Sunderland's 'xG for' compared to Premier League top 10 rivals - and reason for concern
How do Sunderland stack up to their Premier League rivals when it comes to xG?
Sunderland’s strong Premier League campaign so far has most definitely been built upon a solid defensive record.
The Black Cats have kept seven clean sheets so far, with only five teams throughout the division keeping more. Most impressively, only the top two, Arsenal (14) and Manchester City (19), have conceded fewer goals than Sunderland (22). It’s a completely different story in attack. Regis Le Bris’ men have scored just 21 goals, with bottom side Wolves (15) the only team with a worse record. Sunderland are also third-bottom for shots (199) and chances created (140).
But is this all a fair reflection of Sunderland’s attacking play? And how do the Black Cats compare to the rest of the Premier League in this regard?
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Sunderland’s ‘xG for’ compared to Premier League rivals
Below are the 20 Premier League teams ranked by their ‘xG for’ stat, according to FBref data.
- Manchester City - 39.6
- Manchester United - 37.7
- Chelsea - 36.8
- Arsenal - 35.8
- Brentford - 33.8
- Crystal Palace - 33.2
- Brighton - 32.7
- Bournemouth - 32.0
- Liverpool - 31.9
- Newcastle United - 31.0
- Leeds United - 29.5
- Aston Villa - 25.0
- Nottingham Forest - 24.6
- Fulham - 23.6
- Everton - 23.6
- West Ham United - 21.5
- Tottenham Hotspur - 20.1
- Wolves - 19.8
- Sunderland - 18.5
- Burnley - 17.9
While Wolves are the only team to score fewer goals than Sunderland, it’s Burnley who are the only side with a worse xG at 17.9, compared to Sunderland’s 18.5. Luckily, Sunderland have managed to overperform their xG to pick up some vital victories, while they’ve also managed to take 15 points from the seven games in which they’ve kept clean sheets, with the 3-0 thrashing of West Ham on the opening weekend and a 2-0 win over Wolves in October the only games they’ve won by more than a single goal.
It’ll come as no surprise to see the top spots in the xG table dominated by the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United - though the latter’s 32 goals conceded is the seventh-most in the Premier League and a key reason why they sit seventh. Sunderland’s Wear-Tyne rivals, Newcastle United, are mid-table with 31.0 xG, overperforming that total by 1.0.
What next for Sunderland?
Sunderland’s excellent season got even better at the weekend as they dumped Everton out of the FA Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Attention now returns to the Premier League as the Black Cats welcome Crystal Palace to the Stadium of Light on Saturday, before travelling to West Ham the following week in the early Saturday kick-off. Le Bris’ side sit 10th in the table with 30 points from 21 games, with just a five-point gap between themselves and Liverpool in fourth.