What is PPDA, and how can you tell if a team really presses?

PPDA stands for passes allowed per defensive action. It is a simple ratio: how many passes does the opposition make for every tackle, interception, foul or similar defensive action you make? A low number means you are disrupting them quickly. A high number means you are letting them play.

The Premier League's own explainer counts only the zone where a high press is realistic, the opposition's half plus a fifth of your own, and its defensive actions are tackles, interceptions, challenges and fouls. Other providers draw the lines a little differently. The figures below come from Understat's per-match data for the first eight or nine games of 2026/27 (their match-by-match totals, added up across the season, before Tottenham's game on Saturday night), so treat them as a guide rather than a law.

Who presses most, by the numbers

The lowest PPDA in the Premier League through 31 October 2026 belongs to Brighton at 7.19. Tottenham are next on 7.57, then Brentford (8.22), Liverpool (8.62), Leeds (8.67) and Manchester City (8.90). At the other end sit Hull (15.96) and Coventry, whose 18.53 is the highest of the 20 clubs. In plain terms, opponents make more than 18 passes for every defensive action Coventry take.

The Tottenham figure makes sense. The Guardian says they spent heavily this summer to build a team around Roberto De Zerbi's ideas, and in their 2-0 win at Chelsea on Saturday 24 October they had 68.9% possession. A team that keeps the ball like that may win it back fast when it loses it, but the Premier League's explainer warns that some low PPDA numbers simply come from dominating territory.

The Brighton paradox

Here is the catch. Brighton have the lowest PPDA in the league, yet when they won 1-0 at Manchester City on Saturday 31 October they had only 37.6% possession, and made 15 interceptions and 32 clearances, according to Sky's match stats. That does not look like a pressing team.

It is. PPDA is a season average, not a promise about every match. Brighton press when it suits them and sit off when it does not: their PPDA for that match alone was 11.7. City had more of the ball, so Brighton gave up territory and scored from a free-kick move. The number tells you what a team usually does, not what it did on Saturday.

Pressing without a low number

Bournemouth are the second example. Their PPDA is 10.13, ninth in the league, nothing special. Yet in their 2-0 win over Leeds on the same day they made 13 interceptions to Leeds' four and, in the Guardian's account, took the lead through a goalkeeper error, which the Guardian links to the energy they bring. Their PPDA that day was 13.5. They had 43.9% possession.

This is a trap, not a swarm. A team can sit off for a spell, then spring when the ball goes to a risky pass. PPDA counts defensive actions, not goals created by them, so a team that waits and strikes can look passive in the data.

Winning without pressing

Coventry show the other side. Their PPDA is the highest in the division, yet they beat Sunderland 3-1 that afternoon (12.7 for the match, busier than usual) with a goal from a turnover by Taiwo Awoniyi. Sky's stats had them with 43.5% possession and 0.71 xG. A pressing number tells you the style. It does not tell you whether the style works.

How to use it

Use PPDA as a first filter, then check two other things. First, possession and territory: does the team win the ball back near the opponent's goal, or just run around? Second, what happens next: an interception means little if the next pass goes backwards.

A good rule of thumb for this season's range: under about nine is an aggressive press, 10 to 13 is the middle, and over 15 is a team that picks its moments or does not press at all. No single stat explains a match, but PPDA is the quickest way to find out who is chasing the ball and who is waiting for it.