Dan Ballard#5

What xG, npxG, xA and xGChain mean

xG Expected goals

How many goals an average finisher would score from the same shots. A 0.30 xG shot goes in about 3 times in 10. Goals above xG mean efficient finishing; below — a cold streak or poor finishing.

npxG Non-penalty xG

The same xG without penalties. A penalty alone is worth about 0.76 xG, so npxG is a cleaner view of open-play and set-piece chances.

xA Expected assists

The xG of the shots that followed the player's passes. High xA with few assists means teammates missed good chances.

xGChain xG chain

Team xG from every possession the player touched. It shows involvement in build-up, not only the shot or the final pass, so a deep midfielder can rank high without scoring.

KP Key passes

Passes that led directly to a shot — the volume behind xA.