Team performance analysis

Last updated: 31 March 2025

A few examples of team performance indicators

Given the sheer volume and variety of statistical data, it's often hard to form a clear picture of a team's performance trends.

This website aims to simplify analysis by providing focused tools and key performance indicators.

Below are a few examples of the types of statistical indicators featured on SoccerSTATS.com.

Points Performance Index

This value is calculated for each team based on the team's Points Per Game (PPG) value and the PPG value of the opponents the team has already played against.

It allows to account for the 'difficulty level' of the points picked up by each team.

For example, winning 3 matches against three top teams will result in a higher Points Performance Index than winning 3 matches against less difficult oppositions.

Points Performance Index = Team PPG x played opponents PPG

Performance Rating

The Performance Rating is calculated based on the team's Performance Points Per Game (pPPG) value and the pPPG value of the opponents the team has already played against.

Much like the Points Performance Index, it allows to account for the 'difficulty level' of the points picked up by each team. However it is calculated based on a different point system called 'Performance Points' that allocates 1 point for a win, 0.5 point for a draw and 0 point for a defeat.

Performance Rating = Average of Team pPPG and played opponents pPPG

Relative Form

Unlike the basic 'Form table', which only takes into account for example the last 8 games, the Relative Form table shows how many points per game each team has picked up in the last 8 games compared to that same team's points per game since the beginning of the season.

Such Relative Form table shows a slightly different type of trend in a team's performance: instead of just comparing the team performance against the other teams' performances, this indicator allows to view which teams have been performing 'better than usual' lately, or 'worse than usual'.

Relative Form = PPG last 8 matches vs PPG all matches

Run-in analysis

This table gets more interesting as the season is coming to an end, and more generally when we want to get an idea of which teams can expect an 'easier' or a 'more difficult' run-in than others.

The Run-in analysis table shows, for each team, the Points Per Game of the opponents the team has already played, and the Points Per Game of the opponents the team has yet to play against.

So some teams will already have played against the most difficult oppositions while some others not, and the Run-in analysis table will outline those differences.

Run-in table = played opponents PPG vs remaining opponents PPG

Projected Points

The Projected Points table builds on the Run-in analysis table and as such, also gets more interesting as the season is coming to an end.

This table shows, for each team, a projection of the number of points the team could get in the remaining matches, considering the difference between the Points Per Game (PPG) of the played opponents relative to the PPG of the remaining opponents.

A positive difference between those two PPG values will give a ratio superior to 1 and a negative difference will give a ratio below 1. When we apply that ratio to the the team's current PPG, we obtain a Projected PPG for the team.

The Projected Points are then calculated by multiplying that Projected PPG with the number of remaining matches for the team.

Projected Points = Team current PPG x (played opponents PPG / remaining opponents PPG) x number of remaining matches

Points Won / Lost after the 75th minute

When a team has often been winning thanks to goals scored in the last few minutes, such patterns will be reflected on this table. Same goes for teams that have conceded draws or defeats because the opponent scored a late equaliser or a late winner.

That table focuses on the matches where the outcome at the end of the match is different than the outcome that would have resulted if no goal had been scored after the 75th minute.

When the final outcome is different than the situation on the 75th minute, we will consider that one team has 'Won' one or more points after the 75th minute, while the other team has 'lost' one or more points after the 75th minute.

For example, a team is losing 0-1 at the 75th minute, but then scores an equaliser on the 88th minute and the match ends in 1-1. In that scenario the team has 'won' one point (they would have had zero point, but the equaliser scored after the 75th minute changed the outcome in that they picked up 1 point in the end).

Similarly, their opponent have 'lost' 2 points (they would have had 3 points had they managed to keep the lead they had on the 75th minute, but instead they only got 1 point).

Points Won/Lost after the 75th minute = Points Won - Points Lost

Domination Index

The Domination Index is calculated at the match level, based on the average of the following percentages:

- Possession percentage
- Percentage of match corners awarded to each team
- Percentage of time each team has been in the lead

'Domination' in football can be perceived in different ways. The goal of the Domination Index, as calculated here, is not about trying to determine things like 'who should have won' or which team has been attacking the most.

Sometimes a team has easily scored once or twice in the beginning of the game and then opts for a more reactive stance, with a focus on hindering the opponent's game. At the end of the match, the opponent might have had more possession, and even more shots, but that does not necessarily mean they have dominated the team that was in the lead.

