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Shocking stat: 133 Premier League goals since Villa's last

It's time we took a closer look at Aston Villa goal-scoring futility. Christian Benteke, you're our only hope.

Ah, the halcyon days of scoring one goal in a match.
Ah, the halcyon days of scoring one goal in a match.
Alex Livesey

It's been a while since we've gotten to do an Aston Villa in Four Numbers that focuses on a scoring drought, but here we are again! Let's dive in!

441

Minutes since Aston Villa last scored a goal. And that was in the 9th minute against Liverpool, the thrilling 0-1 win that put Villa in second place and had us all thinking that maybe, just maybe, we could survive the coming stretch with a shred of dignity. 441 goalless minutes later and we're starting to wonder if that's still a possibility.

To put that number into perspective, last season Aston Villa had their longest goalless drought since before 2010, and that stopped at 451 minutes. Unless Aston Villa can score by the 10th minute on Monday, they will have set a new longest streak since before 2010 for the second time in as many seasons. And given the way this team has looked absolutely clueless in front of the net, I certainly don't expect them to do anything of the sort. Heck, this thing hitting 500 minutes (59th minute of Monday's match) wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

133

Goals scored in the Premier League since Gabby Agbonlahor found the back of the net against Liverpool. 133 goals is quite a lot. For instance, since the beginning of the 2011/12 season, Aston Villa have scored 127 goals. That's 127 goals in 122 matches. Meanwhile, in the Premier League this year, we've seen 133 goals scored in the last 42 matches (though to make that statistic truly fair, I think it'd be better if we counted each team as a match, so it's more like 84).

I'm honestly struggling to come to terms with how amazing this is. Since the beginning of the 2011/12 season, Villa have average 1.041 goals per match. Since Villa scored last, the rest of the Premier League have averaged 1.583 goals per match. Maybe I need to go back to yesterday's column and revise Aston Villa's status to "not ready for the Premier League." Good lord.

6

Number of Premier League players who have scored more goals than have Aston Villa this season. And that list is: Sergio Agüero (9), Diego Costa (9), Saido Berahino (6), Graziano Pellè (6), Diafra Sakho (5), Leonardo Ulloa (5). If we were to expand the stat to "Number of players who have scored AT LEAST as many goals as have Aston Villa this season," we see the total jump to eleven.

Let's put this in terms that will keep you awake for the next few nights. West Bromwich Albatross has a player who has scored 150% of the goal total as has Aston Villa. (Though the good news is that, even after four straight losses, we still sit ahead of the Baggies, so ha.)

25

Percent of Aston Villa's goal total that Richard Dunne has scored this year. Into his own net. Even if we account for the downside of an own goal, Richard Dunne is at least as prolific as approximately 95% of the Aston Villa squad.

Dear God, Christian Benteke, grab a hat trick against QPR. We're begging you. End this misery!