January 22 – Aston Villa (87%) and Southampton (85%) are the two clubs handing the eleven most fielded players the most playing time according to the CIES Football Observatory.
Both Aston Villa and Southampton have enjoyed comfortable seasons in the Premier League with a number of standout matches and performers and part of the secret to both club’s stability this season is that they have stuck to a tight-knit group of players on the field with the Saints and Villa giving their eleven most used players the most playing time across all five major European leagues.
In the Premier League, Newcastle are at the other end of the spectrum with 68%, something that was illustrated in their recent 0-0 draw against Arsenal when Steve Bruce started nine different players from the team’s previous match. In the 72 leagues part of the study, the Premier League ranked 14th for lowest players turnover, ahead of the other major leagues on the continent.
In Europe, Paris Saint-Germain are at the worst in the class with only 58% of minutes played by the 11 most fielded footballers.
Elsewhere the disparities fluctuate around 20%: Elche (81%) and Real Valladolid (62%) in the Liga, Cagliari (79%) and Genoa (59%) in the Serie A, Freiburg (82%) and Schalke 04 (61%) in the Bundesliga, as well as Olympique de Marseille (78%) and Paris St-Germain (58%) in the Ligue 1.
“For the remaining big teams still competing in the Champions League, the 11 most used footballers were fielded for 78% at Liverpool, 75% at Real Madrid, 73% at both Manchester City and Bayern Munich, 71% at Barcelona and 68% at Juventus,” wrote the CIES.
See the full report click here.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1734936603labto1734936603ofdlr1734936603owedi1734936603sni@o1734936603fni1734936603