Stats highlight how vital Drinkwater was to Leicester
Danny Drinkwater’s influence at Leicester City was undeniable – the Foxes won more, lost less, scored more, conceded fewer and picked up more points when the midfielder played.
Chelsea’s deadline-day signing will hope to face his former side on Saturday as the past two Premier League champions meet at the King Power Stadium.
And stats from Opta, published by fantasy football game Oulala.com, show just how influential Drinkwater was to Leicester’s successes.
Since their return to English football’s top flight in 2014, they have played 117 Premier League games, with Drinkwater appearing in 87.
Leicester won 39 (45%) of the matches Drinkwater featured in, while they lost 27 (31%).
In contrast, when Drinkwater didn’t play, their win rate dropped dramatically (27%) and their loss rate rose (50%).
The stats go on to show that the midfielder’s presence, or lack of, also had a direct impact on both goals scored and goals conceded.
With Drinkwater, Leicester scored an average of 1.44 goals per game, while without him this dropped narrowly to 1.4.
However his importance was felt defensively. Leicester conceded an average of 1.24 goals with Drinkwater in the side, but when he wasn’t in the team, this increased to 1.73.
In the last three seasons, the Foxes have picked up an average of 1.59 points per game with Drinkwater, compared to just 1.03 point per game without him.
It’s hard to disagree that Leicester will miss Danny Drinkwater judging by the stats. Whether he makes such an impact at Chelsea, only time will tell.
