There's a pretty good reason Leicester are top of the Premier League right now – and the answer lies below. Against Newcastle on Monday night, the Foxes racked up an eighth clean sheet in their last 12 top-flight matches, leading to the mightily impressive statistic that Claudio Ranieri's side have faced almost 24 shots for each goal they've conceded in their last 10 league matches (six from 142 shots).
As far as their title rivals go, it's a mixed bag: Tottenham are only conceding 10.4 shots per game – bettered only by Manchester City and Liverpool – but Arsenal have allowed more shots than they've taken (145 to 143) in the same period.
Tie this in with our data on the Premier League's most efficient teams in front of goal
Meanwhile, Man City might be being regimented when it comes to reducing their opponents' firepower, but it hasn't stopped them conceding goals. Manuel Pellegrini's team have shipped as many as rivals Manchester United (11) in their last 10 Premier League matches despite allowing almost five fewer shots per match.
Southampton are faring remarkably well, perhaps coinciding with the return of Fraser Forster in goal; the south coast side boast the second-meanest defence behind Leicester (averaging 20.3 shots per goal conceded). It's in stark contrast to Crystal Palace, whose mid-season malaise has cost them dearly. The Eagles are breached once every 6.4 shots (better than only Newcastle, Liverpool and Norwich) and also allow too many of them – 14.8 per game, exceeded only by Swansea (15.4) and West Brom (16.2).
The further to the right a club is, the more shots they’ve allowed per match. The further up they are, the more shots they’ve faced for each goal conceded. Therefore, the green top-left area is good (allowing few shots and repelling more for each goal conceded), and the red bottom-right bad.
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