Daka v Vardy – Who’s more clinical this season…

Who has been the more clinical striker this season, Patson Daka or Jamie Vardy?
By Alex Merson

So far this season, Leicester have had a tough start in the league, sitting in 13^th spot, but just 4 points off the relegation zone, however going forward hasn’t been a massive problem scoring the 6^th greatest number of goals with 25.

The main threat has been through attacking midfielder James Maddison and winger Harvey Barnes, who have contributed 13 goals together in the league. However, the big question has been who has been more effective starting up front, and it is mainly between Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka, who have both just managed 4 goals combined in the Premier League.

Jamie Vardy has been Leicester’s main man for many years, with his breakout season coming in 2015/16, where he broke the record for most goals in consecutive games with 11, as Leicester went onto do the impossible and win the Premier League. He also won a golden boot just two seasons ago with 23 goals.

However, this year hasn’t been as good, playing 751 minutes and scoring just a single goal in 8 starts.

In the 8 games Vardy has started, Leicester have lost 5 of them, drawing 1 and winning just two. He is more known as a natural finisher, getting in behind and scoring all kinds of goals, however this year it has been the opposite. In the games he has played, he is performing under his xG (expected goals) by 1.09, whereas throughout his career he has performed over, scoring 134 goals from a 125 xG.

 It has been his assists that have helped the team this year, with 4 already, and he hasn’t had a season with more than 10. It may be a question of age finally catching up to Vardy, as at 35 it is hard to succeed in such a tough league like the Premier League.

 On the other hand, Zambian forward Patson Daka’s season began slow, on the bench for Vardy most weeks and not doing much when brought on, however, when he was given the chance to start, he took it in his stride, and both scored and assisted in his first game. In his next 3 games Daka scored 2, but since then his goals have dried up, failing to score in his last 6 games.

However, he has managed two assists also this year, one coming in the final game before the break in a 2-0 win against West Ham.

As for Daka’s xG, he is outperforming it. By 0.64, as he is expected 2.36, but has scored 3 goals. He is also averaging and xG of 0.33 every 90 minutes, and an xA (Expected Assists) of 0.22 per 90 minutes. Vardy on the other hand is performing lower in both, with an xG per 90 of 0.25, and an xA of just 0.09, both way under his average of the last 8 years.

It is a tough ask to know who the better option is to lead the line after the World Cup break; however, it is quite clear that for clinicalness and helping the team to get the best results possible, Patson Daka should be the main man to lead the attack.