Using ProVision to preview the big game of the Premier League's opening weekend by analyzing sequence data for Arsenal and Manchester City:

"City averaged 5.3 passes per sequence last season, which may not sound impressive but was 26% better than the second-best Premier League team, which was Arsenal at 4.2 passes per sequence. This gap is about the same as the difference between Arsenal and Southampton, who ranked seventh in this metric and narrowly avoided relegation.."

Full article: OptaPro blog

Writing for the OptaPro blog, Paul Carr uses TruMedia's ProVision tool (developed in partnership with Opta) to show how a newly-promoted Premier League club might use data while searching for a left-sided attacker.

"To narrow the pool of candidates, the search is limited to the just-completed European league seasons for players:

- From the Dutch Eredivisie, Belgium’s Jupiler League, Ligue 2, 2. Bundesliga and England’s Championship
- Who played as a left midfielder, left attacking midfielder, left winger or left wing back
- With at least 900 minutes this season
- Currently age 30 or younger
- Who are right-footed or use both feet equally well

That leaves 73 players on our target list, with the four selected statistics (expected goals, expected assists, defensive actions in each half of the field) scaled on a per-90-minute basis."

Full article: OptaPro blog (by Paul Carr, Director of Content Development)

On the OptaPro blog, TruMedia's Paul Carr uses ProVision to analyze Ligue 2 defenders who could be possible recruitment targets this summer.

"Laporte has now jumped out from the numbers twice, so let’s examine his passing in greater detail. He’s not just nudging the ball to a midfielder to carry up the pitch, he’s getting the ball into the attack effectively. Per 90 minutes, Laporte averages 6.6 passes into the attacking third this season, third-most out of these 23 defenders.

Getting more granular, Laporte has also completed the most passes from the defensive third to the attacking half, both on a total (56) and per-90 (2.2) basis this season. He’s also completing those passes at a higher rate (59%) than any of the others, as his passing map shows."

Full article: OptaPro (by Paul Carr, Director of Content Development)

On OptaPro's blog, TruMedia's Paul Carr uses ProVision to find Danish Superliga creative midfielders who could be recruitment targets.

"ProVision allows for several stat views other than totals, which may emphasise quantity over quality. Looking at the same numbers on a per-90-minute basis, Mukhtar isn’t quite as dominant, still leading in big chances created and expected assists, while sliding to third in chances created behind Jensen and Besar Halimi, who played seven fewer games.

The type of creativity matters, since a central midfielder and a winger would fit differently into a line-up. Looking at types of passes attempted, Mukhtar ranks second with 13 through balls and 32nd with 22 crosses, indicating he plays primarily in a central role.

Filtering down to the central third of the field shows that 12 of his 13 through balls come from there, as do 58 of his 60 chances created, profiling Mukhtar as a number 10."

Full article: OptaPro (by Paul Carr, Director of Content Development)