What Is PPDA In Football? – Its Definition, Advantages And Disadvantages – Data Analysis

Anyone who has already been in touch with football analysis will probably have heard of the so-called PPDA.

And whereas it is often used to quickly characterise a teams pressing approach, there is so much more to know about the PPDA model, its myths, strengths and weaknesses.

The following data analysis is supposed to explain what the PPDA is, what it can indicate and how one should use the PPDA value for analysis.

Moreover, we will present some weaknesses of this statistical model to clarify some myths.

What Is PPDA In Football?

In order to define the term PPDA we use the definition made by Wyscout:

PPDA = Number of Passes made by Attacking Team (opponent) / Number of Defensive Actions

Both values (passes made and defensive actions) will be calculated in opponent’s final 60% of the pitch.

This means that a PPDA of 10 would tell us that the team allowed the opposition to play 10 passes without interrupting them by a tackle, challenge (failed tackle), foul or interception on average.

Therewith, the PPDA is supposed to be an indicator for the pressing intensity.

The lower the PPDA value, the more defensive actions per opposition pass, indicating a more intense press.

The PPDA does not tell us, however, whether a side simply sat back in a deep block or whether they attempted to press but failed to do so.

As a consequence, the PPDA as a part of quantitative analysis should only be used in combination with qualitative analysis, which means the observation of the teams approaches.

What does the PPDA tell us?

But what can the PPDA statistic tell us, and how can it help our analysis?

As already mentioned, the PPDA measures the pressing intensity.

One of the main advantages of the PPDA is that it is one figure which is quite simple to interpret.

By depicting the development of the value throughout the game, one can usually see any changes in the pressing approach on the first view.

The development of Liverpools PPDA, in their game against Atletico Madrid as displayed above, shows how Klopps men a bit more cautious while constantly increasing the pressing intensity until conceding the first goal.

In combination with qualitative analysis, these statistics can support tactical observations concerning the pressing intensity.

In order to get a sense of certain PPDA values one can compare the values with the leagues average value.

In the following, weve displayed the average values of the top five European le