Stat, Viz, Quiz is the weekly Opta Analyst football newsletter. Our latest edition includes numbers on running, game scheduling, and multiple league winners.
This weekend saw some people running around London, sweating, going wobbly legged and only just about getting over the line.
Despite all that, Manchester United made it through to the FA Cup final to face Manchester City for a second consecutive year after overcoming a resolute Coventry City at Wembley Stadium.
It was, of course, also the London Marathon on Sunday and so we thought we’d take a look at those in the Premier League who have put in the most running this season.
We have also recently been investigating the gaps between games faced by each team to see if managers who moan about lack of preparation time may have a point.
Our Ask Opta question this week is about players who have succeeded in multiple locations, while our quiz is almost as tough as running a marathon.
If you haven’t done so already, you can subscribe below and receive Stat, Viz, Quiz direct to your inbox every Tuesday.
STAT – The Alternative London Marathon
It must be galling as a player to hear shouts from the stands from fans urging you to run more.
There you are, just completing 10 kilometres in a game while also trying to control the whereabouts of a football as someone with beer on their breath and a cheeseburger in hand shouts at you to do more.
Still, at least you’re not dressed as Spongebob Squarepants (though who knows what kit manufacturers will come up with next?!)
But who has put in the most yards in the Premier League in the 2023-24 season?
West Ham’s James Ward-Prowse might be known mostly for his supreme dead-ball delivery, but he also appears to be the league’s marathon man. The former Southampton midfielder has clocked up 367.2km in distance covered, over 12km more than any other player and at an average of 10.73km per 90 minutes.
Burnley’s Sander Berge is in second place (355.1km), ahead of Pascal Groß (348.5km), Martin Ødegaard (344.3km), Tomás Soucek (341.0km) and Phil Foden (320.9km).
That means Ward-Prowse has run the equivalent of 8.26 marathons this season in Premier League games.
He is behind others in terms of average per 90, though (minimum 1,500 minutes played). Brighton’s Groß and Brentford’s Christian Nørgaard average 10.89km per 90, ahead of Soucek (10.86km), Josh Brownhill (10.83km), Berge (10.80km), Rodri (10.77km), Philip Billing (10.77km) and Dejan Kulusevski (10.76km).
Ward-Prowse is the winner of our alternative London Marathon, though, which we’re sure will come as absolutely zero comfort to him in a week in which West Ham have been eliminated from the Europa League and walloped by Crystal Palace.
Still, it’s a marathon, not a sprint; which is a shame for Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, who has recorded the most sprints this season (744).
VIZ – Game-Gap Grievances
This weekend, both Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta lambasted the scheduling of their sides’ fixtures after having to play in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night before making a return to domestic action on Saturday.
This is nothing new, of course, with the pair – as well as Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp – previously critical of the scheduling of Premier League matches after midweek European endeavours.
Looking at this season, maybe Klopp and Guardiola make a fair point at least.
On average in 2023-24, Liverpool have had the shortest turnaround between competitive matches. Not only have they played the most games (53), but they have also seen just 116 hours and 18 minutes between kick-offs on average, just ahead of Man City’s 121 hours, 26 minutes average across their 52 fixtures.
Arteta’s Arsenal haven’t even had it as bad as Aston Villa, West Ham and Newcastle this season in terms of tight turnarounds, but as expected, the more successful you are, the more games you play and the shorter space you have between them.
English clubs might be helped next season following the announcement that FA Cup replays are to be scrapped entirely in 2024-25, but it’s not as if any of the top three Premier League clubs have had to deal with them this season anyway.
Compare the top Premier League clubs to the other European giants within the top 10 of the Opta Power Rankings and the bosses of the English sides may have a point about the scheduling.
Looking at the four semi-finalists in this season’s Champions League, it becomes clear that their schedules are less demanding. With only 18 clubs in the German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1, it’s hardly surprising that Paris Saint-Germain (138 hours), Bayern Munich (143 hours, 56 minutes) and Borussia Dortmund (144 hours, 37 minutes) all have much larger gaps between their competitive games this season than Liverpool and Man City, while Real Madrid (46) have only played one game fewer than Arsenal (47) and have seen an average turnaround time 14 minutes longer than the Gunners.
