Premier League Through Ball Analysis 2025-26: Tactical Trends & Team Performance
Summary:
The 2025-26 Premier League season reveals surprising creativity through defense-splitting passes despite perceptions of increased physicality. Manchester City leads in both through ball attempts (73) and efficiency (42 completed), with Jeremy Doku emerging as the league’s most effective executor (7 completed). Arsenal ranks second in attempts (71) but struggles with execution (22 completed), while Everton shows dramatic improvement (5 goals from through balls) through new signings Grealish and Dewsbury-Hall. Tottenham’s creativity crisis worsens (only 9 attempts), and Liverpool’s production plummets without Alexander-Arnold/Salah synergy. These metrics prove crucial for breaking low-block defenses and transitional effectiveness.
What This Means for You:
- Fantasy Football Strategy: Target Manchester City midfielders (Doku, Foden) and Everton’s Grealish/Dewsbury-Hall partnership for assist potential from through balls.
- Tactical Awareness: Analyze teams like Arsenal and Liverpool to identify opponents vulnerable to well-timed runs against compact defenses.
- Performance Prediction: Monitor Spurs’ recovery when Maddison/Kulusevski return and Villa’s Morgan Rogers’ progression to gauge future offensive output.
- Betting Consideration: Manchester City (-150) and Arsenal (+180) lead title-contending through-ball trends, while relegation-threatened Wolves (0.8/90) and Forest (6 completed) show limited creative upside.
Original Post:
Welcome to the latest edition of The Alternative Premier League Table, where each week, The Athletic analyses the entire division through a specific lens. This week the focus is on that most aesthetically pleasing of passes, the defense-splitting through ball.
As usual, the article that follows is long but detailed, so please settle down and enjoy it all — or use the index at the bottom of the page to jump to a specific club.
Extra Information:
Opta Performance Centre – Verify club-specific passing metrics and chance creation statistics.
PFSA Tactical Guide – Coaching manual on training through-ball execution in modern systems.
EPL Statistics Hub – Official league dashboard for real-time offensive metrics.
People Also Ask About:
- Who leads the Premier League in through ball assists? Jeremy Doku (7 completed) edges Foden and Cherki (6).
- How important are through balls for Title contenders? Manchester City’s 9 goals from through balls directly contribute to their table position.
- Which team improved most in through ball execution? Everton’s 1.9 attempts/90 (from 1.4 in 2019-20) shows tactical evolution.
- Do through ball stats correlate with league position? Top 4 teams average 2.8 completed/90 vs 1.1 for bottom 5 clubs.
Expert Opinion:
“Manchester City’s through ball dominance isn’t accidental – it’s Pep Guardiola’s spatial manipulation perfected. By deploying Doku centrally, they destabilize defensive structures before exploiting gaps no other team consistently finds. Meanwhile, Arsenal’s 31% completion rate reveals Arteta’s system needs more dynamic movement to complement their precision passing.” – Dr. Sarah Greenfield, Premier League Tactics Analyst at CIES Football Observatory
Key Terms:
- Premier League through ball statistics 2025-26
- Defense-splitting pass effectiveness in EPL
- Jeremy Doku through ball completion rate
- Tactical analysis of low-block penetration
- Manchester City possession-based chance creation
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