Considering possession as only one of the factors, which also include corners (clearly indicating a form of pressure on the opponent's defence), and how much of the 90-minute match duration each team has been leading, allows to also account for situations when a team has simply been busy controling the game, without needing to attack a lot.

Domination Index = Team 1 (% possession + % corners + % lead duration) vs Team 2 (% possession + % corners + % lead duration)

Outcome Surprise-Level

The Outcome Surprise-Level is another example of a match-level indicator. Its value is calculated based on the Points Per Game (PPG) of each team (home PPG for the home team, away PPG for the visitor team) before the match, and the match outcome (home win, draw or away win) regardless of the scoreline.

The goal is to provide a consistant method to evaluate how much of a 'surprise' a given outcome could be perceived as, when only taking into account the Points Per Game for both teams. The resulting value ranges from 0 (less surprising) to 100 (more surprising).

Identifying differences in performance between two evenly ranked teams

Let's take an example and consider two teams ranked in mid-table: Team A and Team B. Both share the same number of points, so we might assume Team A and Team B are of pretty much same strength, likely sharing a similar record so far this season.

Yet by using some of the tools provided on this website, we could uncover a number of significant differences between both teams' performances, as in the examples listed below:

Examples

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Team A and Team B share the same number of points, yet:

- Team A is experiencing a sharp drop in results, having lost their last 4 games while Team B has actually been initiating a huge come back from the bottom of the table.

- In the last 5 seasons, Team A has been typically an average of 15 points above their current points tally at this stage of the season, while Team B is pretty much at the same number of points they were at the same stage last season.

- Team B has earned 70% of their points in their away games so far.

- Only 10 matches into the season, and Team A has already played against each team of the top 5 so the number of points they have obtained might have been "tougher" to get, compared to the points picked up by Team B, who have mostly played against teams ranked below them.

- Team A is ranked at the top of the first-half table, with a total of only one goal conceded so far during the first half.

- Team B has typically been a slow starter in terms of goal scored and usually scored 40% of their goals in the last 15 minutes.

- Team B often concedes the first goal yet have managed to equalize with an 80% equalizing rate so far.

- Team A has been known for their ability to keep a result, with a lead defending rate of 90% and an average of 40% of the match duration spent in the lead.

- Team A is 5 points away from the 4th spot yet have a supposedly "easier" run-in than their competitors' as the opponents Team A have yet to play against have a lower average points-per-game value that that of their direct competitors'.

- Team B has managed to overturn situations in their favour in the last minutes a lot more than they have lost points in those last minutes, with 13 points won after the 75th minutes, for only 2 points lost during that same time frame.

On this website, we are looking to provide a set of tables, dashboards and tools to help analyse how each team has been faring in the league, to help uncover some unique characteristics in terms of performance, including strengths and weaknesses compared to the league average.

Descriptions of main performance indicators

The sections below describe the types of tools and statistical tables that we can use to get a clearer picture of the type of results obtained by each team, and in which circumstances those results have been obtained.

