Benjamin Nygren’s 14 goals in the Scottish Premiership mean that he has already surpassed his xG for this season.
Despite dividing opinion, Nygren is Celtic’s top scorer with 18 goals this season and looks like the only real threat in the Hoops side.
Nobody else in Martin O’Neill’s squad has reached double figures for the season, and the Sweden international’s stats show that he is outperforming what is expected of him.
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Celtic are better when Benjamin Nygren plays 🤨
Should Martin O'Neill be focusing the team around him so that he scores even more goals?
Benjamin Nygren has surpassed his xG this season
The BBC Sport stat pack revealed that the 24-year-old had an xG of 10 for the 2025/26 campaign.
Now that he is on 14, he is four goals better off than what was expected from him.
What makes it more impressive is that Nygren has played 46 per cent of his minutes in the league as a central midfielder, and not as a number nine or attacking midfielder.
Only Celtic-linked Tawanda Maswanhise is level on goals with Nygren in the entire division, and he plays in a more advanced role.
Benjamin Nygren eyes first Glasgow derby goal
Having experienced the highs and lows of a Glasgow derby already this season, Nygren’s next step is to get his first goal in the prestigious clash.
Winning would be the perfect birthday present for O’Neill and the midfielder hopes he can be the one to give him that gift.
TRUE OR FALSE: BENJAMIN NYGREN WILL SCORE MORE THAN 20 GOALS THIS SEASON FOR CELTIC
He said: “That would be amazing. That’s what I want to do, to help the team to win the game.
“I always try to have my confidence really high. But yeah, it’s been very good lately. So for sure, myself and the whole team will bring a lot of it to the game.”
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