Football Stats Glossary

Credited to the player who scores. If the ball goes in off a defender, it is recorded as an own goal for that defender instead. When there is doubt about who scored, Opta applies its own rules and can align with the official competition ruling.

Betting: Goals are the end result, but they can be misleading in small samples. A team scoring more goals than their xG suggests is finishing above expectation and that tends to correct over time.

Any deliberate attempt to score that would go in if the goalkeeper was not there. Includes all goals, goalkeeper saves, and shots stopped by a last-line defender on the goal line. That last part matters: those last-ditch blocks count as shots on target, not blocked shots.

Betting: One of the most reliable player prop metrics. It measures consistent attacking output without the variance of whether a shot actually goes in.

A deliberate attempt that misses the goal without anyone deflecting it off course. Hitting the post or crossbar counts as off target unless the ball bounces in. Blocked shots are in their own category, separate from this.

Betting: High shot volume with a poor on-target rate usually means a player or team is shooting from bad positions or under too much pressure.

An attempt to score that is stopped by an outfield player, where other defenders or the goalkeeper are still positioned behind the blocker. Also includes shots accidentally blocked by the shooter's own teammate. Note: a clearance off the line by the last defender is a shot on target, not a blocked shot.

Betting: Teams with high block counts protect their keeper's stats. A goalkeeper behind a disciplined shot-blocking defence may make fewer saves but still have good clean sheet prospects.

A situation where a player would reasonably be expected to score. Usually one-on-one with the goalkeeper, or very close range with a clear path to goal and minimal pressure. Penalties always count as big chances.

Betting: Teams creating lots of big chances are structurally likely to score regularly. A striker in a spell of not scoring but still getting big chances is worth backing because the goals tend to come.

A big chance where the player fails to get a shot away at all. Typically when a player completely misses the ball, or has a clear opportunity but chooses not to shoot and nothing comes from it.

Betting: A player racking up big chance missed events is underperforming against their opportunities. Their output is lower than their underlying data says it should be.

A number between 0 and 1 that tells you how likely a shot was to be scored, based on data from similar shots in the past. A penalty is close to 1.0 (almost always scored). A shot from 35 yards with a defender in the way might be 0.02. Opta uses nearly a million historical shots to build the model. Factors include shot distance, angle, assist type, body part, and whether it was a one-on-one.

Betting: xG is a better predictor of future scoring than goals themselves over small samples. A team consistently scoring above their xG is on a good run of finishing. That tends to cool off.

Goals scored divided by total shots taken. So if a player takes 20 shots and scores 3 goals, their conversion rate is 15%.

Betting: Very volatile over small samples. Elite strikers typically convert around 15-20% of all shots across a full season. Big deviations from that tend to correct.

Shots on target divided by all shots taken (excluding blocked shots and own goals). Tells you what proportion of a player or team's attempts actually tested the goalkeeper.

Betting: Useful for filtering player props. High volume but low accuracy usually means the player is shooting from poor positions; the numbers look busy but the quality is not there.

Every shot gets labelled by how it came about. There are seven options: Regular (open play), Set piece (indirect free kick), Throw-in, Direct free kick, Direct corner, Fast break (counter-attack), or Penalty. The label is assigned based on how the move started, before it broke down into open play.

Betting: Teams that create a lot of xG from set pieces are more reliant on free kicks and corners than their open-play numbers suggest. Referee booking tendencies matter more for such sides.

The last touch by a teammate before a goal is scored. If that pass is deflected by a defender but still reaches the scorer, it still counts as an assist. No assist is given for own goals, direct free kick goals, or goals scored directly from a corner. Penalties only get an assist if the taker passes for a teammate to score.

Betting: Volatile game to game. Players with high expected assists (xA) who are not converting those into actual assists are creating genuine opportunities. Luck is the gap, not quality.

A pass that leads directly to a shot on goal by a teammate. If the shot goes in, it becomes an assist. If the shot misses or is saved, it stays as a key pass.

Betting: More stable than assists as a metric because it does not depend on a teammate scoring. A midfielder with high key passes and low assists is playing well but their teammates are just not finishing.

