Stoke City have thrived this season with Mark Hughes having successfully implemented his high-intensity passing philosophy in his third term in charge of the club.

And according to new research from the CIES Football Observatory, the Potters are officially the most efficient out of all of the 98 teams in Europe's 'big five' leagues in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

With Jack Butland between the posts, a strong defensive core and Xherdan Shaqiri, Bojan Krkic, Ibrahim Afellay and Marko Arnautovic pulling the strings in attack, Stoke now sit in an impressive seventh position in the Premier League table.

Stoke City are officially the most efficient out of all of the 98 teams in Europe's 'big five' leagues

Chelsea should have collected an estimated 1.47 points per match but in reality have taken just 1.14

TOP 10 MOST EFFICIENT TEAMS 1. Stoke City +0.78 2. Villarreal +0.76 3. Paris Saint-Germain +0.58 - Hertha Berlin +0.58 5. Manchester United +0.54 6. Atletico Madrid +0.48 7. Inter Milan +0.47 8. Cologne +0.42 9. Bologna +0.32 10. Barcelona +0.31 - Schalke +0.31 Advertisement

TOP 10 LEAST EFFICIENT TEAMS 1. Troyes -0.72 2. Swansea City -0.61 3. Rayo Vallecano -0.47 4. Real Sociedad -0.46 5. Newcastle United -0.43 - Levante -0.43 7. Montpellier -0.42 8. Stuttgart -0.38 - Hellas Verona -0.38 10. Frosinone -0.33 - Chelsea -0.33 - Reims -0.33 Advertisement

The research's findings are based on an algorithm which works out sides' dominance in matches, relating to the points they pick up, with Hughes' men winning 0.78 more points per game than should be the norm for their superiority.

The indicator of efficiency refers to the ability of teams to achieve the highest number of points with respect to their levels of grip on the game and dangerousness.

The indicator of the grip on the game refers to the number and location of passes achieved compared to opponents, while that of dangerousness is the ratio between the number and quality of shots attempted and conceded.

EFFICIENCY RANKING EXPLAINED - The research's findings are based on an algorithm which works out sides' dominance in matches, relating to the points they pick up. - The indicator of efficiency refers to the ability of teams to achieve the highest number of points with respect to their levels of grip on the game and dangerousness. Advertisement

The average value between grip on the game and dangerousness is then used to measure the level of dominance of teams and estimate the number of points that a club should have obtained accordingly.

The comparison between points estimated and achieved highlights the most and least efficient teams, with Stoke narrowly pipping Villarreal to top spot - the La Liga outfit won an impressive 0.76 more points than they should have.

Their dominance was 0.89, which should have allowed them to obtain only 1.24 points per match instead of 2.0 (+0.76).

Roberto Soldado (left) and Villarreal have won an impressive 0.76 more points than they should have

THE TOP 12 MOST DOMINANT TEAMS 1. Bayern Munich 4.02 2. Napoli 3.06 3. Paris Saint-Germain 2.14 4. Manchester City 2.11 5. Borussia Dortmund 2.10 6. Barcelona 2.00 7. Fiorentina 1.89 8. Real Madrid 1.87 9. Juventus 1.68 10. Atletico Madrid 1.66 11. Leicester City 1.64 12. Arsenal 1.59 Advertisement

Those two sides stand out at the top of the charts, with runaway Ligue 1 leagers Paris Saint-Germain and Bundesliga's Hertha Berlin in joint-third with a +0.58 gap between estimated and actual points per game.

Interestingly, for fans of the English game, Manchester United are in fifth place, claiming +0.54 more points than their dominance should have earned.

Louis van Gaal's frugal managerial philosophy has come under attack in some quarters at Old Trafford with a seeming emphasis on goal prevention rather than attacking intention.

United have the second best goals against record in the league, letting in just 20, two more than the current best defence in the division, Tottenham Hotspur, but have scored only 28 - Sunderland in 19th place have netted 27, while struggling Chelsea have scored three more than the Red Devils.

Manchester United have not scored much but have been strong at the back and are accumulating points

But with United fifth in the league, and the Blues 14th, United's efficiency ranking comes as no surprise; though they may not be on top in games, and may bore their fans with their lack of goals, they have been strong at the back and are therefore quietly accumulating points.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the charts is French club Troyes, who have spectacularly failed to capitalise on their dominance and grip in games.

And much to the frustration of their fans, the Premier League's only Welsh club, Swansea City are the second most wasteful team in the top five European divisions, picking up 0.61 fewer points than their dominance would suggest.

It is no wonder Steve McClaren has been bemoaning missed chances for much of the season as Newcastle United are similarly profligate, missing out on an average of 0.43 points per game.

At the Emirates earlier this month, Newcastle United's Georginio Wijnaldum missed a good chance

At the Emirates Stadium, earlier this month, for instance, the Magpies, somewhat surprisingly, dominated Arsenal for long spells but squandered golden opportunities through Georginio Wijnaldum and Aleksandar Mitrovic, going on to lose the match 1-0 in north London.

Moreover, reigning Premier League champions Chelsea are the joint-10th least efficient team in Europe's top divisions this term, which will be no surprise to their discontented following.

Chelsea should have collected an estimated 1.47 points per match but in reality have taken just 1.14 (a gap of -0.33), with a mere 25 points from their 22 games played in the Premier League.

In terms of out-and-out dominance, the research suggests that the favourite clubs for the European club competitions are Bayern Munich for the Champions League, and Napoli for the Europa League, while Manchester City are at the top of the Premier League table ahead of Leicester City and Arsenal.