{"id":372034,"date":"2025-11-11T17:46:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T17:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/372034\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T17:46:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T17:46:17","slug":"which-players-top-the-more-unusual-premier-league-stat-rankings-in-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/372034\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Players Top the More Unusual Premier League Stat Rankings in 2025-26?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ll probably know
\nwhich players have scored the most goals, made the most passes or
\ntallied the most assists this season in the Premier
\nLeague<\/a>, but how about those leading in some of the more unusual
\nmetrics across 2025-26?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Premier League has reached the third international break of
\nthe 2025-26 season, and with 11 games played, it feels like an
\nideal time to check in on some of the statistical leaders.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll be fully aware that Erling
\nHaaland<\/a> has scored more goals than any other player and
\n
\nDavid Raya<\/a> is great at keeping them out at the other end of the
\npitch, but this isn\u2019t an article looking at the leading players in
\ncategories you\u2019ll already know about. This is our chance to look at
\nsome of the quirkier metrics from Opta.<\/p>\n

Who covers the pitch but sees the penalty area as their
\nkryptonite? Which defender loves those one-v-one battles? Who
\nprefers to shoot at goal without taking a touch to settle
\nthemselves?<\/p>\n

We answer these questions and more as we dive into the quirkier
\nstatistical leaders of the 2025-26 Premier League season so
\nfar.<\/p>\n

Most
\nShots From Outside the Box Without Scoring<\/strong>
Bruno Fernandes (12)<\/p>\n

Bruno
\nFernandes<\/a> hasn\u2019t had much luck from shooting outside the box
\nthis season. The Portuguese has attempted 12 shots from range
\nwithout success, coming closest in the Matchday 10 draw at
\nNottingham Forest, with his low shot striking the foot of the
\npost.<\/p>\n

\"Bruno<\/p>\n

The fact that only Kevin De Bruyne
\n(15) has scored more goals from outside the box in the Premier
\nLeague than Fernandes (14) since the Manchester United captain\u2019s
\ndebut in February 2020 suggests his luck will eventually
\nchange.<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s time for him to come off
\nfree-kicks, though; he\u2019s only scored three of his 60 shot attempts
\nfrom free-kicks in the Premier League (5%), including two
\nunsuccessful efforts in 2025-26.<\/p>\n

Long
\nThrows Into Opposition\u2019s Box<\/strong>
Michael Kayode (54)<\/p>\n

Long throws are back in fashion. That makes Michael
\nKayode<\/a> even more important than usual, with the Brentford
\ndefender chucking more of them into the opposition\u2019s box than any
\nother player in the Premier League this season.<\/p>\n

Kayode has launched 54 long throws into the opposition\u2019s box in
\n2025-26, eight more than second-placed Nordi Mukiele and 25 more
\nthan Chris Richards in third. More importantly, six of his long
\nthrows into the penalty area have led to a shot \u2013 four more than
\nany other player \u2013 and two have led to goals for the Bees.<\/p>\n

Highest
\nxG Total Without Scoring<\/strong>
Igor Jesus (1.86)<\/p>\n

Igor
\nJesus<\/a> hasn\u2019t had a problem scoring for Nottingham Forest in cup
\ncompetitions this season. The 24-year-old Brazilian forward has
\nscored five goals from 13 shots across the League Cup and Europa
\nLeague, but the Premier League has been a more difficult
\nproposition for him.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s yet to score in 10 league games since joining Forest in the
\nsummer from Botafogo, despite also having 13 shots in the top
\nflight. In fact, he is the player to have the highest expected
\ngoals figure in the competition this season without scoring
\n(1.86).<\/p>\n

\"Igor<\/p>\n

One positive for him is that he isn\u2019t the player with the most
\nshots without scoring in the Premier League in 2025-26. That is
\nBournemouth\u2019s David Brooks (16 shots, 0 goals).<\/p>\n

