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Understat Review

Understat provides advanced football statistics, primarily focusing on Expected Goals (xG) and Expected Assists (xA) for top European leagues.

shipped Sep 17, 2026researchfree
Domain rating67Monthly visits7.4K/mo
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Understat — product screenshot

Why it matters

1Offers Expected Goals (xG) and Expected Assists (xA) for 6 major European leagues.
2Utilizes neural network prediction algorithms trained on over 100,000 shots.
3Provides raw data and interactive visualizations for team and player performance.
4Data available for seasons from 2014/2015 through 2025/2026.

overview

What is Understat?

Understat is an AI-powered football analytics tool developed by Understat that enables sports analysts, scouts, and fantasy football players to analyze team and player performance using advanced statistical metrics. It specializes in providing Expected Goals (xG) and shot-level data for major European football leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and the Russian Premier League.

features

Key Features of Understat

Understat offers a comprehensive suite of features designed for in-depth football statistical analysis, leveraging neural network prediction algorithms to evaluate shot quality.

  • Expected Goals (xG) statistics for individual shots, players, and teams.
  • Expected Assists (xA) statistics to evaluate chance creation.
  • Raw data for team and player performance, including non-penalty xG (npxG), xGChain, and xGBuildup.
  • Interactive visualizations for match analysis, player career histories, and league standings.
  • Coverage of top European leagues: English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and Russian Premier League.
  • Historical data extending back to the 2014/2015 season.
  • Shot-level data including x/y coordinates, situation (OpenPlay, SetPiece, Corner, FreeKick, Penalty), formation, game state, timing, shot zones, and attack speed.
  • Downloadable data in CSV, JSON, and XLSX formats for further analysis.

use cases

Who Should Use Understat?

Understat is primarily utilized by individuals and professionals requiring detailed football analytics beyond traditional metrics, offering insights into underlying performance indicators.

  • Sports Analysts: For in-depth performance analysis of teams and players, evaluating shot quality and expected outcomes.
  • Football Scouts: To identify undervalued players or assess player consistency across seasons using xG and xA metrics.
  • Fantasy Football Players: To make informed decisions on player selection by comparing per-90 rates for xG, xA, shots, and key passes.
  • Data Scientists & Developers: To access raw data for building custom predictive models for match outcomes and scorelines.
  • Journalists & Content Creators: To support articles and broadcasts with data-driven insights into football matches and player performances.

how to use

How to Use Understat

Accessing Understat's data involves navigating its web interface to explore league, team, and player statistics, or utilizing available tools for data extraction.

  • 1Visit the Understat website (understat.com) in a web browser.
  • 2Select a specific league (e.g., EPL, La Liga) from the navigation menu.
  • 3Browse team or player statistics, including xG, xA, and shot maps, for current or historical seasons.
  • 4Utilize interactive charts and tables to filter and sort data by various parameters.
  • 5For advanced use, consider using Python packages (e.g., understatapi) to scrape data for custom analysis or model building.

pricing

Understat Pricing & Plans

Understat operates on a freemium model, providing all its core features and data for top European leagues at no cost to the user.

  • Standard: Free - Includes detailed xG statistics, xA, raw data, and interactive visualizations for all covered leagues and seasons.

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Pros

  • +100% free access to all features and data for covered leagues.
  • +Specialized focus on Expected Goals (xG) and Expected Assists (xA) with granular shot-level data.
  • +Interactive visualizations and historical data back to the 2014/2015 season.
  • +Utilizes neural network prediction algorithms for precise shot quality evaluation.
  • +Data is easily downloadable in CSV, JSON, and XLSX formats for external analysis.
  • +Considered a strong performer among free xG providers for the Big 5 leagues in predictive models.

Cons

  • −Limited league coverage, focusing only on six top European leagues (Big 5 + Russian Premier League).
  • −xG model may sometimes differ from other providers (e.g., StatsBomb/FBref) due to varying calculation methodologies.
  • −Lacks betting-specific features or Expected Value (EV) calculations.
  • −Does not cover lower divisions, MLS, or other global football leagues.
  • −No explicit API for direct programmatic access, though data can be scraped.

Similar Tools

Understat vs Competitors

Understat distinguishes itself in the football analytics landscape through its specialized focus on Expected Goals and its entirely free access model, though it faces competition from broader sports data platforms.

1
SofaScore↗

Offers xG values, often sourced from Opta, alongside comprehensive live scores and detailed statistics for a wide range of sports beyond just football.

While providing xG, SofaScore is a broader sports data platform, so its football xG interface might be less specialized or focused solely on xG visualizations compared to Understat. It covers more leagues than Understat.

2
FootyStats.org↗

Provides advanced statistical analysis and predictive insights, covering over 1,000 leagues globally, making it one of the most extensive free sources.

FootyStats offers a much wider league coverage than Understat's focus on top European leagues, but its xG model or depth of interactive visualizations might differ from Understat's specialized approach.

3
Footiqo.com↗

Offers 100% free football statistics including xG, attacking, and possession metrics with clear tables, charts, and filters, and also provides historical results and odds.

Footiqo provides a wide array of free statistics and historical data, including xG, but its xG model and the depth of its shot-by-shot analysis might not be as granular or visually interactive as Understat's dedicated xG platform.

4
FotMob↗

Primarily known as a live scores app, it offers detailed match data, expected goals, shot maps, and player performance metrics across hundreds of competitions worldwide with an intuitive layout.

FotMob integrates xG and shot maps within a broader live score and news application, which means the dedicated xG analysis might not be as deep or the primary focus compared to Understat's specialized xG platform.

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