In Liam Kelly's latest weekly column, he focuses on the stability Ralf Rangnick is giving Manchester United, despite the noise around Old Trafford, and the recent impact of Everton's Anthony Gordon.
The aim of this weekly column is to provide standout stats from each round of fixtures, to use underlying numbers to identify recent trends, and to inform punters with tools to improve their betting on the Premier League.
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Are Man Utd really that bad?
Discourse encompassing the level of Manchester United has been volatile — and tiresome — for a number of years, booms and busts prematurely declared by football fans and pundits alike after short spells of good and bad form/results.
Unsurprisingly, that has continued in Ralf Rangnick's interim tenure.
Perhaps that atmosphere is a perfect portrayal of the lack of long-term thinking at the club, but, looking neutrally at United from a numbers perspective, the 'peaks and troughs' hysteria is a false narrative. Gradual improvement is visible.
Under Rangnick, United's expected goals (xG) for and against trendlines have progressively crossed over from the below average level the German inherited to above average.
Granted, three consecutive 1-1 draws in all competitions is disappointing, especially being knocked out of the FA Cup by Sky Bet Championship side Middlesbrough, but United created the far better chances and limited the opposition to few scoring opportunities in each of those matches.
United should have been comfortably ahead against Boro, Burnley (xG: BUR 0.74 - 1.91 MUN) and Southampton (xG: MUN 2.47 - 0.87) before conceding an equaliser, maybe suffering from the exertion demanded from a Rangnick ran team.
Switching to that style is a slow process, though, so is it too much to ask for more time to reach a top-four level?
Ultimately, Rangnick is doing a much better job than the criticism he has received suggests, providing stability in unstable surroundings.
How good is Anthony Gordon?
It would be a waste of time to read much into Everton's easy win on Saturday (xG: EVE 2.59 - 0.34 LEE). After all, Leeds are struggling and the Toffees were awful in a defeat to Newcastle last week.
Inconsistency was an issue at Chelsea when Frank Lampard was in charge, and it is likely to be a feature at Everton, who were guilty of the same before his arrival. They should secure safety with relative ease now, though.
One of the few consistencies at Everton has been the impressive performances of Anthony Gordon, recording his third goal and second assist of the season at the weekend.
Gordon's three goals have come from a total of 1.88 xG, proving to be efficient in front of goal as well as being a creative threat (two assists from 2.13 expected assists) — all from only 1190 minutes.
Averaging 0.30 expected goal involvements (xGI) per 90 minutes is an excellent return in the Premier League for such an inexperienced youngster.
Additionally, the 20-year-old ranks second at the club for progressive carries per 90 minutes (4.84) and third for pressures per 90 minutes (18.4), a much-needed energetic spark in a mostly lethargic Everton team this season.
Gordon is not only making it hard for Lampard to drop him, he might be one of the first names on the teamsheet at the moment.
