Chelsea and Liverpool forwards among the Premier League’s most wasteful players

With the recent addition of Expected Goals to WhoScored.com, we thought we’d take a look at the Premier League players who are underperforming their underlying numbers the most, i.e. the players who should have scored more goals than they have so far. To qualify, players must have taken 30 or more shots this season. 

10. Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal) - xG Underperformance of 1.85 

In at number 10 is Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus, who has admittedly started just 13 league matches this season for the Gunners, but that hasn’t stopped him from firing off a total of 41 shots. The Brazil international has so far generated a total of 5.85 xG, while he has scored four goals, resulting in an underperformance of 1.85. 

9. Luis Diaz (Liverpool) - xG Underperformance of 2.05 

One of two Liverpool attackers in this top 10 is Colombian winger Luis Diaz, who has already bettered his scoring tally in the Premier League compared with last season with six goals. Diaz, like Jesus, is generating an average of 0.14 xG per shot, and underperforming by just over two goals in total. 

8. Raheem Sterling (Chelsea) - xG Underperformance of 2.06 

Chelsea have the most players (3) in our top 10, and in at eighth is former Manchester City man Raheem Sterling, who would have been expected to score two more goals than the six he currently has. Sterling is generating 0.20 xG per shot taken, which is comparable with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Ollie Watkins, who join Erling Haaland in the top three of the Premier League’s scoring charts. 

7. Pedro Porro (Tottenham) - xG Underperformance of 2.33 

Tottenham right-back Pedro Porro has so far generated more xG than any other player in the Premier League of those yet to score a goal this season. Porro’s speculative efforts (with an xG per shot of 0.06) may be the reason behind his underperformance, but if it’s anything like his strike against Burnley in the FA Cup earlier this year, then that first goal is no doubt worth waiting for. 

6. Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea) - xG Underperformance of 2.62 

Chelsea’s £100m man Enzo Fernandez joins teammate Raheem Sterling in our top 10, having so far underperformed his xG by 2.62. The Argentina international has scored three league goals this season, and generates, on average, 0.29 xG per 90 minutes played. 

5. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) - xG Underperformance of 3.24 

Moving into those players underperforming by more than three goals, and we start with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, who has only found the net on three occasions so far this term. The Portugal international has previously scored eight, 10, 18 and eight goals in each of his Premier League seasons for United, but has struggled to find a scoring touch this campaign. 

4. Erling Haaland (Manchester City) - xG Underperformance of 3.48 

Erling Haaland, the Premier League’s top scorer regardless, is in at four, having scored 3.48 fewer goals than expected in his 21 appearances this season. The Manchester City star is the only player in the division currently generating more than one expected goal per 90 minutes (1.06) this season. 

3. Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea) - xG Underperformance of 4.79 

Taking third place in our top 10 is Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, whose misses of big chances have perhaps overshadowed the seven league goals he has scored so far this season. Indeed, only Erling Haaland, Darwin Nunez and Ollie Watkins have missed more big chances than the Senegal international. Jackson’s average shot generates 0.25 xG, more than any other player in the top 10, which suggests that he is frequently missing high-quality opportunities. 

2. Darwin Nunez (Liverpool) - xG Underperformance of 4.85 

Like Jackson, Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is often famed for the big chances he misses, and that is represented in his xG underperformance of 4.85. The Uruguayan striker has scored nine goals in the league this season, but his tally would be expected to be closer to 15. His xG per 90 of 0.85 can only be bettered by Erling Haaland. 

1. Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) - xG Underperformance of 6.15 

Leading the way when it comes to underperformance of expected goals is Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has three goals so far this season, rather than the more than nine expected of him. It should come as no surprise, then, that Everton are the Premier League’s most underperforming team, having scored a whopping 13.65 fewer goals than expected.