xG is designed to assess the quality of a goalscoring chance, based on a number of factors, including the angle the shot is taken from, how far the player is from goal and the positions of the defending team and goalkeeper.

Based on analysis of hundreds of thousands of shots, each attempt is assigned a numerical value between 0 and 1 - the higher the number, the higher the likelihood of the opportunity being taken.

I've updated the expected goals league tables I introduced last week - explanation via the link (where I'll also update the Premier League table after tomorrow's games) https://t.co/9AzwTUVvpd pic.twitter.com/lB23BKIPQz — Ben Mayhew (@experimental361) August 31, 2019

Below is the combined xG data for each team in our matches so far (the xG for each shot taken is added together to give a final value which, according to the metric, is the number of goals a team should score with the chances they have created):

United v Chelsea – 2.37 v 1.10

Wolves v United – 0.31 v 1.14

United v Palace – 2.24 v 0.68

Southampton v United – 0.77 v 1.90

As you can see, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have regularly created better chances than our opposition – indeed, only Manchester City have a better record in terms of chance creation so far, according to Ben Mayhew, head of data analysis at PA.

We also haven't conceded many clear-cut chances, with our numbers for xA (Expected Goals Against) the joint-lowest in the league, alongside Leicester City.