Analysis

Man United v Villa: a clash of styles in one number

Crosses per game: Man United 16.4, Villa 7.4, league average 13.8.

Published Monday 9 November by The90Pro · 4 min read

16.4 v 7.4

Crosses per game

Season numbers, 10 and 10 games

Sunday's Manchester United 4-4 Aston Villa was a meeting of two big clubs, and the two sides got there in different ways. Over the Premier League season, Man United's crosses per game is 16.4 and Villa's is 7.4, either side of a league average of 13.8. In style terms, one side leans to "cross a lot" and the other to "few crosses".

The game and the seasonMan UnitedVillaLeague average

The league picture

Crosses a game counts crosses from open play and set pieces, corners left out: how much a side relies on the wide areas to get the ball into the box. Man United sit in the "keep the ball · cross a lot" corner, with Brighton, Liverpool, Man City and others. Villa sit in the "let them have it · few crosses" corner, with Bournemouth, Chelsea, Coventry and others.

Pass share against crosses per game, this season

How they do it

Man United have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 in 10 of their 10 Premier League games; this is the eleven that has started there most, with each player's average match rating.

Their pass network from the 4-4 draw against Villa on Sunday shows where each player took the ball and who found whom. The busiest link was Tielemans to Bruno Fernandes.

Villa have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 in 10 of their 10 Premier League games; this is the eleven that has started there most, with each player's average match rating.

Usual XI: 4-2-3-1 in 10 of 10 games, season average ratingsUsual XI: 4-2-3-1 in 10 of 10 games, season average ratings

Their pass network from the 4-4 draw at Man United on Sunday shows where each player took the ball and who found whom. The busiest link was Suzuki to Pau Torres.

Pass network, 4-4 draw v Villa

Tap or hover a player to see who they passed with and how often.

Manchester United · Starting XI until the first substitution (45')Busiest link: Tielemans and Bruno Fernandes, 15 passes.Centralisation index 0.08: Tielemans made 1.8× an even share of the passes.

The full match

Pass network, 4-4 draw at Man United

Tap or hover a player to see who they passed with and how often.

Aston Villa · Starting XI until the first substitution (70')Busiest link: Suzuki and Pau Torres, 28 passes.Centralisation index 0.08: Pau Torres made 1.8× an even share of the passes.

The full match

Fewer passesMoreCircles: passes made (up to 50), the number inside. Lines: passes between the pair (up to 28).

Centralisation index runs from 0, when every player made the same number of passes, to 1, when one player made them all. Higher means the play ran through fewer players. Attacking to the right.

Two players from each side, on the number that matters for this story:

The trend

Over 5 games at a time, Man United's crosses per game is 11.0 now, down from 21.8 after their first 5. Over 5 games at a time, Villa's crosses per game is 7.2 now, down from 7.6 after their first 5; the high was 8.4 (MD 6 v Brentford). The league average is 13.8. These are season numbers, 10 and 10 games, not this one game.

Crosses per game, rolling 5 games

Matchday along the bottom, up the side. Dashed line: league average. Tap the names to show or hide a line.

What to watch

The full game: Manchester United 4-4 Aston Villa. More analysis: Man City are 5.7 points ahead of their chances.

New to a term? See the glossary.

9.3Barry, best rating

Team of the weekMonday 9 November

Premier League team of matchday 10

The best-rated XI of matchday 10, led by Barry (9.3).

+6.9Arsenal, points above expected

Lucky and unluckyMonday 9 November

Premier League: who the table flatters after matchday 10

Arsenal have +6.9 points more than their chances deserved; Nottingham Forest -7.5.

9.1van Hecke, best rating

Team of the weekTuesday 3 November

Premier League team of matchday 9

The best-rated XI of matchday 9, led by van Hecke (9.1).