Most
\nShot Involvements Without a Goal or Assist<\/strong>
Florian Wirtz (28)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a tricky start to life in England for Florian
\nWirtz<\/a>. The Germany international signed for Liverpool in the
\nsummer from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal that could be worth \u00a3116
\nmillion, but he\u2019s yet to show the form that made the Reds so keen
\nto secure his signature.<\/p>\n

Some of the criticism of Wirtz has been warranted, but a lot
\nseems harsh on a young player acclimatising to a new country. The
\nfact of the matter stands, however, Wirtz hasn\u2019t yet delivered in
\nthe Premier League.<\/p>\n

Across his 11 league appearances for Liverpool, none of his 16
\nchances created have assisted a goal, which is hardly on him, but
\nhe\u2019s also recorded 12 shots without success.<\/p>\n

Also 22 years old in his first season at Arsenal, Thierry Henry
\nstruggled at the start of his Premier League career, with just one
\ngoal and no assists in his first 12 appearances. But then things
\nstarted to click, and we know the rest\u2026<\/p>\n

Expected
\nAssists From Open Play<\/strong>
Jack Grealish (2.47)<\/p>\n

Jack
\nGrealish<\/a> tops the open-play assist charts with four in 2025-26,
\nbut sometimes assists can be misleading. In order to assess the
\ntrue creative quality of a player\u2019s passes, expected
\nassists (xA)<\/a> offers a deeper understanding of how likely a pass
\nis to become an assist.<\/p>\n

xA is measured on a scale between zero and one, where zero
\nrepresents a pass that will never result in an assist, and one
\nrepresents a pass that the receiver would be expected to score from
\nevery single time. In 2025-26, Grealish\u2019s Premier League passes in
\nopen play have totalled 2.47 xA, higher than any other player in
\nthe division.<\/p>\n

Interestingly for Everton fans, another of their players ranks
\nsecond in this metric: Iliman Ndiaye (2.40), just ahead of Man
\nCity\u2019s J\u00e9r\u00e9my Doku (2.14) and Arsenal\u2019s Bukayo Saka (1.94).<\/p>\n

First-Time Shots From Open Play<\/strong>
Erling Haaland (26)<\/p>\n

Erling Haaland has been in electric form this season, plundering
\n14 goals in the opening 11 matchdays to top the Premier League
\nscoring charts. But we all know how good he is at scoring goals,
\nand this season\u2019s feats have hardly come as a surprise. What might
\nbe more surprising is how often he takes first-time shots in open
\nplay.<\/p>\n

Of his 44 open-play shots this season, 26 have come without any
\nprior touch (59.1%) and eight of his 14 goals have come with a
\nfirst-time finish. That\u2019s more than any other player in the league,
\nbut only just\u2026<\/p>\n

Jean-Philippe Mateta has had 30 shots in open play, and 25 of
\nthose have been first-time attempts (83.3%).<\/p>\n

Most
\nTouches Without One Being in the Opposition\u2019s Box<\/strong>
Carlos Baleba (371)<\/p>\n

Eleven different players have scored a Premier League goal for
\nBrighton & Hove Albion this season, but maybe don\u2019t expect
\nmidfielder Carlos
\nBaleba<\/a> to join that group any time soon. That\u2019s because,
\ndespite having 371 touches of the ball across 11 appearances in the
\ncompetition this season, none of them have come inside the
\nopposition\u2019s penalty area.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the most touches by an outfielder without any coming in
\nthe opposition\u2019s box this season, 79 more than Axel Tuanzebe (292).
\nAcross his Premier League career, Baleba\u2019s only had 19 of his 3,230
\ntouches in the opposition\u2019s box (0.006%) and none have come in his
\nlast 14 league appearances for the Seagulls.<\/p>\n

\"Carlos
\nMost
\nFouls Without Being Given a Card<\/strong>
Ryan Sessegnon (20)<\/p>\n

Fulham\u2019s Ryan Sessegnon could be considered the most fortunate
\nplayer to not have entered the referee\u2019s notebook this season as
\nhe\u2019s committed 20 fouls without receiving a single card, four more
\nthan Pape Matar Sarr (16) and five more than teammate Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez
\n(15).<\/p>\n

