Who scores when in the Premier League?

The timing of goals can be crucial, be they early, late or somewhere in between. In fact, it would probably be fair to say that every successful strike has a significant impact upon the action that follows.

Although the current English top-flight campaign is just six matches old, we thought it might be interesting to take a look at which teams are most dangerous during which periods of the game, all with the aim of providing you with some useful football tips.

Before looking in more detail at each of the 15-minute time segments that we have chosen, here is a breakdown of exactly when the ball is hitting the back of the net in the Premier League this term:

0-15 MINUTES

Chelsea have been streets ahead of anyone when it comes to scoring early on, managing seven goals in the opening 15 minutes of play. To put this in context, Newcastle United (3), Liverpool (2) and Brentford (2) are the only other sides to have netted more than once during this period.

Even more impressively, perhaps, Xabi Alonso’s charges have been responsible for 26.92% of the goals scored in the first quarter of an hour, with no team able to get close to this figure in any of the other 15-minute segments:

Given that five of the West London outfit’s seven early goals have served to break the deadlock, it is certainly worth checking out the first goalscorer odds for some of their more prominent attacking players.

Interestingly, whilst the Blues have been tearing it up from the very first whistle, four clubs have failed to trouble the scorers in the opening exchanges. These are the newly-promoted duo of Ipswich Town and Hull City, as well as bigger names in the shape of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

16-30 MINUTES

The period between 16 and 30 minutes is far and away the most barren when it comes to the number of goals being scored in the Premier League, with the net bulging just 15 times in total across 60 matches.

Ipswich and Manchester City have been most productive during this timeframe, managing three goals apiece, with Emersonn and Erling Haaland each accounting for two of these three successful strikes:

Knowing when certain players have a tendency to hit the back of the net can be useful when it comes to football in-play betting, particularly when this is not reflected in the bookmakers’ odds.

In terms of ‘any other business’, there is one thing that sticks out like a sore thumb as far as this time period is concerned and that is the fact that a staggering 12 of the 20 top-flight clubs have not managed to score a single goal.

31-45 MINUTES

Brighton & Hove Albion are the most dangerous side as half-time approaches, scoring two more goals (5) than any other club in the 15-minute period leading up to the interval. Somewhat surprisingly, 19-year-old Charalampos Kostoulas has been responsible for two of these strikes.

Elsewhere, Bournemouth, Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Brentford have all netted three times heading into the break, with the Cherries’ tally accounting for in excess of 40% of their overall total:

Although five clubs have failed to trouble the scorers during this period, few would have expected Liverpool and Arsenal to be amongst their number. This is the case, however, so it is definitely an area in which these two English heavyweights can look to improve.

Interestingly, Andoni Iraola’s charges have not conceded during this 15-minute window either, so this is something to bear in mind when constructing a half-time full-time bet whilst the action is taking place.

46-60 MINUTES

On a matchday, half-time can provide a manager with an excellent opportunity to make tweaks to his tactics or alterations to his starting XI. Given that the current top-two, Manchester City and Arsenal, have both struck four times in the opening 15 minutes of the second period, this suggests that Enzo Maresca and Mikel Arteta are earning their money:

It is not only the elite clubs that have been scoring with regularity immediately after the interval, however, as the net has bulged 38 times in total across this period, which is second only to the final 15 minutes of play.

Three teams, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Ipswich, clearly didn’t receive the memo, being outscored by a combined tally of five goals to nil across their 18 matches, and this includes the former two drawing a blank against one another.

In terms of Premier League predictions, it would appear that this is a good window to target for goals. In fact, exactly 50% of the top-flight games played during the current campaign have featured at least one successful strike during this period.

61-75 MINUTES

In what is traditionally a period of the game in which changes are made, it comes as a bit of a surprise to see that the four most prolific sides in this window have not benefitted from a single goal from a substitute.

For the record, the aforementioned clubs are Chelsea, Manchester United, Newcastle and Brighton, all of whom have made very contrasting starts to the current Premier League campaign:

Returning to the contribution of substitutes, it is worth noting that Wilson Isidor, Alysson, Mohamed-Ali Cho, Bruno Guimaraes, Jeremy Doku and Mohamed Belloumi have all stepped off the bench to find the net between 61 and 75 minutes.

Given that two of these players turn out for Hull, you may be able to beat the bookies in the next goalscorer market by keeping a close eye on exactly who the Tigers are bringing on in advance of this period.

76-90 MINUTES

As you might expect, more goals (41) have been scored in the final 15 minutes of play than during any other period, with seven teams on target three times or more. Like the end of the first half, these figures are boosted by injury time, though tired legs and minds will also play a part.

Whilst it comes as no surprise to see Manchester City weighing in with five goals, the fact that this tally is matched by Ipswich is rather more of a shocker. What’s more, the Tractor Boys have only netted nine times in total, thus making their late flurry even more spectacular.

Scoring over half of your goals between 76 and 90 minutes is pretty impressive, but Tottenham have taken things to a whole new level. Roberto De Zerbi’s charges have not exactly been prolific, but 100% of their three successful strikes have come late on:

Interestingly, Chelsea, Bournemouth and Fulham are yet to score in the final 15 minutes of play. This is in stark contrast to how prolific Xabi Alonso’s men have been early on and is definitely something to consider when it comes to making your weekend football predictions.

SUMMARY

It has been quite a high-scoring start to the Premier League season, with 177 goals being scored at an average of 2.95 per game. Although fewer successful strikes have arrived before the break (71) than after it (106), Chelsea’s tally of seven in the opening 15 minutes remains a high-water mark.

After six matches, Brighton are the leading scorers in the division with 18 goals and this is reflected by their presence amongst the leading lights in five of the six 15-minute time periods that we have looked at.

Elsewhere, you can pretty much forget about Tottenham until the latter stages, with their three goals being timed at 86, 90+2 and 90+8 minutes, respectively.