Leeds forward tops ten most wasteful strikers, Reds pair profligate

Ian Watson

Here are the ten strikers who have missed the most big chances in the Premier League this season, according to Opta. 

 

1) Patrick Bamford (Leeds) 9
Goals: 8

Bamford has missed the highest number of big chances, having had more shots than any other player in the Premier League. But the Leeds striker’s xG rate is only 0.1 higher than the number of goals he has scored this season. Still, Marcelo Bielsa felt the need to present Bamford with a boxset of Erling Haaland DVDs…

 

=2) Oliver McBurnie (Sheffield United) – 7
Goals: 1
Bottom of the league Sheffield United are third-bottom when it comes to number of shots, though it felt like at least half of their 99 attempts were wasted in the 1-0 defeat at West Brom. McBurnie, with an xG of 2.4, has only a single goal from 10 shots on target, but it’s still one more than record signing Rhian Brewster.

 

=2) Chris Wood (Burnley) – 7
Goals: 2
The New Zealand striker has netted twice but his xG suggests he should have almost double that figure. Wood, though, is hitting the target with 58% of his efforts, which puts him seventh for accuracy among Premier League players to have attempted 10 or more shots.

 

=4) Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) – 6
Goals: 6
The former Brentford striker, one of two in this ten, has scored six goals from just eight shots on target. He’d have seven if he rolled his sleeves up…

 

=6)  Timo Werner (Chelsea) – 6
Goals: 4
The Germany striker has hit the target with exactly half of his 28 shots on goal. It’s not clear whether this was one of them…

 

=6) Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) – 5
Goals: 2
The Reds forward missed the third-highest number of big chances in the Premier League last season and he’s already a quarter of the way to matching that total.

 

=6) Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) – 5
Goals: 11
No player in the Premier League has recorded as many shots on target as the current leader in the race for the Golden Boot. Of Calvert-Lewin’s 35 shots, 60% have been on target. The England centre-forward is currently outperforming his expected goals rate by 3.8.

 

=6)  Sadio Mane (Liverpool) – 5
Goals: 4
Removing Mo Salah’s penalty goals has the Egyptian and Mane operating at a similar level, with Salah having scored one more non-penalty goal from one more shot than the 32 Mane has attempted.

 

=6)  Neal Maupay (Brighton) – 5
Goals: 4
Maupay’s xG is 1.7 higher than the number of goals he has scored and that figure took a hit with his penalty miss against Liverpool. That, and seeing Maupay pull up lame three minutes later, was arguably the highlight of Arsenal’s season.

 

=6) Jamie Vardy (Leicester) – 5
Goals: 9
There are 42 players who have attempted more shots than Vardy this season but only Calvert-Lewin and Son have more goals. Five of Vardy’s strikes have come from the penalty spot, though while tying Mo Salah in the race for the Golden Boot, the Leicester centre-forward has netted the same number of goals with just less than half the number of shots the Egyptian has taken.

 

F365 Features Patrick Bamford

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