Ranking each Premier League team's most important player during build-up play in 2019-20 using data analytics: Part 2

#7 Crystal Palace – James Tomkins: xGBuildup Per 90: 0.179

Huddersfield Town v Crystal Palace - Premier League

This one is a surprise entry. One of only 2 central defenders to make this list, Tomkins has been a revelation of sorts. He has not only been actively involved in Crystal Palace’s (rare) build-up play but also been tackling with astounding accuracy.

The Premier League veteran has attempted 28 tackles in total but this figure isn’t surprising in itself. It’s actually pretty low, about 2 tackles per 90. The league’s top tackler, Ricardo Pereira averages just above 4 per 90. What’s astonishing is how accurate he’s been at it.

He has been dribbled past only 3 times, successfully tackling 25 times out of a possible 28. That’s an 89% success rate (Virgil van Dijk has a 79% success rate => 15/19), only eclipsed by Seamus Coleman in the PL (considering only defenders with more than 9 league appearances).

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#8 Everton – Gylfi Sigurdsson: xGBuildup Per 90: 0.211

Everton v Crystal Palace - Premier League

It won’t be harsh to say that Gylfi Sigurdsson hasn’t really hit the same heights in the blue of Everton that many expected him to hit, based on his form at Swansea. Only 4 players in the Premier League had more assists than he had during the 3 seasons he was at Swansea. Also, only 16 other players, most of them strikers, scored more non-penalty goals than he had.

He was so prolific during his time at mid-table Swansea that he was one of only 3 players to have scored 20 or more goals and assisted 20 or more goals in those 3 seasons (14/15, 15/16, and 16/17). The other two players were part of table-toppers Arsenal and Spurs (Sanchez and Eriksen).

Although at a bigger club now (albeit an unstable one), Sigurdsson ranks 41 on the top assist makers table and 37 on the top non-penalty goals scorer’s table. A major reason for that is probably his lack of game time. During his 3 year stint at Swansea, he played 87.4% of the Swansea’s minutes in the PL. For Everton, just 79.1%.

Additionally, out of the 21 games that he has been a part of this season (including substitute appearances), he’s played as an attacking midfielder only 12 times. This would explain Sigurdsson’s increase in xGBuildup Per 90 from 0.147 (last season) to 0.211 (this season).

Last season he was 12th on Everton’s list of highest xGBuildup Per 90. A drop in his goals and assists numbers but an increase in his involvement during Everton’s buildup can be attributed to the fact that he is being used as a facilitator rather than an executioner this season