How important is distance covered in the Premier League?

In life, it is often said that there is no substitute for hard work, but is this really the case when it comes to Premier League football or does covering more distance as a team over the course of 90 minutes merely serve to illustrate deficiencies in other areas?

Well, with eight games of the top-flight season now in the can, we thought it would be a good time to take a closer look at which sides are working their socks off and whether or not this has been beneficial to their cause:

DISTANCE COVERED (KM)

Despite making a stuttering start to life under new boss Alvaro Arbeloa, it is Fulham that have been setting the pace when it comes to distance covered. In fact, the Cottagers’ tally of 957.19 km is 10.20km greater than that of their closest challengers, Brentford (946.99km), so any Premier League predictions would be wise to take this into account.

Somewhat worryingly for the rest of the division, defending champions Arsenal occupy third position (938.37km). Given the quality that the Gunners possess, this capacity for hard work only serves to make them an even more formidable foe.

At the opposite end of the scale, the ambitious trio of Tottenham Hotspur (898.23km), Chelsea (896.18km) and Liverpool (894.60km) are three of five clubs to have covered less than 900km. Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth side were renowned for outworking their opponents, so this, in particular, is somewhat of a surprise.

Less shocking, perhaps, is the presence of Everton (890.99km) at the bottom of this list. Traditionally, teams managed by David Moyes have been well-organised and hard to beat, meaning that retaining your shape is given a higher priority than pressing with intensity.

Amazingly, the Toffees have covered 66.20km fewer than Fulham across the first eight matches of the current campaign, which would equate to a staggering 314.45km over the course of an entire 38-game season.

RECORD BY TEAM

Measuring distance covered is all well and good, but how has this translated to results on the pitch for each of the 20 Premier League clubs across their eight games so far this season?:

Three teams, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester United, have only covered more distance than their opponents in one game this season, which is pretty shocking given that they are all featuring in the Champions League this term.

That said, another of the English representatives in that competition, Manchester City, have done so on just two occasions, though Arsenal are the only side in the division to have never been outrun.

If you are looking to beat the bookies whilst engaging in some football in-play betting, then the distance covered statistics for certain clubs are definitely worth paying attention to. Brentford, for example, are unbeaten in the seven matches in which they have won this battle, whilst Coventry City have lost all five games in which they have been on the other side of things.

It could be argued that Brighton & Hove Albion provide the most interesting case study, collecting nine points out of 12 when outrunning their opponents and seven points out of 12 when the boot is on the other foot. This makes the Seagulls fairly unique, as most other teams perform significantly better when covering more kilometres than the club they are up against.

SUMMARY

At the start of the season, not many football predictions would have had Fulham down to be the most hardworking team in the Premier League after eight games, particularly given their appointment of a former Real Madrid head coach.

Conversely, Liverpool have struggled to meet expectations on this particular front, with Iraola’s intense pressing style yet to take root at Anfield. Having collected 15 points from eight games, however, the Reds will be delighted to sit fourth in the table as they slowly adjust to their new boss’ methods.

At this embryonic stage of the campaign, it is starting to look like Manchester City and Arsenal will once again compete for the title. How they are going about their business is very different, mind you, with the Citizens’ possession-based approach meaning that they are generally being outrun by their opponents, whilst this never happens to the Gunners.