Analysis
Torino’s centre pairing is dragging them down
The numbers behind Marco Gnecchi and Dario Ceglia’s partnership reveal a side far better when one of them is missing.
Tactics23 Dec 2063
Perugia's season a tragedy of missing grace
The numbers say Perugia should be mid-table, but fate has dealt them a cruel hand in Serie A.
Numbers23 Dec 2063One-nil, and the words get ugly
The derby's only goal settled the table, but the real damage was done in the press room, where two managers traded barbs that will linger long after the final whistle.
War of words23 Dec 206340 and counting: Valentierra tops Petrolul chart
A 40th goal for ACS Petrolul 52 puts Luis Octavio Valentierra one clear of Bogdan Grigore.
Records19 Dec 2063
Romanian First League: the 4-3-3 DM Wide rules and wins the most points
A third of the way through the season, the numbers show one shape pulling clear.
Tactics19 Dec 2063“It just isn’t working”
The numbers behind Mathias Stokkeland and Götz Rosen on Ponferrada’s right flank are grim, and the side drop from 1.8 goals scored to 0.7 when they play together.
Tactics16 Dec 2063
Does the Bundesliga’s favourite shape actually win?
A look at the numbers behind every team sheet so far this season.
Tactics16 Dec 2063Seven without is perfect; 15 with is not
Manchester City are a different side when one of their two central midfielders is missing, and the numbers say it loudly.
Tactics14 Dec 2063
“Destiny has abandoned us”
Cosenza’s season is a tragedy of missed chances and leaky defending, but the numbers say they should be far better off.
Numbers14 Dec 2063Ortega’s achilles blow leaves Leipzig’s right flank in ruins
The Uruguayan’s damaged achilles tendon will keep him out for around 127 days, a cruel setback for the reigning champions.
Injuries14 Dec 2063
Is the 4-2-3-1 now Spanish football's surest bet?
A look at the numbers behind the top flight's tactical split this season.
Tactics14 Dec 2063Two in the middle, one in the win column
Liverpool's season turns on a simple fact: with Edgardo Pérez and Uebert together, they win; without one, they lose.
Tactics8 Dec 2063
Hoffenheim -7: the numbers say they should be tenth
Fourteen games in, Hoffenheim sit 16th on 11 points, yet the quality of their chances says they deserve 18.3 — a gap no side in the Bundesliga can match.
Numbers8 Dec 2063250 club goals for Dorian Rodier
The French forward reaches a career milestone in Manchester City colours.
Records8 Dec 206315 Together, 0 Without: Napoli's Left Flank
With Meschini and Montes paired on the left, Napoli are 11-3-1 and scoring 2.6 a game; with either missing, they are 0-1-4 and have scored none.
Tactics6 Dec 2063
Is this the Viola's year, or a beautiful illusion?
Fiorentina sit third in Serie A on 34 points, yet the numbers whisper of a team riding a wave of defiance that defies all logic.
Numbers6 Dec 2063
4-3-3 DM Wide sweeps the points in Premier Division
The most-used shape also secures the best return per game as the league settles into its tactical grooves.
Tactics6 Dec 2063
Seven from seven with the pair
Independiente's centre-back pairing of Iván Figueroa and Uziel de León has turned every start together into a league win this season.
Tactics1 Dec 2063Ponferrada’s Twin Pillars: Two Centre-Backs, One Fortress
With Puente and Salvador together, Ponferrada’s numbers belong to the elite; split them and the machine begins to creak.
Tactics1 Dec 2063Can Napoli cope without Sekulović?
Napoli's Serbian centre-back Ljubomir Sekulović faces a month out with a double hernia, a bitter blow for the Partenopei's title chase.
Injuries1 Dec 2063Jones reaches 200 in Bolton shirt
The Welsh striker hit the milestone in his 608th game for the club.
Records1 Dec 2063
“He is one of ours. That is the point.”
Oswaldo Mina's 119th goal for Fuenlabrada draws him level with Nico Calero, and the club knows what it has.
Records1 Dec 2063
Can Frosinone Afford Their Best Centre-Backs Together?
Frosinone have lost none of the seven Serie A games in which their two veteran centre-backs have been split, and none of the six in which they have played as a pair have been won.
Tactics27 Nov 2063
Pairing up: why Chelsea's two-man left flank adds up to less
Chelsea have dropped points in only four games all season, and the numbers say José Calderón and Lionel Messi together on the left are behind three of them.
Tactics27 Nov 2063
Bilbao's Table Lies
A. Bilbao sit nineteenth with 12 points from 13 games, but 18.5 expected points say the Basque side is a top-half team being punished by its own finishing and a defence that leaks at the worst moments.
Numbers27 Nov 2063Jones Passes 150 Club Goals
Jamie Jones reached 150 club goals for Manchester United, 652 club games into a career that began with three goalless outings at 1. FC Köln.
Records27 Nov 2063
The Shape That Pays
One shape has carried the Spanish First Division this season, and it is not the one the touchline philosophers would have you believe.
Tactics27 Nov 2063Cottignoli passes 150 club goals with Milan
Armin Cottignoli's 152nd club goal took him past 150 for his career, a tally built across seven clubs and eighteen seasons.
Records27 Nov 2063
9.1 points: the gap between Real Betis and their chances
Second in the Spanish First Division on 29 points, Real Betis should be ninth — and the numbers say their defence, not their finishing, is doing the work.
Numbers27 Nov 2063
Lenfant slips past Gassama by a nose
Maximilien Lenfant's second goal of the season has taken him to 62 for Stade Malherbe Caen, one beyond Boubacar Gassama's 61, and the old mark is gone.
Records27 Nov 2063