To find out which mobile apps are providing this statistic on games, we reviewed the App Store and Google Play Store. For the apps found providing this statistic, we downloaded and tested them and our reviews and rankings are below. First, a quick summary of (xG).
What are Expected Goals (xG) and why are they useful?
Expected Goals, or xG, are the number of goals a player or team should have scored, only considering the number and type of chances they generated in a match. It provides a data point on the quantity and quality of chances being created, regardless of the final result.
xG can be used to predict the score of an upcoming match using the historical statistics of the teams involved. It can be used to assess a team’s performance in a match or over a season, regardless of their short-term form or individual actions on the pitch. It provides a score that can be compared to the actual score, based on the quantity and quality of chances being created.
The key features we were looking for in the apps we tested were:
- Customisability of stats – Can the stats be customised? This will allow multiple different views, to find specific scenarios where teams are under or over performing
- Level of detail – How much detail is available? The more detail available will help the user to spot trends.
- Ease of use – How clear is the data to view?
- Comparison – Can xG be compared across fixtures and results?
- Availability and cost – How many leagues are available and what is the cost?
1. Infogol
Infogol is the only app available that is solely focused on expected goals. It is available on both Apple and Android devices.
A key feature is the shot maps – these show the location of all shots taken by each team, with reference to the xG of the chance. This allows the user to see how the xG was accumulated, in high volume of low probability chances or a small number of high-quality chances.
The xG stats are not customisable – there are no options to filter for any specific period, or for home matches or away matches. There is a league table which can be sorted by teams’ xG for or xG against.
There is a small amount of comparison available when assessing a fixture – the last 6 games are available to view on one screen by xG or by the actual score. This helps to see which teams are out performing or under-performing their xG. There are 21 leagues with xG stats, other leagues are covered without xG. The app is free to download and use.
2. VeriTab
VeriTab is an app which includes xG, amongst other stats, for 29 leagues across Europe. This app is only available on the App Store – it is unavailable on Android devices. It costs £0.89 to download (approximately USD $1.20).
The stats for each game are shown listed, which includes xG. This is listed alongside the average prior to the game, which is useful for comparison in how the team has performed against their usual level.
Stats are available for head-to-head games, but not available for any customised dates, which limits the usefulness of the analysis. The stats are available graphically, but this is not the easiest on the eye and difficult to draw conclusions from the data.
An xG table is available, which allows the user to see how the table would look if the actual goals matched the expected goals. While this is useful to look it, this is only available for the full season, meaning recent form cannot be extracted and viewed.
3. Fotmob
Fotmob is an app that covers football widely across many categories. It covers news, fixtures, results, and scores. It is free to download and adverts can be removed for £7.49 per year (approximately USD $10.00).
Expected goals are a small part of the app. They are listed in the results of some games, but there doesn’t appear to be any list showing which leagues or games are included with xG. There are no xG stats in any previews of upcoming fixtures.
One unique stat is xG stats for each half. This has not appeared in any other app and gives insights in how the game changed before and after half time.
The xG stats are limited on Fotmob, however this is understandable given the nature of the app as an all-round football app, not a stats focused app.
Summary
We know this is a short list! We are surprised at the lack of apps available that detail and cover expected goals. There are different types of apps, between showing detailed stats and covering the existing leagues, to calculating expected goals for your own games.
All have their strengths but we would recommend Infogol for showing xG data of the major leagues, and Fotmob if you are wanting xG stats for leagues outside of the top 10 global leagues and main international tournaments.