Close to 2pm every Saturday the football media rises to a chorus of pings generated by the landing of team sheets from the ether into the virtual timelines of the web. It’s generally followed by commentary on who’s in and who’s on the bench for the afternoon’s games with individual “big name” players who miss out on starting which generates the pre-match waffle. Very little attention is given however to the overall collective team selections over the course of the season. Below data is presented to give some insight on current trends in the Premier League 2019/20.
One team selection which did gain much criticism was Liverpool’s starting xi for the FA Cup replay against Shrewsbury Town. Despite The Red’s virtually unbridgeable points gap, Jurgen Klopp decided to take advantage of the winter break by fielding a team with the average age of 19yrs 102 days. This selection, in terms of age, is a clear outlier in terms of topflight men’s senior professional football. But by how much?
Analysis of season so far numbers shows the average age of Premier League starting xi is decreasing. Though this season’s figure has not surpassed the all-time low set in 2008/09, fans have seen 5 teams with line ups averaging 25yrs or less, an unprecedented event in the Premier League.