xG difference
also: xGD · expected goal difference
A team's expected goals for minus expected goals against: the quality of the chances it makes and allows.
xGD = xG for - xG against (per match, or over a season)Goal difference is the table's tie-breaker and the best single summary of a team's results. xG difference is the same idea one step earlier: the chances a team creates against the chances it concedes, before finishing and goalkeeping decide which go in.
Over a season it tracks goal difference closely, and over a few months it predicts the next stretch of results better than goal difference does, because chance quality is steadier than conversion. get_team_stats returns xG for and against per match.
A team that leads early often sits deep and concedes chances it does not mind conceding, so xG against can overstate how open a strong side is. Read it with the score in mind.
Where to get it
Related
xG difference from the API
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