All data taken from understat.com. Statistics are for the Premier League only, and are correct as at 10th April 2018.

The previous article in this series looked at Liverpool’s expected goals by shot outcome, but only focused on the front end of the team. It would always make sense to take a look at the defensive figures too, but it will have rarely been more pertinent than in a season where the manager has alternated between two goalkeepers and purchased the most expensive (with apologies to TPI) defender in the history of the game. Have these changes made any difference to the underlying statistics?

The answer, as it often can be, is it’s too soon to say. None of the first choice centre-backs or goalkeepers has played more than 22 of the 33 league games so far this season, and the current first-choice players in both positions have played the fewest of any of the options. However, there will hopefully be some interesting and encouraging trends to observe.

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