Gareth Southgate has several selection headaches ahead of England’s Euro 2020 opener with Croatia this weekend… so here’s who the Three Lions boss should pick according to the stats
- Gareth Southgate has several question marks in his England Euro 2020 line-up
- The England manager has fierce competition for places all over the pitch
- Sportsmail has teamed up with LCP and Analytics FC to see what the stats say
- The Three Lions could opt for either a back three or four against Croatia…
With so many options for Gareth Southgate, few can agree on his best team.
To help the England boss solve some of these dilemmas, Sportsmail has teamed up with LCP and Analytics FC to crunch the numbers.
Their analytics platform, TransferLab, is used by 17 clubs and agencies — including five Premier League teams — to analyse player performance. Here are some examples of how their data drives selection:
Sportsmail has teamed up with an analytics group to help Gareth Southgate’s selection woes
The England manager has several line-up headaches across several areas of the pitch
THREE AT THE BACK
You might think Conor Coady is an obvious fit, having marshalled a Wolves back three. But TransferLab data suggests the value of Coady’s ball-playing ability is outweighed by his defensive shortcomings.
Instead, they suggest Ben White — also used to a back three at Brighton — and Tyrone Mings should partner John Stones.
At left wing-back, the numbers show Luke Shaw edges Ben Chilwell (he helped create more chances at Manchester United than Chilwell managed for Chelsea). TransferLab also prefers Jordan Henderson to Declan Rice.
BACK FOUR
In this formation, Reece James and Luke Shaw are still, statistically, England’s best full backs, and the numbers back Mings and Stones in central defence.
Again Mount partners Henderson (or Philips) in the middle, with Grealish in the No 10 role.
Over to you, Gareth.
