A SHOW OF HANDS! CRYSTAL PALACE TOPS PADDY POWER’S NEW EXPECTED HANDBALL PENALTIES

Crystal Palace have more chance of giving away a penalty for handball than any other Premier League team, according to new analysis by Paddy Power.

With one in ten games so far this season featuring a penalty awarded for handball, Paddy Power decided fans deserved to know which team was most at risk, whenever the ball was in their box.

After figuring out which Premier League teams had the largest hands* and made the most clearances each game, the data revealed that Crystal Palace came top of the table with 0.055 xHBP per match.

This meant that Hodgson’s men were 55% more likely to give away a penalty for handball, than the historic league average of 0.037 xHBP* per match.

Manchester United’s squad of burly lads led by Harry Maguire was found to have the league’s biggest hands – 1.46% bigger than the average – moving them into seventh place with 0.046 xHBP.

Champions Liverpool continued to leave no competitive edge to chance, ranking seventeenth overall after recording just 0.023 xHBP. They’re beaten to the bottom by Brighton (0.023 xHBP); fierce rivals Man City, who rated just 0.017 xHBP; and Bielsa’s Leeds United, who are bottom of the table with 0.014 xHBP.

Spokesman Paddy Power said: “At the risk of a fine from the FA, this issue has gotten completely out of hand.

“Poor Roy has already faced the misery of two VAR-awarded handball penalties against his team this season, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get better any time soon.”

ENDS