conceding 40 headed attempts, with only Sheffield United being poorer in this regard.

Expected goals conceded so far this season

Who are the worst teams overall?

Sheffield United are the only team to rank in the bottom three for all the key Opta stats we have used – xG, xGC, goals scored, goals conceded and clean sheets.

Burnley are among the bottom three in all but xGC, with their tally of 22.4 the joint-fifth worst.

Luton’s xG (17th) and goals conceded (t-16th) push them slightly ahead of their respective Championship graduates, however they still remain one of the worst teams in the league.

The promoted clubs are the favourites to go down – and it’s not difficult to see why given the above.

Who has the best and worst home and away stats?

Best home stats

Villa have scored more home goals than any other team, treating the Villa Park faithful to 23 celebratory moments.

Their 6-1 win against Brighton was a particular highlight, with Ollie Watkins (£8.4m) scoring a hat-trick and assisting two.

The Villans’ home xG of 2.58 per game is league leading, ahead of Liverpool (2.57) and Newcastle (2.27).

Villa’s actual output of 3.83 is well ahead of their xG, with the Brighton game accounting for a chunk of the over-performance.

City are second for home goals scored, averaging 3.2 a game.

Defensively, Arsenal, City and Liverpool all average less than one expected goal conceded per home game.

Ollie Watkins’ stats

Worst home stats

Burnley, Sheffield United and Fulham are the worst three teams for home xG.

Sheffield United and Burnley are also in the bottom three for xGC and they are joined by West Ham.

The Hammers have the second worst home xGC of 1.9 per game, slightly worse than their 1.8 away xGC.

Best away stats

City have scored the most goals on the road, averaging 2.29 per away game.

Their away xG is also league leading and the Sky Blues have under-performed, having racked up an average xG of 2.53.

Chelsea have only played five away games compared to City’s seven, but they average the second best away xG and goals scored – 2.32 and 2.2 respectively.

Arsenal’s defence holds up away from home, conceding less than one expected goal per game. City are second, while Chelsea sneak into third.

Liverpool’s defence is less solid away. They have averaged an xGC of 1.5 in away games, ranking them only 10th best.

Erling Haaland is Manchester City’s leading goalscorer

Worst away stats

Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton have been the worst away from home from an xG perspective. None of the trio have registered more than one expected goal per away game.

Nottingham Forest and Fulham have also failed to average more than one expected goal when visiting other clubs.

Bournemouth, Luton and Fulham are the leakiest on the road in terms of xGC, with the Cherries conceding 2.6 expected goals per game.

Who has the best and worst recent form?

The best and worst teams have largely stayed the same over the last six gameweeks.

Chelsea’s 4.04 xG against nine-man Tottenham Hotspur has helped them leap to the top of the charts.

Chris Tan takes a look at recent form in his weekly captaincy article – but here is a summary of the per-game data leaders:

Recent form

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