Premier League · 2023/24
Aston Villa
Over 38 matches, Aston Villa create most danger through the middle (1.09× the league norm), and concede most down their right (1.06×).
76 scored, 8.6 above xG
61 conceded, 4.1 below xGA
Where the shots come from
Shots faced
every shot, or counted by zoneAston Villa, 2023/24 · final 35m. A further 1% of their shots came from outside this window.
vs league average · 1.00 marked · share of xG
Shots taken
every shot, or counted by zoneAston Villa, 2023/24 · final 35m. A further 1% of their shots came from outside this window.
vs league average · 1.00 marked · share of xG
Shots faced
every shot, or counted by zoneAston Villa, 2023/24 · final 35m. A further 1% of their shots came from outside this window.
vs league average · 1.00 marked · share of xG
Flanks and routes
Danger conceded by flank
left against right · open play onlyNo meaningful side bias. Aston Villa concede about evenly on both flanks, so neither is worth targeting over the other.
Set pieces are excluded, since a corner has no flank. Sides within ten points of an even split are treated as level, since a season is short enough that smaller gaps are usually noise.
Crosses or through balls
open play onlyAston Villa take 13% of their open-play danger from crosses and 13% from balls played through the middle.
Measured from the action immediately before each shot. This shows whether a side works the ball wide or through the middle; which flank they progress down cannot be derived, because no free source publishes pass locations.
Who does the work
Territory and pressing
1.00 = league averageAston Villa move the ball about as the league does.
- Territory won1.09×
9.1 deep completions a match
- Territory allowed0.85×
7.1 conceded a match
- Pressing0.87×
15.7 opponent passes per defensive action
- Freedom to build0.85×
11.5 of their own passes allowed
- Danger per arrival0.98×
0.187 npxG per deep completion
A deep completion is a pass finished within about twenty yards of goal, and PPDA counts an opponent’s passes per defensive action. A lower figure is a harder press, so the bar inverts it to keep every row reading the same way. This describes where the ball ends up rather than how it travelled: no pass or carry record exists in this data, so progressive passes and carries are genuinely out of reach rather than merely absent.
Share of attacking output
non-penalty xG plus expected assistsAston Villa’s attack is effectively 9.1 players. A side spread across fourteen absorbs an absence that one built on nine does not.
3.5% of their attack is doubtful or out. Lucas Digne.
- Ollie Watkins22.4%
- Leon Bailey13.9%
- Moussa Diaby12.5%
- John McGinn8.6%
- Douglas Luiz8.1%
- Matthew Cash6.2%
Share of the squad’s non-penalty xG plus expected assists, so it counts chances taken and chances given alike. Penalties are left out because they describe who the club nominates rather than who creates. Contributors under 2% are not listed, though they still count towards the spread above.
Creator to finisher
shots and xG per pairing- Moussa Diaby→Ollie Watkins3.8 xG19 shots · 2g
- Leon Bailey→Ollie Watkins3.3 xG14 shots · 4g
- John McGinn→Ollie Watkins3.1 xG16 shots · 3g
- Ollie Watkins→Moussa Diaby2.6 xG13 shots · 3g
- Matthew Cash→Ollie Watkins1.7 xG5 shots · 1g
- Moussa Diaby→Leon Bailey1.6 xG7 shots · 1g
- Leon Bailey→John McGinn1.6 xG7 shots · 2g
- Douglas Luiz→Ollie Watkins1.5 xG10 shots · 2g
The pass immediately before the shot, so a player who starts moves without playing the final ball will not appear here. Roughly seven in ten shots name their creator.
How the season splits
Danger by scoreline
leading, level or behindAston Villa produce most of their danger while ahead (39% of their xG).
- Ahead39%
- Level38%
- Behind23%
- Ahead
- 39%
- 27.5 xG · 168 shots
- Level
- 38%
- 26.2 xG · 209 shots
- Behind
- 23%
- 15.9 xG · 139 shots
The scoreline at the moment each shot was struck, rebuilt from goal times. Sides that trail often will look busier in attack than they really are.
Home and away
same team, two recordsAston Villa are a noticeably different side by venue, creating 0.70 xG more per match at home, and conceding 0.47 fewer.
Shots faced and shots stopped
two different jobsAston Villa allow 1.76 xG a match, and concede 2.6 fewer goals than the league converts that into.
- Chance prevention
- 1.76
- Shot stopping
- +2.6
xG allowed per match. Mostly the outfield shape, and it tends to repeat.
Goals prevented against the league rate. Largely the keeper, and it swings year to year.
Measured against the league’s own conversion rate rather than raw xG. Blocked and off-target shots carry xG that can never be scored, so comparing goals to raw xG would mark every side in the division as leaky. A high block share means bodies in the way rather than chances denied.