Crystal Palace struggles with chances, scoring fewer goals in EPL

The Gunners were fully-deserving of their Premier League title as they were by far the best team, with their expected goal difference much higher than closest rivals Manchester City (+36.7 compared to City's +26.7). While only Manchester City scored more, Arsenal's 71 goals were the fewest by a champion since Leicester in 2015-16 (68). The Gunners did take their chances as only Tottenham and Aston Villa overperformed their xG by more than their six goals, but they only ranked fourth for shots and xG, suggesting they could do with more creativity this season.

Aston Villa enjoyed another excellent season under Unai Emery by finishing fourth in the Premier League and they were incredibly efficient at both ends of the pitch. Despite nine teams having more shots and 12 teams having a higher expected goals figure, Villa's ruthlessness in front of goal meant that just six sides put the ball in the net more often. Villa scored eight more goals than expected, given the number and quality of chances they had, with only Tottenham overperforming their xG by as many.

Bournemouth's excellent 2025-26 season saw them qualify for Europe for the very first time, mainly thanks to having one of the best attacks in the league. Only four sides scored more goals than the Cherries and they also ranked fifth for shots and expected goals, showing it wasn't just down to good finishing. If anything, the team should have scored more goals as they put away four fewer than expected, given the number and quality of chances they had.

After losing their manager, captain and top two scorers last summer, many tipped Brentford to be in a relegation battle last season. In fact, incredibly, only German champions Bayern Munich created better chances on average in Europe's top five leagues. As a result, despite having the best shot conversion rate in the league, Brentford bizarrely should've been even more clinical given the fantastic chances they had, with only five teams underperforming their xG by more than the Bees' five.

Chelsea finished a disappointing 10th last season but the fact that they had the fourth-best expected goal difference shows that things maybe weren't quite as bleak as the table suggests. While five teams had more shots than the Blues, only Brentford and Crystal Palace created better chances (even if you exclude penalties), meaning only Manchester City had a higher expected goals figure. The problem was taking their chances.

Championship winners Coventry were undoubtedly the best team in the division, with both the best goal difference and expected goal difference. Although three teams were more clinical, Frank Lampard's players still scored 10 more goals than expected given the chances that they had. While they conceded the fewest goals, Coventry weren't quite as impressive overall at the back as four sides gave up fewer shots and had a lower xG against in the Championship.

Being a Crystal Palace fan last season must have been a frustrating experience (in the league at least) as their team missed so many chances, resulting in only the bottom two sides Wolves and Burnley scoring fewer than their 41 goals. While they only ranked 13th for shots, Brentford were the only side to create better chances on average which gave Palace the eighth-highest expected goals figure at 58.4. As a result, Crystal Palace scored an incredible 17 goals fewer than they should have given the number and quality of chances they had.

Everton finished 13th for the second season in a row under the safe stewardship of David Moyes, thanks mostly to the fact that only five teams conceded fewer goals. Thirteen sides scored more often than the Toffees, but that isn't too surprising given that the same number had a higher expected goals and 14 sides took more shots. With 47 goals scored from 46.6 xG, Moyes' men were perfectly fine finishers by Premier League standards, including their strikers Beto (nine goals from 8.8 xG) and Thierno Barry (eight goals from 8.1 xG).