Birmingham City are sitting 17th in the EFL Championship table, nine points clear of safety. With just eight games remaining in the current season, the teams sitting at the bottom will look to return to winning ways. This will automatically put some pressure on the teams sitting above them. Birmingham City are one of the teams that can come under pressure in their race for survival. The Blues need their senior players to step up their game and ensure safety. Scott Hogan is one of the players that can be relied upon. However, the striker has failed to impress in recent games and is unable to score goals. He made a decent start to the season, but lately, things have not gone in his favour. We now look at some of the stats that show what has gone wrong with the form of the 30-year-old.
Season so far
Scott Hogan has appeared in 32 league games for Birmingham City. He has started in 30 matches and was injured for six matches. The 30-year-old Irish striker has netted ten goals this season and also has an assist to his name. By looking at the above viz, we can see the percentile rank of the striker in comparison to other strikers in the EFL Championship. Hogan has a low percentile rank and is ranked below average in every department.
Failures to score goals
Scott Hogan has scored nine goals from open play and one from the penalty spot. He takes 1.54 shots per 90 minutes and has a 49% accuracy rate. The above xG map shows that Hogan has scored every goal from inside the penalty box. He has missed some opportunities from a close range.
The 30-year-old netted nine goals in the first 21 games. This was before the World Cup break. Post the World Cup, Hogan was injured and missed six games. He then returned to action but couldn’t repeat his early-season form. Hogan has only scored one goal in the last 11 games. His only goal came from the penalty spot. The striker has taken 16 shots and has a low accuracy rate of 25% during this period. This low accuracy and conversion rate have led to struggles.
Struggles in the overall game
Scott Hogan has also failed to get involved in the game. He only averages 11.14 passes per 90 minutes with a 75.4% accuracy rate. Hogan has only provided one assist. Overall, the player has 18 shot assists to his name. However, in the last 11 games, Hogan has only provided four shot assists. His numbers are ever-decreasing, and the loss of creativity in the recent games has led to struggles.
After progressing with the ball 17 times in the first 21 games, Scott Hogan has only made six progressive runs in the last 11 games. Most of the runs came from the left side but none helped the striker to penetrate the opposition’s penalty box. He has failed to create much of an impact lately.
Betting analysis
As per the 1×2 betting odds, Birmingham City’s odds rate will be lower if Hogan is not in the team. He will also have an effect on the over/under lines. However, his recent run will not have much of an effect on the odds.
Birmingham City are sitting safe enough to play in the EFL Championship next season. However, they won’t be relying on their opponent’s results to help them secure safety. Scott Hogan needs to step up his game and score more goals in the remaining games. As things are looking, the Blues might need more enforcement in the attacking zones for the next season.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
