Bristol City vs Bournemouth Preview: xG per 90, aerial duels and goal contributions – what do the stats say? | OneFootball

EFL Championship leaders AFC Bournemouth will travel to Ashton Gate and will face Bristol City in the 12th round of the competition. The Cherries carry the momentum into this game and will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the Championship.

Bristol City is currently ranked in the ninth position with 16 points. The team has won four matches, drawn four and lost three matches so far this season. Their previous match ended in a 3-2 victory over Peterborough. The Robins have scored 14 goals and conceded 13 goals in return.

Bristol City is one of the top teams when we consider their aerial ability. The team has contested 677 aerial duels and have won 326 out of them. The win % is around 50 for them. Striker Chris Martins is one of the threats in the air and he won 11 aerial duels in the last match.

Bristol City has a low xG rate when we compare them with the other top teams. The team averages more than one xG per 90 minutes. In the previous match, they managed to score three goals but the xG rate was less than one.

One of the main reasons behind a low xG rate is the number of shots attempted by the Bristol players. They have attempted 109 shots so far this season with an average of ten shots per game. A total of 38 shots have been on target. The above viz shows the number of shots attempted while creating positional attacks. The number of positional attacks are 277 and average per 90 is 23. The positional attacks with shots average around five shots per game.

Andreas Weimann and Chris Martin have been the top scorers for their team. Both of them have scored four goals each. Weimann has two assists to his name and Martin has one. Both of them have proved to be the most threatening players for the home team this season. They would be boosted by the return of their manager Nigel Pearson who missed a few matches due to Covid-19.

AFC Bournemouth extended their lead to three points after a 2-1 victory against Sheffield United. The Cherries have continued their unbeaten start to the season with seven wins and four draws in 11 matches.

Scott Parker’s team has scored 18 goals and have the best defence in the league as they have only conceded eight goals in return. The shots attempted are less when compared to the other top teams but the shot accuracy is high. Out of the 110 shots attempted, 52 of them were on target and the Cherries average more than four shots on target per 90. The shots on target from inside the penalty box are 39 in number. These are followed by 217 touches in the penalty box. The team is one of the lowest crossers of the ball in the league and focuses on building play with short passes.

Bournemouth is ranked low when we look at the positional attacks and shots attempted by the team. The players have attempted fewer dribbles than most of the opposition teams in the league.

Dominic Solanke has been the highest goal contributor for the Cherries. The Englishman has scored seven goals and assisted for one goal. His expected goal rate is 5.860 and one of the highest in the league. He is supported by midfielder Philip Billings who has five goals to his name.

David Brooks has been diagnosed with cancer and will be out for an indefinite time.

Bournemouth will look to extend their unbeaten run to 12 games and continue their great start to the season. They beat their opponents twice last season and will try to make it three wins in three matches. Bristol City will have a tough task in hand, but Nigel Pearson return could be a boost for the players.