The EFL Stats Gallery: Shot maps, aerial duels and more from West Bromwich Albion vs Birmingham City | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion returned to winning ways after Karlan Grant scored a second-half goal to hand his side a 1-0 victory over Birmingham City in the EFL Championship. The Baggies remain in second place and are only three points behind leaders AFC Bournemouth. This was Birmingham’s third consecutive loss in the league.

We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including;

* shot maps

* xT (expected threat)

* pass networks

* xG timelines

* defensive duels

* average positions and much more!

We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals;

Who made the most recoveries in the opposition half for West Bromwich Albion? Which Birmingham City created the highest expected goal rate?

To navigate the stats gallery simply click on the numbers to move through the pages.

At the end of the gallery, you’ll be able to download the full PDF stats report.

West Brom manager made two changes to the starting lineup from their defeat against Stoke City. Townsend returned to the left-back spot and Clarke played in the centre back position. Matt Phillips replaced Hugill in the starting lineup.

Conor Townsend was the more attacking full-back of the two. Robinson and Phillips played a central role and Grant was operating from the left.

Lee Bowyer made three changes in the starting lineup. Pederson replaced Bela in the wingback position and Sanderson played in the centre back position. Dean was replaced by Roberts and Woods was replaced by Gardener.

Sanderson played a very deeper role on the right side. Marc Roberts was supporting his team on the right side. Chong operated from the right side of play.

West Brom had more possession of the ball but the passing accuracy of both teams is very low. The recoveries were also high for the home team and they created six positional attacks more than the opponents. Birmingham players made more interceptions and clearances in the match.

Birmingham City xG rate was 1.17 and the team attempted nine shots. West Brom players attempted 19 crosses and 30 through passes. Karlan Grant scored the only goal of the match and he attempted four shots. The forward also attempted five dribbles in the match.

West Brom only attempted two shots from inside the opposition box. The goal was scored from outside the box and from the left side.

Birmingham City players attempted five shots from inside the opposition box and Ivan Šunjić hit the woodwork from the left side. The shot on target was attempted from outside the opposition box.

Birmingham City graph is high when we look at the expected goal timeline and expected threat timeline. West Brom built the early momentum and attempted two shots before Birmingham players attempted their first shot. The Blues xG timeline shows a significant increase towards the starting of the second half.

Conor Townsend attempted 69 passes in the match and was on the receiving end of 40 passes. He received 13 passes from Matthew Clarke.

Marc Roberts attempted 33 passes for the away side. He passed the ball six times towards Jutkiewicz.

West Brom players attempted 19 crosses and nine were attempted by Townsend alone. His six passes landed in the opposition box and out of those two passes landed in the 6-yard box.

Birmingham City players didn’t attempt a single smart pass in the game. Pedersen attempted three crosses from the left and none of them was successful. These crosses landed in the opposition 6-yard box.

Ajayi, Townsend and Livermore created the highest threat from passes for the home team. Livermore passing accuracy was more than 90% and the highest in the team.

Matt Phillips created the highest threat from dribbles and was followed by goalscorer Grant who created the second-highest threat in the team.

Birmingham City creative zones were away from the opposition box and substitute Jeremie Bela created the highest threat from passes.

Bela also created the highest threat from dribbles after coming off the bench. Tahith Chong and Hogan were the other two players who created threats with dribbles.

The Baggies won most of their defensive duels in the wide right position. Matthew Clarke won four defensive duels. Bartley and Livermore won three duels each in the match.

Matthew Clarke was the most dominating player in the air for the home team. He won nine aerial duels and was followed by Furlong who won six duels. Bartley, Ajayi and Mowatt won four duels each.

Jake Livermore and his midfield partner Mowatt won two loose ball duels each for West Brom.

Birmingham City players contested most of the defensive duels on the left side but won the most number of duels on the right side of the defence. George Friend won six duels for the away side.

Lukas Jutkiewicz contested 23 aerial duels in the match and the forward won 12 duels. Defenders Pedersen and Friend won five aerial duels each in the match.

Tahith Chong won the most number of loose ball duels for the Blues. The player on loan from Manchester United won three duels. Pedersen, Friend, Šunjić and Hogan won two duels each.

Birmingham City had a high xG rate from their opponents but the away side didn’t create enough threat and were unable to score a goal.

If you want to download the stats report in PDF format you can do so here: EFL Championship Stats: West Bromwich Albion vs Birmingham City