The total of assists and key passes combined. Every pass that directly led to a shot, whether it resulted in a goal or not. Note: Skybet's shots created market uses a broader definition that also includes fantasy assists.

Betting: A clean per-90 summary of a midfielder or winger's attacking output. More reliable than assists alone across a season.

Skybet's player prop name for the cumulative total of three Opta events for a single player in a match: key passes, assists, and fantasy assists. Settles on 90 minutes plus stoppage time only. Broader than Opta's chances created stat because it adds the seven fantasy assist scenarios on top of key passes and assists.

Betting: Lines are usually set at over 1.5, 2.5, or 3.5. Best researched by combining a player's chances created average from public data with a small buffer to account for fantasy assist events. Most consistent value sits on number tens, deep playmakers, and inverted wingers.

A credit given to the last attacking touch before a goal in seven specific scenarios where a regular Opta assist cannot be awarded: a defensive touch on a pass that still ends in a goal, a handball that gives away a penalty or free kick which is scored, a blocked shot or missed attempt that ricochets to a scoring teammate, a saved shot that produces a rebound goal, a shot off the post that falls for a goal, a foul that wins a free kick or penalty that is converted, and an own goal forced by the player's attacking touch.

Betting: Counts toward Skybet's shots created market. Useful context for understanding why a player's shots created total can be higher than their chances created on public data sites.

How likely a completed pass was to become a goal assist, based on where it ended up and how it was played. A pass that creates a 0.4 xG chance counts as 0.4 xA for the passer.

Betting: A player with high xA and low actual assists is creating real chances that teammates are not converting. xA is a strong indicator of underlying creative output.

Any attempted delivery of the ball to a teammate using any permitted body part. Includes open play passes, goal kicks, corners, and free kicks played as a pass. Crosses, goalkeeper throws, and throw-ins are tracked separately and do not count here.

Betting: Raw pass count is mostly a possession proxy. More useful to look at pass accuracy under pressure or pass direction to understand how a team moves the ball.

Successful passes divided by total attempted passes. A pass is successful if it reaches a teammate without a touch from an opponent. Crosses are usually excluded and tracked separately. Possession-heavy teams typically complete 88-92% of passes. Direct, long-ball sides can be in the 70s.

Betting: Context-dependent. A sharp drop in pass accuracy mid-season can signal a tactical disruption or a change in how a team is being pressed.

A ball played from a wide position into a central area near the goal. Has to have a lateral element; moving from a wider area towards the centre in front of goal. Crosses are tracked separately from passes in Opta's system.

Betting: Teams with high cross volumes create more headed chance opportunities. Relevant context when assessing aerial attackers in scorer markets.

A pass that splits the defensive line for a teammate to run onto. One of several specific pass types Opta tags alongside chipped passes, headers, flick-ons, pull-backs, lay-offs, and tap passes.

Betting: High through-ball volume suggests a team exploiting space behind a high defensive line. Usually a signal for a more open game from both sides.

A completed pass in the attacking two thirds of the pitch that moves the ball at least 25% closer to the goal. Measures how often a player or team advances the ball in dangerous areas through passing.

Betting: Teams with high progressive pass counts tend to sustain attacking pressure, which correlates with higher shot and corner volumes.

When a player makes a legal, ground-level challenge, connects with the ball, and takes it away from an opponent who is in controlled possession. There are two outcomes: a tackle won (the ball goes to the tackler or a teammate, or goes safely out of play) and a tackle lost (the ball goes back to an opposition player). Both count as a tackle and only the outcome differs.

Betting: Players who tackle frequently do so because their role demands it. That is consistent from game to game, which makes tackles per game a reliable base for defensive props.

When a player attempts to challenge for the ball and fails to make contact. Calculated by adding up fouls with an attempted tackle to the number of times a player is beaten by a dribble.

Betting: A high missed tackle rate signals a defender being regularly exposed. Useful context when assessing attackers in any scorer market.

When a player reads where a pass is going and gets to the ball before it reaches the intended recipient. No physical challenge with the ball carrier is needed. The player is anticipating the pass and moving into its path. This is distinct from a blocked pass, which involves less reading of the situation and is more reactive.

Betting: Interception counts vary significantly based on how the opposition plays. A team that passes short and fast through the lines gives more interception opportunities than one that plays direct.

