Does FC Südtirol have a goalkeeping problem?

There is only one team in the entire Serie B that has never kept a clean sheet - that is, has not conceded a goal - this season. This team is FC Südtirol. What is the problem with the back line around goalkeeper Giacomo Poluzzi? Is FCS simply more unlucky than other teams and therefore conceding more goals? Or does the white and red defense lack quality? Answers to these questions can be found here.

The facts FC Südtirol concedes 1,5 goals on average. Poluzzi has already had to reach behind him 9 times. This means that the white-reds have the fourth weakest defense in the league. The following value is particularly interesting: According to statistics (data service: Opta), the white-reds should only have conceded 4,5 goals. That is half (!) of the actual goals conceded. No other club in Serie B has such a large discrepancy between statistics and reality. FCS coach Federico Valente has to get the defense problem under control. © det

For comparison: Carrarese has conceded 12 goals, the expected goals against value (xGa) is 10,6. Rounded up, the promoted team has only conceded one goal more than the statistics calculated.

What are the reasons? FC Südtirol's opponents average an xG value of 0,75 per game. That's not much and indicates that the team defends well. Contrary to what is often claimed at the bar, Valente's tactical concept works very well. Despite this, goalkeeper Poluzzi has already conceded 9 goals. Is this just the bad luck of the White-Reds or the luck of the opponents - or is there more to it?

The fact is that FCS allows the fewest shots on goal. Only 19 balls have hit Poluzzi's goal so far. But 9 of them went in. A very high number. No wonder that the 36-year-old is in last place with -2 in terms of PSxG statistics (expected goals conceded after an opponent's shot). Pisa goalie Adrian Semper is right at the top, with figures twice as good as Poluzzi. xG, PSxG & Co. quickly explained xG (expected goals) Probably the best-known statistical value. An AI calculates how many goals a team would have to score after considering all scoring opportunities. Penalties are included. FCS has a value of 8,0 and is therefore in the top group of Serie B in the current season (4th place). xGa (expected goals against) The opposite of the xG value. This includes all of the opponents' chances. At the end, a statistical value for the number of goals expected to be conceded is obtained. If a team concedes significantly more goals than the xGa shows, this can be an indication of a lack of quality in the defensive players or a lot of individual errors. Over the course of a season, however, the values often stabilize and then correlate with the actual goals conceded. PSxG (Post Shot Expected Goals) This statistic indicates how likely a goalkeeper is to save a shot on goal. A high value can indicate an above-average goalkeeper - or more luck. FCS keeper Poluzzi has a value of -2. This puts him at the bottom of Serie B. But there is a catch. What the statistics do not show is how lucky the opposing team is when it comes to a shot on goal or whether the defenders made a mistake beforehand (for example, not properly covering a man). FCS has conceded a few goals this season where Poluzzi could do nothing. However, the PSxG statistics, which also take into account the positioning of the goalkeepers, indicate that Poluzzi is at least not in top form.

Conclusion In the end, the many goals conceded are a combination of many things. The FCS concedes goals too easily, as the xGa statistics show. The FCS opponents have few chances, but when they do, the ball goes into the net. This is partly due to the fact that the defense is not consistent enough. But it is also due to goalkeeper Poluzzi, who is currently lacking the luck to scrape an unstoppable shot out of the corner. Those times will come again, because Poluzzi is and remains the undisputed number 1 in goal for the White-Reds.

Serie B Italy	SP	TV	P
1. Venice	38	77:31	82
2. Frosinone	38	76:34	81
3.Monza	38	61:32	76
4. Palermo	38	61:33	72
5. Catanzaro	38	62:51	59
6. Modena	38	49:36	55
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Does FC Südtirol have a goalkeeping problem?

FC Südtirol has never kept a clean sheet this season. Is this just the defense's fault? Or do the White-Reds have a goalkeeping problem? SportNews has got to the bottom of the matter.

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