Pirates top, Chiefs second, Sundowns third, Magesi getting relegated - The PSL Expected Goals table reveals Nabi is onto something

Expected Goals (xG) is a measurement used in the world's major leagues to assess the likelihood of a chance on goal being scored.

There are dozens of data points taken on each chance measured but in short, an xG value of 0.2 is one that we would generally expect to be converted twice in every 10 attempts.

With xG now available in the PSL we can now calculate how many good chances are created by a team, and compare that number to the number of goals that have actually been scored across all the teams in the league.

The table released is ordered by the difference between actual goals and the team's xG, which places Sundowns at the top as they have overperformed their xG by 7.78. But in our next slide, we'll look at the log from a pure xG perspective.

If you look at the table in terms of the number of total xG then a different image emerges.

The picture gets even better for Chiefs if you look at the number of matches played (7) and calculate the average xG per match, showing that Nabi's team are generating the most goal-scoring chances per game of any team in the league.

Of course, creating good goal-scoring chances is not the same as actually scoring them. Chiefs need to improve their finishing and really need to hit the transfer market in January to secure the services of a reliable striker.

Amakhosi spent big on their defence when Nabi was installed but it hasn't worked out and gelled yet. They have already conceded 10 goals in the league, the worst Goals Against figures in the Top Eight and an incredible seven more than Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates who have only conceded three.

The Glamour Boys have just three PSL matches left this year, against Polokwane City (8 December), TS Galaxy (16 December) and Chippa United (29 December) and will need to improve their finishing to convert more of the chances they are creating and tighten up at the back if they want to hit 2025 still in the hunt for an unlikely PSL title.