The story of Manchester United’s 2026-27 Premier League season is summed up by how the Red Devils are performing in two metrics compared with rival ...
The story of Manchester United’s 2026-27 Premier League season is summed up by how the Red Devils are performing in two metrics compared with rival clubs.
Manchester United are currently 10th in the Premier League table after Michael Carrick has overseen one defeat and one win from the opening two matches.
The Red Devils were stunned on their visit to the MKM Stadium after Hull City inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Man Utd in the club’s first match of the new season.
However, Michael Carrick’s men bounced back in their first Premier League match at Old Trafford this season after United thrashed Ipswich Town 5-2 last month.
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There is no shortage of attacking options at Michael Carrick’s disposal for Manchester United in the 2026-27 Premier League campaign at Old Trafford.
While Amad Diallo is currently out injured and Benjamin Sesko is returning to full fitness, Carrick has variety in his winger options and lone forward picks.
Marcus Rashford has impressed on his return to United after his permanent move to Barcelona collapsed, while Matheus Cunha has been playing down the middle.
Opta Analyst’s Premier League data has revealed so far that United are the team that have had the most shots out of any club in the campaign so far.
The Red Devils have had 55 shots in total and Brentford are second with 48, while Liverpool are third with 40, Brighton are fourth with 36 and Chelsea are fifth with 35.
While shots are only one form of metric, it does show that Michael Carrick’s men are being lively in the attack, even if it does not always lead to them scoring.
The Red Devils are fourth out of the 20 Premier League teams for the most goals scored in the campaign after Man Utd’s drubbing of Ipswich Town last Sunday.
However, Opta Analyst has shown that United are top of the expected goals with a 6.6 return, despite the Red Devils underperforming in the stat on the pitch.
Brentford are second with 5.55 and Brighton are tied for third with Chelsea with an expected return of 5.17 Premier League goals after the early stages of the season.
United’s expected goal return does not look half as bad due to the comeback against the Tractor Boys, but it underpins the total shots stat that the Red Devils topped.
There is a need for United to be much more effective in the final third for their goalscoring return to balance out, even if it means a reduction in their shots tally.
The contrasting performances against Hull City and Ipswich showed where the Red Devils found the ‘right’ balance in the latter fixture for getting the most out of their attack.
