Tottenham Hotspur are third in the Premier League table, but according to one statistic, there is something they do better than any other team.
Tottenham Hotspur have made a bright start to life under Thomas Frank and will return to action this Sunday after the international break.
Spurs look like a much-improved side in defence, but their goalscoring has been impressive too. They are tied in third place for Premier League goals scored, trailing only Arsenal and Manchester City.
Frank’s team have scored 1.86 goals on average per game, which is significantly higher than their expected goals tally per 90 minutes of 1.31.
Tottenham have broken the expected goals metric
Expected goals sometimes do a good job at telling a story, but this is not the case with Spurs. According to WhoScored, Tottenham are the highest xG overperformers in the Premier League this season.
Frank’s team have scored 3.86 more goals than expected, which is much greater than Burnley’s 1.78 figure. The Clarets are the next closest team to Spurs on the overperforming scale.
This could be viewed as a positive statistic because it means Tottenham have been taking their chances and scoring high-quality goals. However, it also raises questions about Spurs failing to create a good number of clear-cut chances.
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Unfortunately, when it comes to overperforming on xG, there is often the assumption that such numbers are not sustainable. That means, Spurs will either need to find a fresh creative spark, or risk struggling to find the back of the net on a consistent basis.
Spurs are likely to craft more opportunities after the international break
Tottenham have struggled at times to be innovative in attack and this has often been down to the midfield. However, Xavi Simons was moved to a central position against Leeds United and is likely to remain there throughout the season.
The 22-year-old offered glimpses of what he can do in the attacking midfield role, and he could be the key to unlocking Tottenham’s creative spark.