We’ve looked into this in more detail on the Opta Analyst site. It’s just as well we did it now really as there’s more games on the horizon, starting with Arsenal hosting Chelsea on Tuesday night in the Premier League.
QUIZ – Arsenal’s Clean Sheets, Trent’s Free-Kicks, and Inter’s Achievement
Five more noodle scratchers to get your football senses whirring. Answers at the bottom of the page.
1. Chelsea’s defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup was their 11th semi-final elimination in the competition’s history. Who are the only two teams to have lost at the final four stage in the FA Cup more often?
2. Arsenal have recorded 15 clean sheets in the Premier League this season, at least five more than any other side, while it’s their most in a single campaign in the competition since which season?
3. Following his strike against Nottingham Forest, all 17 of Dwight McNeil’s Premier League goals have been scored with his left-foot. Who is the only player to have scored more goals in Premier League history exclusively with his left-foot? Clue: He is a former Forest player.
4. Trent Alexander-Arnold scored his sixth direct free-kick goal in the Premier League in Liverpool’s 3-1 win at Fulham. Who are the only two players to have scored more for the club in the competition?
5. Over in Italy, Inter sealed the title in Serie A with a 2-1 win over city rivals Milan at San Siro on Monday. It was the Nerazzurri’s 20th Scudetto, with only one club having won more. Who?
Ask Opta
This week’s question comes to us from Paul Heighton, who asks: “Can you tell me how many players have won the Premier League with different clubs?”
Do you have a stat-based question you’d like Opta to answer in a future edition of SVQ? Email us at editors@theanalyst.com or message us on X @OptaAnalyst with #AskOpta and we’ll pick the best one.
Answer:
A perfect 10 players have won the Premier League with more than one club:
- Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Manchester City)
- Henning Berg (Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United)
- Ashley Cole (Arsenal and Chelsea)
- Gaël Clichy (Arsenal and Manchester City)
- Robert Huth (Chelsea and Leicester City)
- Carlos Tevez (Manchester United and Manchester City)
- James Milner (Manchester City and Liverpool)
- Nicolas Anelka (Arsenal and Chelsea)
- Kolo Touré (Arsenal and Manchester City)
- N’Golo Kanté (Leicester City and Chelsea)
Mark Schwarzer was also contracted to both Chelsea and Leicester City during title-winning campaigns but didn’t play a single minute in either one.
As of yet, no player has won the title with more than two clubs, with Milner the only player on this list still playing in the Premier League.
What Are We up to at Opta Analyst?
Here’s some of the latest data-driven offerings you can find on our website:
📅 Are Pep Guardiola or Mikel Arteta Right or Does a Busy Schedule Just Come with the Territory?
📈 Who Will Win the Premier League in 2023-24?
📉 Who Will Be Relegated from the Premier League in 2023-24?
🤷♂️ Will Fifth Place in the Premier League Qualify for the Champions League?
🤯 What if Every Shot That Hit the Post or Crossbar Actually Went In?
Opta Player Ratings & Games
If you haven’t done so yet, check out and play Opta’s FREE weekly football challenges, Opta Max and Opta Five.
Both games are powered by the Opta Player Ratings, a measure that takes into account over 100 different metrics to provide an accurate performance score (out of 100) for every player in a single match.
The weekend’s top-performing player was Yoane Wissa (99.3/100) who scored his first ever Premier League brace in Brentford’s 5-1 win at Luton Town.
In Opta Max and Opta Five you can compare players’ latest players ratings and stats. Then put your player ratings knowledge to the test for a chance to win big prizes each week of the football season.
Head to the website to find out more and start playing Opta Games.
Quiz Answers
1. Everton (13) and Tottenham Hotspur (12)
2. 2015-16 (18)
3. Stuart Pearce (20)
4. Jamie Redknapp (8) and Steven Gerrard (7)
5. Juventus (36)
Before you go…
Enjoying Stat, Viz, Quiz? Think it needs improvement? Send us your feedback to editorial@theanalyst.com.