Sports
THE 2023/24 PL season is proving to be one of the most exciting in recent years, with Villa level on points with Man City, and only 2 points separating them from the top spot. The last time they finished a season so high up the table was in 1992/93, and this next leg is expected to be tight.
Curious to investigate each team’s performance, the footballing experts atTicketgum delved deep into the first 19 games of this 2023/24 season, to uncover which team plays better in the first half vs the second half of the match. To measure success, each team’s first half and second half analysis was judged by the number of goals scored.
Key Findings:
- Brentford are the only PL team this season to have had a more successful first half than second, with39% of the games analysed having more goals scored in the first 45 minutes.
- 7 out of the 20 teams performed mostly equally in both halves – Bournemouth saw 44% of their games have an equal turnout, Burnley (53%), Chelsea (47%), Fulham (47%), Man Utd (47%), Nottingham Forest (53%) and Sheffield Utd (47%).
- The majority of teams demonstrate a more successful second half, thus suggesting that they are maybe taking longer to find their form? Or do they just have the scariest managers?
Top 10: 2023/24 Premier League Table
| Teams | Better 1st Half | Better 2nd Half | Equal Halves | Goals in 1st Half | Goals in 2nd Half |
| Liverpool | 32% | 47% | 21% | 15 | 21 |
| Man City | 28% | 39% | 33% | 18 | 24 |
| Aston Villa | 21% | 42% | 37% | 15 | 21 |
| Arsenal | 16% | 58% | 26% | 12 | 23 |
| Tottenham | 37% | 37% | 26% | 18 | 18 |
| West Ham | 32% | 42% | 26% | 16 | 19 |
| Man Utd | 11% | 42% | 47% | 6 | 15 |
| Brighton | 21% | 47% | 32% | 13 | 23 |
| Chelsea | 26% | 26% | 47% | 13 | 16 |
| Newcastle | 21% | 53% | 26% | 8 | 14 |
*Current table ranking as of 15/01/24. Own goals were not included. Full dataset can be found HERE.
Ticketgum can reveal Liverpool FC are far more likely to excel after half time, with almost half (47%) of their games having more goals after the first 45 minutes. Up until Burnley away (Dec 26), they have scored 15 goals in the first half of matches and 21 in the second half – a +40% increase!
Current champions Man City prove to perform that little bit better in the second half of games, with 39% of their matches analysed having more goals scored in second half of the match, suggesting a much stronger performance –a strong word from Pep ought to do it! Up until Everton away (Dec 27), they have scored 18 goals in the first half of matches and 24 in the second half (a +33% increase).
Interestingly, Arsenal’s second half success is much higher than any of the other top 10 teams in the current Premier League table – with more than half (58%) of the games analysed having more goals after the first 45 minutes.
Highflyers Aston Villa also perform better in the second half of games, with 42% of the games analysed having a more successful second half. Up until Man Utd away (Dec 26), Villa have netted 15 in the first half of games and 21 in the second half (a +40% increase).
Top 10 Highest Performance Increases From First Half to Second
| Teams | Total Goals in 1st Half | Total Goals in 2nd Half | % Increase |
| Sheffield Utd | 3 | 9 | 200% |
| Crystal Palace | 5 | 14 | 180% |
| Man Utd | 6 | 15 | 150% |
| Wolves | 8 | 18 | 125% |
| Luton | 6 | 13 | 117% |
| Arsenal | 12 | 23 | 92% |
| Brighton | 13 | 23 | 77% |
| Nottingham Forest | 8 | 14 | 75% |
| Newcastle | 14 | 23 | 64% |
| Fulham | 10 | 15 | 50% |
*Own goals were not included.
Ticketgum can reveal that Sheffield Utd has the highest increase in performance between the first and second halves. In the 19 games analysed, Sheffield United scored a total of 3 goals in the first half of games and 8 in the second, suggesting a +200% performance increase.
A.
-JANUARY 31, 2024 @ 15:12 GMT|
Tags:
