I’ve been sensing that this might be one of the most competitive seasons in recent times and this week will test that observation as teams from far flung rungs of the competition ladder face one another.
We have:
Two games where the teams are separated by two spots on the ladder
One game where they’re separated by exactly three spots
One game where they’re separated by exactly five spots
One game where they’re separated by exactly six spots
Two games where they’re separated by exactly seven spots
One game where they’re separated by exactly nine spots
One game where they’re separated by exactly 12 spots
On average, then, the opposing teams are separated by almost 6 ladder spots. That’s quite large.
The gaps in quality are also reflected in the week’s average bookmaker expected margin of 23.8 points per game, which is up by almost a full goal on the Round 6 average, and which is almost 3 points higher than the all-time average for Round 7s. It drives the all-Season average up to just under 16 points per game.
The week’s average includes four games expected to be won by less than 3 goals, four games expected to be won by between 4 and 6 goals, and one expected to be won by about 7-and-a-half goals.
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