When a player cuts out an opposition pass by any means. Similar to an interception but with less reading of the intended pass.

Betting: Teams with high blocked pass counts are disrupting the opposition's build-up reactively rather than proactively.

A defensive action where a player gets the ball away from a dangerous area with no intended recipient. What separates it from a pass is that the player is not trying to play it to a specific teammate, they just want it gone.

Betting: High clearance counts mean a team is spending significant time under pressure in their own half. Relevant context for corners and set-piece markets.

A contest between two players challenging for a ball in the air. The player who wins the ball gets an aerial duel won. When more than two players go for the ball, the player closest to the winner gets the aerial duel lost.

Betting: Key context for set-piece markets. Players and teams with high aerial duel win rates generate and defend more from headed chances.

Any 50-50 contest between two opposing players. For every duel won, the opponent gets a duel lost. Covers ground duels, aerial duels, and foul situations.

Betting: Duel win percentage indicates physical dominance in a matchup. More relevant in cup ties or lower-league fixtures where individual physical battles have bigger game-state impact.

Awarded when the whole ball crosses the goal line outside the posts, last touched by a defending player. Opta tracks three separate events: corner won (for the attacking team), corner lost (for the defending team), and corner taken (the actual restart). Their totals can differ slightly because of how each one is collected.

Betting: Corner counts correlate strongly with attacking intent, wide play, and tactical style. Teams that dominate possession and attack down the flanks consistently generate more corners.

Opta collects three linked events for every penalty: penalty won (the player who draws the foul), penalty conceded (the player who committed it), and penalty taken (the actual attempt). Any follow-up shot after a penalty save is classified as a set piece.

Betting: Penalties convert at around 75-82% in major leagues. Players with high penalty-won rates in the box are useful for drawing contact and creating set-piece opportunities.

Recorded for the player deemed to be in an offside position when the free kick is awarded. When two or more players are offside, the most actively involved player gets it. The deepest defender in the defensive line when an offside is called receives an 'offside provoked' credit.

Betting: Teams running a high-frequency offside trap can suppress goal counts and affect xG for both sides in specific matchups.

Awarded when a player wins a free kick or penalty after being fouled. Not given for handball, diving, back pass, illegal restart, dissent, goalkeeper time-wasting, or obstruction.

Betting: Players who win fouls frequently in dangerous areas create set-piece opportunities and draw additional bookings risk for opponents. Useful for cards and set-piece markets.

Any infringement penalised as foul play that results in a free kick or penalty. Offsides do not count. If the referee plays advantage and then books a player, a foul is only recorded if a free kick or penalty actually follows.

Betting: High-foul teams in dangerous areas give away more set pieces near goal. Foul count feeds into cards markets alongside referee tendencies.

A pass or cross that is central to creating a goal-scoring opportunity. For example, the corner taker whose ball is headed to the player who then assists the shot, or a through ball into a dangerous area that leads to a chance being created.

Betting: Primarily used in set-piece analysis and creative chain breakdowns. Not a standard betting market but useful for identifying full involvement in goals.

When a goalkeeper stops the ball going in with any part of their body after a deliberate shot. Opta logs the body part used, the save type (caught, parried, fingertip etc.), and the keeper's movement (diving, standing, sliding). A save is not given if a teammate's action prevents the goal after the keeper has touched it because that becomes a block.

Betting: Goalkeeper saves over 1.5 or 2.5 is a common player prop. Keepers with consistently high save counts tend to be behind weaker defensive teams rather than being elite individually.

A match where a team concedes zero goals across 90 minutes. For a goalkeeper to receive a personal clean sheet, they must play the full game. A substitute keeper who comes on mid-match does not get a personal clean sheet even if the team keeps one.

Betting: One of the most popular keeper props. A goalkeeper's clean sheet probability is more reliably estimated from their team's xG against than from their recent run of results.

The total xG of all shots a goalkeeper has faced in a given period. Describes the quality and volume of chances they have had to deal with, independent of how many goals they actually conceded.

Betting: More informative than goals conceded for assessing defensive vulnerability. A team with high xG faced but few goals conceded is either keeping well or benefiting from poor opposition finishing. Usually both.

