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Threat Above Expected (TAx)

Tactical AnalysisLevel 3 — Advanced

What It Is

Measuring the percentage increase or decrease in expected threat relative to the zone average, given actual player positioning from 360 data. TAx isolates collective positioning quality independent of ball location. A team with consistently positive TAx creates better attacking situations through positioning; a team with negative TAx creates worse situations despite being in the same zones.

Correct Execution

For each action: compute spatial xT (context-adjusted) and standard xT (zone average). TAx = (spatial_xT - standard_xT) / standard_xT. Aggregate per team, per player, per match, per zone.

Diagnostic Tree

Sources

  • Gregory Everett, StatsBomb Conference 2022, YouTube, 2022-10-03