AI Predicts Yaya Toure’s Best XI Premier League Finish

No one was prepared for Yaya Toure’s best XI. 

Once upon a time, Yaya revealed the ultimate XI of players he’s played with during this career. 

And he created the greatest team ever… on paper.

But, in reality, we’re not convinced that playing seven attacking players would work. 

What’s even funnier are the players who missed out on getting into Toure’s team. Here are just a few names:

• Xavi

• Kevin De Bruyne

• Gerard Pique

• Augero

• Dani Alves

• David Silva 

Yaya also once said that Xavi was top five players he’s ever played with. But the Spanish midfielder didn’t make it into his ultimate XI. To be fair, a defensive midfielder wouldn't make sense. Would it? 

Anyway, we couldn’t help but put Yaya’s team to the test.

So, we asked ChatGPT (AI) how this team would perform. 

The AI prediction is an estimation based on historical data and players’ peak performances. So, when the players are in their prime. 

And it turns out that Yaya Toure might be an absolute genius. 

Here are the results.

Goals 

With so many world-class attackers in the team, it’s expected that they’d score a lot.

According to ChatGPT, that’s true. 

The prediction uses the assumptions that:

• Lionel Messi: During his prime years at Barcelona, he averaged around 0.8 to 1.0 goals per game.

• Thierry Henry: In his prime at Arsenal, he averaged approximately 0.6 to 0.7 goals per game.

• Sergio Aguero: Over his career at Manchester City, he averaged around 0.5 to 0.6 goals per game.

• Didier Drogba: In his prime at Chelsea, he averaged about 0.5 to 0.6 goals per game.

• Samuel Eto’o: During his peak, he averaged around 0.5 to 0.6 goals per game.

• Andres Iniesta: Not a primary goal scorer but contributed with occasional goals.

Based on these estimations, Yaya’s team would average 3.4 goals per game. In a low-scoring sport like football, this is an incredible amount of goals.

To put this into context, Manchester City’s 2022-23 treble-winning squad averaged just shy of 2.5 goals per game. 

Defence 

OK, so we’ve established that Yaya’s team would be prolific. 

But, as with any team, defence is often the best form of attack. So, how would this team - with four defensive players - perform? 

Apparently, quite well.

Carlos Puyol, Rafael Marquez and Vincent Kompany were all part of strong defensive setups in their prime. Collectively, they conceded roughly 0.5 to 0.8 goals per game. 

ChatGPT predicts that, if they played together, they’d concede around 0.6 to 0.7 goals. 

Chelsea’s 2004-05 squad conceded the least amount of goals (15) in a Premier League season, with 0.4 goals conceded per game. 

Not too shabby, considering Yaya has opted for a three-back formation, with no defensive padding.

Verdict

Based on these estimations, over a Premier League season (38), Yaya’s team would:

• Score between 110 to 130 goals

• Concede between 23 to 27 goals

• Have a goal difference of either +87 or +103

The largest goal difference previously recorded in the Premier League was +79 (Manchester City 2017/18). 

Look, let’s be honest, Yaya’s team would struggle in the real world. Tactically, it might be one of the worst teams we’ve seen.

Or… maybe not? 

We don’t think many teams will be calling him up to take charge. But, if someone’s willing to take a risk, it could pay off in troves.