Goals conceded per 90 minutes played. Does not account for the quality of chances faced. That is why comparing GAA to xG faced gives a clearer picture of individual keeper performance.

Betting: A GAA above 1.5 over 8 matches is a warning signal for clean sheet bets, regardless of the keeper's seasonal record.

When a goalkeeper rushes off their line to cut out a through ball or close down an attacker running at goal. The keeper has to come out to at least the edge of the area with visible pressure from an attacking player to get the credit.

Betting: Sweeper keeper activity reflects how proactively a team's defensive line plays. High-line sides with sweeper keepers create more space behind them but also prevent more through-ball opportunities.

Both the home and away team score at least one goal each. The margin does not matter. A 1-1 and a 4-2 both count as BTTS Yes. Any game where one team is kept scoreless (0-0, 1-0, 3-0) is BTTS No. Also referred to as GG/NG on many European betting platforms.

Betting: One of the most data-driven football markets. BTTS rates over rolling match windows reveal structural patterns: teams that habitually score and habitually concede.

Whether the total goals in a match exceed a specific line. Over 2.5 means 3 or more goals were scored. Under 2.5 means 2 or fewer. Lines are set at half-goal increments so there is no push. The most common lines are 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5.

Betting: xG For and xG Against per game gives a stronger foundation for over/under bets than looking at recent scorelines, which have higher variance.

The percentage of total in-play time a team has the ball. Measured through ball movement tracking and attributed to whichever team last touched it. A possession sequence ends when the opposition wins the ball, there is a stoppage, or a shot is taken.

Betting: High possession does not automatically produce more chances. Style determines how ball control translates to threat. Possession is context, not a direct betting metric.

Passes Allowed per Defensive Action. The number of passes the opposition are allowed outside the pressing team's own defensive third, divided by the number of defensive actions made outside that third. Defensive actions include fouls, tackles, interceptions, challenges, and blocked passes. A lower PPDA means a more intense press.

Betting: High-press teams with a low PPDA force more turnovers in advanced areas. But when their press is beaten, they leave more space on the counter.

Possessions won in open play within 40 metres of the opponent's goal. Measures how often a team wins the ball in genuinely dangerous positions. A direct test of how effective their high press is.

Betting: Teams with frequent high turnover wins are involved in more open, transition-heavy matches. Usually a signal for higher scoring games.

A caution issued by the referee for foul play, simulation, time-wasting, dissent, or other rule breaches. Two yellows in the same match result in a red card. Opta cross-checks cards against official referee reports where available.

Betting: Cards markets are heavily driven by referee tendencies. Some officials average 4 yellows per game, others average 2. That gap is bigger than any team or player variable.

A dismissal for serious foul play, violent conduct, denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, or two yellows in the same match. Collected as either second yellow or straight red.

Betting: Too infrequent to build reliable pre-match strategy around. More useful as an in-play trigger for markets that shift sharply after a dismissal.

When a player makes a mistake that directly leads to a goal or a shot conceded. Also given to goalkeepers for spills or mishandled claims that directly result in a second attempt to score.

Betting: Keepers with recurring error events are a meaningful risk factor in clean sheet and goals markets, regardless of their save percentage.

When a player moves the ball five metres or more under control. Distinct from a dribble, which is a direct attempt to beat an opponent. A carry is simply movement with the ball.

Betting: Ball carry data identifies players who advance the team through movement rather than passing. Useful for understanding how chance creation actually starts.

Ball carries that move the ball more than five metres upfield. Measures how often a player advances into more dangerous areas by running with the ball rather than passing.

Betting: Players with high progressive carry rates in wide areas tend to create more crossing opportunities and draw more fouls.

The percentage of total carry distance that is in the direction of the opponent's goal. Calculated as progressive carry distance divided by total carry distance. Higher means the player consistently drives forward rather than moving sideways.

Betting: High directness indicates a forward-running carrier who attacks defences rather than recycling laterally.

An attempt to beat an opponent while in possession. A successful dribble means the player gets past the defender while keeping the ball. Unsuccessful ones include being tackled or losing the ball with a heavy touch while trying to beat someone.

Betting: Relevant for identifying attackers who create chances through individual action rather than through combinations.