Going back to last season, none of Sessegnon\u2019s last 25 fouls
\nhave seen him carded, last receiving a yellow card against Aston
\nVilla on 3 May from Rob Jones.<\/p>\n

At the other end of the scale, three players have committed
\nfewer than 10 fouls but still been given four yellow cards this
\nseason: \u00c1lex Jim\u00e9nez (5 fouls), Tim Iroegbunam (6) and James Garner
\n(8).<\/p>\n

Most
\nCarries Ending With a Shot Involvement<\/strong>
Cody Gakpo (20)<\/p>\n

Cody
\nGakpo<\/a> has caused opposition defences problems with his direct
\nrunning this season, and the Dutch forward leads the Premier League
\nrankings for the most shot involvements following a ball carry
\n(20).<\/p>\n

\"Cody<\/p>\n

Twelve of those involvements have come with him taking the shot
\nafter taking the ball at least five metres, with the other eight
\nseeing him create a chance for a teammate after running with the
\nball at his feet.<\/p>\n

Gakpo finds himself behind Man Utd\u2019s Matheus Cunha (15) when
\nlooking at shots following ball carries alone, while the leading
\nplayers for chances created following ball carries are Callum
\nHudson-Odoi and J\u00e9r\u00e9my Doku (11).<\/p>\n

Most
\nCarries Ending in Opposition\u2019s Box<\/strong>
J\u00e9r\u00e9my Doku (72)<\/p>\n

As highlighted above, J\u00e9r\u00e9my
\nDoku<\/a> has shown how dangerous he is when running with the ball
\nat his feet, leading the rankings for chances created following a
\nball carry (11).<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t many players, if any, who can wriggle their way
\nthrough tight spaces to create chances for teammates as well as the
\nBelgian winger, and his ball carrying ability has seen him burst
\ninto the opposition\u2019s penalty area more often than anyone else.<\/p>\n

Doku leads the Premier League rankings for ball carries ending
\nin the opposition\u2019s box (72), with his tally 19 more than the next
\nhighest players, Jack Grealish and Cody Gakpo (53).<\/p>\n

\"Doku
\nMost
\nPossession Regains Leading to Shots<\/strong>
Idrissa Gueye (10)<\/p>\n

Everton\u2019s Idrissa
\nGueye<\/a> might not rank inside the Premier League\u2019s top 10 for
\npossession won, tackles or interceptions in 2025-26, but when he
\ndoes win the ball back from opponents, his side make his efforts
\nworthwhile.<\/p>\n

Gueye has started 10 separate shot-ending possession sequences
\nfor Everton by winning the ball back from opponents, more than any
\nother player in the league this season. Add in instances where he\u2019s
\nrecovered a loose ball and his tally is still the most in the
\nleague (17).<\/p>\n

Best
\nOne-v-One Defender Against Dribblers<\/strong>
Maxence Lacroix (87.0%)<\/p>\n

Looking at the total number of \u201ctrue tackles\u201d attempted by
\nplayers, which is a sum of successful tackles (where possession is
\nregained or when the ball goes out of play and is safe), challenges
\nlost (where a player attempts a tackle and doesn\u2019t connect with the
\nball) and fouls when attempting a tackle, we\u2019re able to assess the
\nbest defenders at coming up against dribblers.<\/p>\n

Of players to have faced at least 20 opponent dribbles, Crystal
\nPalace defender Maxence
\nLacroix<\/a> has the highest success rate (20\/23 \u2013 87%), just ahead
\nof central defensive partner Marc Gu\u00e9hi (22\/27 \u2013 81.5%).<\/p>\n

Of defenders, Kieran Trippier has the worst success rate in
\nstopping opposition dribblers. The Newcastle full-back has won just
\n32.3% of his one-v-one battles, committing a foul 10 times and
\nseeing his opponent dribble past him on another 11 occasions.<\/p>\n

