Adrian Clarke looks at the possibility of a goal record in a Premier League season being achieved on the final day.
Can the tally be broken?
Heading into the final round of matches, the Premier League is on course to record the most goals in a season that features 20 clubs.
The current figure for this campaign stands at 1,051, averaging 2.841 per match.
Since 1995/96, when the division was reduced to its current number of clubs, we have never seen as many goals scored ahead of the final fixture.
See: Record season for goals in sight
The target to beat is 1,072, set in 2018/19, which means 22 more strikes are required to set a new landmark.
How goals have been scored
| Season | Right foot | Left foot | Headers | Own goals/others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018/19 | 52.5% | 26.4% | 17.3% | 3.8% |
| 2019/20 | 55.4% | 27.8% | 13.3% | 3.5% |
| 2020/21 | 50.9% | 28.1% | 16.6% | 4.4% |
| 2021/22 | 49.0% | 32.0% | 15.3% | 3.7% |
| 2022/23 | 48.4% | 31.6% | 15.4% | 4.6% |
Left-footed goals have risen dramatically across the last two Premier League seasons.
Back in 2018/19, only 26.4 per cent of all goals came from left-footed shots, but across 2021/22 and 2022/23, the average is 31.8 per cent.
Erling Haaland has been responsible for 23 left-footed goals this season, a phenomenal return.
Much-improved goalscoring outputs by Martin Odegaard who has produced 13 left-footed goals and Miguel Almiron with 10 have also helped to contribute to the tally.
Bukayo Saka’s upward curve in the goalscoring department has also played a part, registering 20 left-footed strikes across the two campaigns.
Mohamed Salah is no longer the only prolific scorer who is predominantly left-footed.
Goals scored inside v outside box
| Season | Inside box | Outside box |
|---|---|---|
| 2019/20 | 87.8 | 12.2 |
| 2020/21 | 88.0 | 12.0 |
| 2021/22 | 86.6 | 13.4 |
| 2022/23 | 86.4 | 13.6 |
Each season is unique in its own way, but the ratio of goals scored from inside and outside the box has remained virtually identical year on year.
Currently a total of 143 goals have been scored from beyond 18 yards, only one fewer than last season ahead of the final weekend.
A 13.6 per cent share of all goals is very much in line with what we have witnessed across the past five seasons.
No one has reached five goals from outside the area, yet James Ward-Prowse and Kevin De Bruyne shared that honour last season, but it is the Manchester City playmaker who leads the way on four.
We have seen a very wide spread of players netting multiple goals from long range this season.
In total, 37 players have registered at least two goals from outside the box. Last season that figure was 30.
Final weekend goals scored
| Season | Goals scored |
|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 31 |
| 2018/19 | 36 |
| 2019/20 | 33 |
| 2020/21 | 31 |
| 2021/22 | 39 |
The final round of matches are traditionally high scoring weeks.
On the final day of last season, 39 goals were scored to come within one of the record total, while the previous four seasons all witnessed over three goals a match on Matchweek 38.
Setting a Premier League record is a distinct possibility on Sunday.