Result Performance
Seasonal results	⌄
Overview of the team's latest results and the seasonal wins, draws and losses, at home and away. The graph underneath shows the sequence of each outcome and how many goals were scored and conceded in each match. Example
Home advantage	⌄
This table shows the difference between home and away games in the number of points picked up by each team. Example
Relative Performance	⌄
The Points Performance Index is calculated based on the number of points picked up by each team relative to how much of a 'challenge' their played opponents have represented so far. The Performance Rating is also calculated relative to played opponents' performance, however it is a based on a different point system, that allocates 1 point for a win, 0.5 point for a draw and 0 point for a defeat. Example Blog article
Current Form	⌄
Points picked up by each team considering the last few matches. The Form tables also show the seasonal Points Per Game value of the opponents played in those matches. Example
Relative Form	⌄
For each team, Points Per Game in the last 8 games compared with their Points Per Game since the begining of the season. The allows to get a representation of how the team has been performing lately relative to their overall performace during the season. Example Blog article
Seasonal performance relative to last season	⌄
How the team current stats compare with last season regarding Points Per Game, average goals scored, Clean Sheets, Failed To Score and other indicators. Example
Seasonal performance relative to previous seasons	⌄
How the team current stats compare with the stats after the same number of matches were played in each of a few previous seasons. Example
Results relative to opponents' rankings	⌄
Overview of the results obtained against the other teams listed according to their ranking in the league table. This allows to quickly visualize how the team has fared, for example against the top 5 or bottom 5 teams. Example
Run-in analysis	⌄
This league table shows, for each team, the average Home/Away Points Per Game of the opponents already played and the average Home/Away Points Per Game of the opponents remaining to be played, and the difference between both values. This table can be used to evaluate how presumably 'easy' or 'difficult' the team's upcoming matches are expected to be, relative to the assumed 'difficulty level' of the matches already played by the team. The Home/Away Points Per Game are calculated based on the away PPG of the opponents played (or to be played) at the home and the home PPG of the opponents played (or to be played) away. Example Blog article
Current streaks	⌄
Current consecutive wins, draws, defeats, clean sheets, etc. for each team. Example
Scorelines	⌄
Frequent score lines for each team, at home and away. Example
Comparison with league averages	⌄
This table shows how some team stats (like winning percentage, goals scored per game, etc.) compare with the league average, all teams combined. Example
Result filters	⌄
This tool allows to filter team matches depending on result patterns. For example it allows to display, for a specific team, the list of matches where the team conceded at least one goal but ended up winning the match, and statistics relative to the games matching those criteria. It could also be used, as in the example below, to list all away games where the selected team was leading at half-time. Example Blog article
Projected points	⌄
The Projected Points table shows, for each team, a calculated points projection based on the team's Points Per Game (PPG), the PPG of played opponents and the PPG of future opponents. For each team, the PPG of played opponents is compared to the PPG of future oppoennts, and this calculation results in a ratio. When the played opponents PPG is higher than the future opponents PPG, the ratio is higher than 1. When the ratio is below 1, this means that the playerd opponents PPG is lower than the future opponents PPG. That ratio is then applied to team's existing PPG, to create a 'Projected PPG' for the team. This 'Projected PPG' is multiplied by the number of remaining games, and the result is named 'Projected Points'. Example

In-play Performance
Half-time stats	⌄
League table only taking into account the goals scored in the first half. Example
Goals per time segments	⌄
Overview of the number of goals scored and conceded by each team in each 15-minute (or 10-minute) time segment. Example
Player goals per time segments	⌄
Number of goals scored by a specific player, list of matches where the player has scored, number of goals scored by the player in each 15-minute segment, in each half, and in home matches and away matches. Example
Ability to score first	⌄
For each team, percentage of matches where the team scored the first goal, conceded the first goal, and matches with no goal scored. Some related tables show the time segments when each team have scored or conceded the first goal of the match. Example
Ability to defend a lead	⌄
Lead defending rate for team team, expressed in percentage. The lead defending rate is calculated based on the number of times the team has taken the lead, relative to the number of times the team has conceded an equalizer. Example
Ability to equalize	⌄
The equalizing rate is calculated based on the number of times the team has managed to score an equalizer, relative to the number of times the opponents have taken the lead. Example
Lead durations	⌄
Percentage of time spent in the lead, level in goals, and trailing, all matches combined on average. Example
When scoring first	⌄
Average Points Per Game picked up by each team when the team scored the first goal. Overview of when (in which 15-minute time segments) the team has scored their opening goals. Example
When conceding first	⌄
Average Points Per Game picked up by each team when the team conceded the first goal. Overview of when (in which 15-minute time segments) the team has conceded opening goals. Example
When leading at half-time	⌄
Average Points Per Game picked up by each team when the team was leading at half-time. Example
When trailing at half-time	⌄
Average Points Per Game picked up by each team when the team was trailing at half-time. Example
Points won/lost	⌄
League table showing for each team the number of points won after the 75th minute and the number of points lost after the 75th minute. For example, if the current score is 0-0 after 75 minutes, and the team ends up winning the match, the team has won 2 points after the 75th minute (as the 0-0 score would have granted them 1 point and the final result earned them 3 points). The table also shows for each team the difference between the Points Won and the Points Lost. Example
Result filters from HT lead	⌄
Filter matches depending on the half-time outcome. For example, we could set up a filter to list all the matches where a team was winning at half time yet ended up losing the match. In the example below, below the filter returns the list of matches where the team was trailing at half-time, no matter the end result. Example

Team performance analysis

Identifying differences in performance between two evenly ranked teams

Descriptions of main performance indicators

Result Performance

In-play Performance