18th Dec 2013 | Premier League
What’s Happened To Christian Benteke?
Christian Benteke has failed to score in his last ten appearances. Has something fundamentally changed which means we should alter our price expectations or is it natural variance?
With 19 goals, Christian Benteke was the fourth highest goalscorer in the Premier League last season becoming a firm favourite with punters playing the anytime goalscorer markets.
Big things are expected from the 23-year-old but he’s without a goal in his last 10 games, so what’s gone awry?
Christian Benteke Shooting Metrics
Examining the underlying metrics suggests there isn’t too much wrong with the big Belgian. In his last 10 games he is averaging 2.6 shots per 90min, slightly above last season’s average whilst his shots on target per 90min is marginally down.
The big problem is he is not turning shots into goals. His conversion rate has halved, from a stratospheric 26% to a moderate 13.3%.
Two factors are probably at play. A lack of confidence means he is not making the most of his opportunities whilst there is some natural variance as he returns to a more ‘normal’ conversion rate.
A simple change in luck will help Benteke find the net with increasing regularity and in the short term he might provide some value in the anytime goalscorer market.
A best price 2/1 (Betfred) to score against Stoke this weekend he is bigger odds than similar strikers in his ‘shots per 90min’ bracket, namely the likes of Wayne Rooney, Romelu Lukaku and Alvaro Negredo.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 17:33 18th Dec, 2013 but subject to change
