This weekend Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers spoke about he felt goals would come for his newly-promoted side, having created plenty of chances against Sunderland in a 0-0 draw.
Whilst they created a number of good chances, it’s hugely important to convert these into shots on target, something none of the promoted teams have done particularly well so far this season:
Ignoring the small sample sizes and disregard for opposition strength, all three teams – but most notably QPR – have struggled to hit the target this season. Based on last season, all three teams need to get up to around 4 shots on target per game to give themselves a better chance of survival.
This will be particularly true if they can be better defensively than both Blackpool and West Ham were last season. So far the signs are promising; none of the three sides have shown reckless abandon going forward.
All three teams have already played Wigan, with Swansea and QPR achieving four on target and Norwich two. Swansea were the only team to play at home.
Obviously it’s early days, but sometimes ‘creating chances’ isn’t enough – if you trouble the keeper enough your chances of scoring increase significantly. If the Premier League new boys can increase their shots on target per game up to and above 4 whilst keeping it tight at the back, they will certainly fancy their chances of beating the drop.