Most
\nChances Created From Open-Play Crosses<\/strong>
Hugo Bueno (9)<\/p>\n

Considering Wolverhampton Wanderers have fired in 20 more
\nsuccessful open-play crosses than any other team in the Premier
\nLeague this season, it\u2019ll come as no shock to see one of their
\nplayers as the leading creator in such scenarios.<\/p>\n

Back following a loan spell at Eredivisie side Feyenoord last
\nseason, Hugo Bueno has been attacking the left flank for Wolves in
\n2025-26. Despite a poor start to the season for the team, he\u2019s been
\none bright spark.<\/p>\n

Bueno leads the Premier League rankings for open-play crosses
\nattempted (52) and successful (21), with a league-high nine of
\nthose creating chances for teammates, while he also tops the
\nrankings for expected assists from such scenarios (0.87).<\/p>\n

Most
\nKilometres Run<\/strong>
Granit Xhaka (124.06km)<\/p>\n

Sunderland have started the season brilliantly, and arguably no
\nplayer has stood out more for them than the experienced Granit
\nXhaka<\/a>. And curiously, although no spring chicken at 33 years
\nold, he\u2019s covered more ground than any other player in the Premier
\nLeague this season, running 124.06km.<\/p>\n

That total is 1.62km more than Nottingham Forest\u2019s Elliot
\nAnderson, while Xhaka\u2019s teammate Noah Sadiki (122.33km) ranks third
\nin the Premier League after 11 matchdays.<\/p>\n

High
\nPressures Applied in the Final Third<\/strong>
Igor Thiago (270)<\/p>\n

Igor
\nThiago<\/a> endured a frustrating first season at Brentford.
\nHindered by injury, the forward played just 168 minutes across
\neight appearances in the Premier League. Now fit, the Brazilian has
\nbecome an integral part of Keith Andrews\u2019 side and only Erling
\nHaaland (14) has scored more goals than he has (8) across the
\nopening 11 matchdays of 2025-26.<\/p>\n

He works incredibly hard off the ball, too. He leads the Premier
\nLeague rankings for high pressures applied across the whole pitch
\n(609), but more importantly for his role in the Bees\u2019 side, he also
\nleads the charts when looking specifically at high pressures
\napplied in the final third of the pitch (270).<\/p>\n

\"Igor
\nShots
\nWith First Contact Following Corners<\/strong>
Dan Ballard (6)<\/p>\n

Sunderland centre-back Dan
\nBallard<\/a> has scored twice this season in the Premier League, but
\nsomewhat surprisingly, neither goal came following a corner.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s surprising because no player in the Premier League this
\nterm has had more shots as the first contact following a corner
\nthan Ballard (6). All six of his attempts have been headed, but
\nunlike his goal from open play in the MD1 win over West Ham, none
\nhave found the net.<\/p>\n

Ballard is the only player to have attempted more shots as a
\nfirst contact from a corner than Erling Haaland (5), who leads the
\nleague ranking for the most attacking first contacts overall (11),
\nahead of Leeds\u2019 Joe Rodon (10).<\/p>\n

Minutes
\nPlayed as a Substitute<\/strong>
Emiliano Buend\u00eda (200)<\/p>\n


\nEmiliano Buend\u00eda<\/a> has been a handy option for Unai Emery off the
\nbench for Aston Villa this season in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

The Argentine has played more minutes as a substitute than any
\nother player in the top flight in 2025-26 (200), and his impact has
\nmade a difference to Villa. No player has been involved in more
\ngoals as a sub than he has (3 \u2013 2 goals, 1 assist), while he also
\nleads the rankings for shot involvements as a sub (11 \u2013 6 shots, 5
\nchances created) alongside Omari Hutchinson and Est\u00eav\u00e3o.<\/p>\n

In fact, he\u2019s been involved in more goals as a sub (3 in 200
\nminutes) than he has as a starter (2 in 229 minutes) this season
\nfor Villa.<\/p>\n


\n\"Premier<\/a><\/p>\n

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