Manchester United's expected goals record this season

Manchester United spent over £120m trying to improve their defence this summer and, despite the fact that they are currently in the Premier League's bottom half, there have been encouraging signs for restless Red Devils supporters.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have conceded a respectable six goals, but the underlying numbers are even more promising with United seemingly in a far better defensive state following the arrivals of Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Leicester and Crystal Palace respectively.

United are the stingiest side in the Premier League, giving up fewer than four goals this season, according to Understat.com's expected-goal figures and David de Gea's goal has been breached on more frequently than would ordinarily be expected from the chances allowed.

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Chelsea (1.1) on the opening day are the only opponents to create opportunities which amounted to more than one expected goal and the other xG figures against United are really quite impressive.

West Ham scored twice from 0.51 expected goals, Leicester's slick side were even lower at 0.46, and the shock loss to Crystal Palace was due to a De Gea mistake.

De Gea's standards have slipped in the past 12 months after years of overperforming according to xG, although the Spanish stopper could do little about Ruben Neves's thunderbolt in the 1-1 draw at Wolves.

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Wanderers created an expected-goal figure of just 0.31, however, as a missed Paul Pogba penalty saw United drop two points. Solskjaer may be wondering when his luck will turn again having been blessed with good fortune during the red-hot sequence of results which earned him the job on a permanent basis.

Questions will rightly be asked as to whether that decision was correct and United's injury problems in attack will make life more difficult for their under-pressure manager but at least Maguire and Wan-Bissaka are enjoying positive impacts.

That should be a crumb of comfort as United prepare to face one of the league's best strikers in Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

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