TOP 5 BEST FOOTBALL LEAGUE

1. English Premier League

Goals Per Game: 1.33

Red Cards Per Game: 0.06

Continental Wins: 26

Point Differential: 31

Based on the criteria laid out to determine the best statistical league in the world, the English Premier League has it all.

The EPL ranked fifth overall in goals per game, second in discipline, second in continental victories and fourth in point differential. 

In all but one of those categories, the EPL triumphed over La Liga and the Bundesliga. 

Domestically, the English are helped by a league with an enormous amount of parity as the gap between first and last is only 31 points. 

If you dig deeper, 11 clubs are separated by six points at the bottom of the table, which means table fluctuation is normal in England. 

Continentally, the English clubs packed a big punch with six clubs qualifying for the knockout rounds of the Champions League and Europa League. 

The 26 wins spread across seven clubs presented us with the best wins-per-team average in Europe at 3.71, which was 0.21 higher than the Bundesliga and 0.43 more than La Liga. 

 2. Bundesliga

Goals Per Game: 1.59

Red Cards Per Game: 0.11

Continental Wins: 21

Point Differential: 33

The difference between second and third was marginal, but the Bundesliga did beat out La Liga on a few statistics. 

Right away, the first stat that the Bundesliga has a strong advantage in is goals per game, a number that is not held down by the bottom half of the table in Germany.

All but three clubs in Germany have scored over 20 goals this season. The three teams that have failed to score that many are all in the relegation zone. 

At the European level, the Germans may have two fewer wins than the Spanish, but they also have one less team in the two continental competitions. 

Both Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt contributed five wins in Europe while Borussia Dortmund handed the Germans four wins and three each were delivered by Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke. Despite being eliminated in the Europa League, Freiburg brought home an European win as well. 

The point differential also played in favor of the Germans despite having two fewer teams in their domestic league.

If you were to take away the bottom two in Spain from the table, the Germans would still have a better point differential, albeit by just one point. 

3.La Liga

Goals Per Game: 1.45 

Red Cards Per Game: 0.12

Continental Wins: 23 

Point Differential: 39

Spain has long been known for being a two or three-club league, which is a factor that may have hurt them a little bit as the difference between the top three leagues was minimal.

The point differential from Atletico Madrid to Real Betis in the league table is 39, while the gap between first and fourth place is 14. 

Scoring goals is no issue for the top three clubs in the league, who average between 2.5 and 2.7 goals per game, but there is a problem when it comes to scoring at the bottom of the table, which explains the league average of 1.45 goals per game. 

The one positive that the top three of Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid bring to the table here is their continental wins, which total 14 between the trio. 

Valencia and Sevilla also won their group titles in the Europa League, making La Liga a big-time threat in the knockout rounds of both competitions, a quality that helped them earn this third-place ranking.

4 Ukrainian Premier League

Goals Per Game: 1.26

Red Cards Per Game: 0.04

Continental Wins: 12

Point Differential: 33 

You may be surprised at first when seeing the Ukrainian Premier League this high on the list, but after a deep look, they do have a strong and enjoyable domestic league based on the stats. 

The average of 1.26 goals per game played was right in the middle of the pack when judging the 10 leagues on the list, but what really stuck out was the discipline of all 16 clubs in the Eastern European league. 

Only 11 red cards have been handed out this season in Ukraine, which is the lowest amount across all leagues that were evaluated.

Another thing that stands out about Ukrainian football is that their teams do put up a good showing in Europe as represented by their 12 wins on the continental level this season.

While Shakhtar Donetsk did not star in the UEFA Champions League, Chornomorets Odesa, Dynamo Kyiv and Dnipro all finished second in their respective groups in the UEFA Europa League.

All four of those clubs will enter the Europa League knockout stage in February with a good chance to advance far in the tournament. 

5.Eredivise

Goals Per Game:  1.71

Red Cards Per Game: 0.13

Continental Wins: 7

Point Differential: 22

Believe it or not, the Dutch top flight came in first in two statistical categories: goals per game and point differential. 

While the Dutch certainly have an entertainment factor to their domestic football, they also have some volatility in it too as they had the second-highest red cards per game of the 10 leagues on the list. 

The one major downfall of the Dutch league is that it fails to translate on the European level as they have just two teams left in continental competition in Ajax and AZ, both of whom are in the Europa League. 

Had the Dutch teams been able to handle their own in Europe, they may have sneaked into the top three, or even higher.