Finding the best central midfielders from the Allsvenskan – data analysis

In this data analysis piece, we will be looking out for the best central midfielders currently playing in the Allsvenskan using statistics.

The best central midfielders are the most complete ones as modern managers are hugely dependent on these for the team’s tactics to be successful.

In our analysis, we will be considering both the attacking as well as defensive attributes. Passing is definitely the most important trait for a midfielder so that won’t be missed for sure. We will be looking at players who have registered at least 700 minutes of football in the current league season as only 13 game weeks have been completed thus far. Also, only proper central midfielders are taken into consideration i.e. no makeshift options included.

We will shortlist the best options according to the statistics and data analysis. Let’s dive deep into the analysis.

Profiling the players

The most important thing for any player or position in football is to identify their best-suited abilities. Different players playing in the same position will have different abilities both offensively and defensively. Likewise, a central midfielder will show both defensive as well as offensive capabilities. In order to account for the profile of the CMs that we are looking into, we compare them with respect to how well they perform their attacking and defensive actions. We can see the plot in the image below that compares the CMs in the top division in this regard.

Sergio Fernando Peña  The 26-year-old central midfielder from Malmo. He has recorded 4.16 successful attacking actions per 90, the most in the league so far, and 8.7 successful defensive actions per 90 in the league. He has also won his duels at the rate of 47.13%.

Darijan Bojanić   The 27-year-old central midfielder from Hammarby. He has recorded 2.87 successful attacking actions per 90 and 8.84 successful defensive actions per 90 in the league. He has also won his duels at the rate of 46.38%.