Analysis

Even back to the early ages of the sport, football has always been a prevailingly mental game. Tactics, strategies, formations, players; all have been examined at length in order to uncover the next advancement in the sport.

While the discussion of soccer tactics has gradually transitioned from old men with pipes to young computer science graduates with laptops, it is club managers that still think they are the commanders of footballing thought — often to their own detriment...

Soccer is one of the very few sports that boasts competitions where small, local sides are able to face off against the best teams in the country. These matchups capture the imagination while providing a sense of hope and magic to a small group of supporters.

Domestic cups have long provided smaller clubs with the opportunity to prove their mettle by facing nationally recognized sides, and while major upsets are rare, just the slightest hope of an improbable win is enough to cause local pandemonium and stir significant interest among neutral supporters.

The FA Cup is one of football's most prominent cup competitions due to the tournament's proclivity for surprise upsets and underdog stories. Despite the absence of fan support, this season's FA Cup has still seen its share of upsets.

Four non-league clubs reached the FA Cup Third Round, but only one progressed to the next step in the competition 

Few things in sports are as difficult as predicting results of future games. According to Chris Anderson and David Sally, authors of The Numbers Game, soccer is 50 percent luck and 50 percent skill. Add in an overwhelming number of professional leagues and players and the low-scoring nature of matches, soccer is one of the most unpredictable sports. 

For a memorable few months in 2008, Russia was the talk of the soccer world. 

Zenit St. Petersburg captured the Europa League title, defeating Rangers in the final after dismantling Bayern Munich 5-1 on aggregate in the semis.

Just a month later, the national team also achieved unprecedented success, reaching the semifinals of Euro 2008 before bowing out to eventual champion Spain.

It's not very often that a team can have a disappointing campaign but still find themselves at the top of the table. With the competitiveness of the Premier League, a struggling season means at best mid-table misery, at worst, relegation. 

Liverpool is currently even with Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table, but given the exceptional performances of last season, the club's form this year is below Jurgen Klopp's lofty standards.

With the Premier League season nearly half over, this current lull in matches is the perfect time to look back at the campaign so far.

We've all been following the matches and have a general idea about where each team sits in the league table, so the next logical step is to dive deeper into the analytical side of the Premier League and examine the expected goals league table.