One of Liverpool's data analysts has explained the revolutionary way the Reds conduct research into performances and transfer targets as they seek to stay ahead of the game.
Jurgen Klopp's men are enjoying a remarkable 2019/20 season, following up June's Champions League success with a near flawless Premier League record as well as progress in the Champions League and FA Cup.
The UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies are already in the bag too, and Tim Waskett, a member of the club's behind the scenes data and analytics team, has given an insight into the type of numbers the club crunch in order to stay ahead of the competition.
Waskett is one of the low key members of sporting director Michael Edwards' varied team, and he discussed his role over Christmas when speaking to the Royal Institution's Christmas Lectures on BBC Television.
He detailed how mathematics and metrics like Expected Goals are a big part of the Reds' success.
"The primary currency every game is based on is goals," said Waskett, via the Liverpool Echo .
"It’s our job to turn every action on the pitch - every pass, every throw-in, every tackle, every shot - into a goal probability.
"By looking at where the shots take place and how often they became a goal, [it] gives us a probability of a shot from a similar situation becoming a goal."
Waskett added that the team also look at tracking data which can help scout opposition players and transfer targets, with Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita both standing out enough for the club to snap them up.
"For roughly 200 games per weekend we get data involving every single ball touch, and for every game, we get approximately 2,000 ball touch events," he continued.
"Every second or so there is a new pass, so it’s pretty frantic. Thankfully, it isn’t us who have to do this work - we have a data supplier who provides these files for us."
