Supercomputer names Premier League Team of the Season as Man City and Manchester United dominate

A supercomputer has named the 2022/23 Premier League Team of the Season based on those with the most productive attacking stats, with six Manchester City and two Manchester United players in the XI.

BetVictor used an algorithm based on attacking stats to discover a starting XI that would pose the greatest threat going forward - or the best ‘generative xG’, the number of goals a team is expected to generate.

In order to pick the players, the model took into account non-penalty expected goals, assists and the likelihood that a player’s play would lead to an attacking chance.

It also decided upon the formation, with 4-3-3 selected as the most effective. City shot-stopper Ederson was named as the goalkeeper, with Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias in defence.

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Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne make the midfield while Erling Haaland leads the line. As for United, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, who netted a career-high 30 goals this season, were included.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko was named as the left-back while Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold took up the right-wing and right-back slots respectively.

There is no room for Harry Kane, who finished as the Premier League’s second-highest goalscorer behind Haaland. The likes of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka miss out too despite their excellent form this season.

The top metric displayed on the players in the graphic below gauges how frequently a player contributes directly to a goalscoring opportunity, either by taking a shot or setting up a chance. The bottom reflects a player’s contribution to goalscoring chances without making the final pass or shot.