Manchester City will be without Sergio Agüero for their game against Liverpool on Sunday, but one stat suggests his absence might not benefit the Reds as much as their fans may think.
Sergio Agüero is one of the Premier League’s greatest strikers, with his 180 goals putting him fourth in its all-time top scorers list.
His absence then, it stands to reason, can only be beneficial to Liverpool, particularly as they are missing Virgil van Dijk in the centre of defence.
However, the stats somewhat counter-intuitively suggest that City have a better scoring record without Agüero in the side than they do with him in it.
Manchester City score an average of 2.2 goals per game in all competitions when Agüero has played at least one minute in the game, compared to 2.5 per game when he hasn’t.
That could potentially be explained by Agüero being more likely to be rested or dropped for games against poorer opposition.
City have averaged 1.9 goals per game against the other “big six” sides - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham - compared to 1.5 per game without him.
Liverpool are an exception to that though.
Manchester City have averaged 1.5 goals per game against the Reds when Agüero has made it onto the pitch, but 1.8 per game when he hasn’t.
