Average Shots and Shots on Target per Match by League (2025/26): Full Table, Home vs Away and First Half (9,545 Matches)

Quick answer: the average football match has 25.3 shots, and 8.5 of them are on target. Across 9,545 league matches in 29 leagues from the 2025/26 season, home teams took 13.8 shots per match and away teams 11.4. Exactly a third of all shots (33.7%) were on target. The first half produced 11.6 shots and the second half 13.7.

So a match shots line of 24.5, or a shots on target line of 8.5, sits right on the average match. The useful question is how far a league, and then a fixture, sits from that number.

Data: StatPair match database · 29 domestic leagues · 2025/26 season (2025 season for leagues that run on the calendar year) · league matches only, no cups, friendlies or European competitions · Updated: 25 October 2026

TL;DR

• The average is 25.28 shots and 8.51 on target per match (9,545 matches). The medians are 25 and 8.
• Home teams shoot more, not better: 13.84 shots against 11.43, a 55/45 split, but both sides put 33.7% of their shots on target.
• The second half is busier: 13.73 shots against 11.55, in all 29 leagues.
• Leagues differ by about five shots. Highest: Eredivisie (28.26), A-League Men (28.03), Ekstraklasa (27.26). Lowest: Argentina's Liga Profesional (23.28), Greek Super League (23.62), League One (23.74).
• On target, the range is three shots: from 10.40 in the Eredivisie to 7.44 in Argentina.
• The record in our sample is 54 shots: Marseille 3-1 Rennes in Ligue 1 on 17 May 2026.

How we measured it

Which leagues. We used the same rules as our average corners per match by league table: every domestic league in the StatPair database with at least 150 matches with full shot data in its most recent completed season. That gave the same 29 leagues and the same 9,545 matches: 2025/26 for leagues played from summer to spring, 2025 for calendar-year leagues.

Which matches. League matches only, including play-off or split rounds that belong to the league. Cups, friendlies and European club competitions are left out.

What counts. Total shots are all attempts by each team over 90 minutes plus added time, as recorded in our team match statistics. Shots on target are attempts that would have gone in without a save, so they include goals. First-half numbers come from our half-by-half data; second-half numbers are the full-match total minus the first half.

Data checks. All 9,545 matches had full-time and first-half shot data for both teams. No team had more shots on target than shots, and no first-half figure exceeded the full-match one.

Average shots per match: full league table

Home, away and half figures are rounded to one decimal, so they may not add up exactly to the total.

Highest-shot leagues

The Eredivisie led with 28.26 shots per match (301 matches), just ahead of the A-League Men (28.03, 160 matches) and Poland's Ekstraklasa (27.26, 302 matches). The Eredivisie was also joint most accurate (36.8% on target, level with the Saudi Pro League), so it was the only league above ten shots on target per match.

Lowest-shot leagues

Argentina's Liga Profesional had the fewest, 23.28 per match (434 matches), then the Greek Super League (23.62, 232 matches) and League One (23.74, 551 matches). Argentina was also bottom for shots on target (7.44) and for goals (1.94 per match).

Volume and accuracy are different things

The Ekstraklasa and Brazil Serie B were third and fourth for total shots, but had the two lowest on-target rates (31.8% and 30.1%). The Saudi Pro League was the opposite: below average for shots (24.34), above average on target (8.96). 22 of the 29 leagues are within 1.5 shots of the overall 25.3, and 25 of 29 average between 7.5 and 9.5 shots on target.

Shots on target per match: the ranking

Among the big five leagues, the Bundesliga stands out with 9.51 shots on target per match. La Liga (8.68), Ligue 1 (8.64) and the Premier League (8.34) are close to the overall average, and Serie A (8.04) is below it.

For context, the 2025/26 Champions League averaged 26.97 shots and 10.09 on target (226 matches, including qualifying rounds), the Europa League 24.76 and 8.80 (195), and the Conference League 25.29 and 8.62 (200).

How many shots are there in a match? The distribution

An average of 25.3 doesn't mean most matches land near 25. Here is how all 9,545 matches spread out:

The most common total was 23 shots, in only 6.9% of matches. The standard deviation was about six shots, and 73.4% of matches had between 19 and 31.

Shots on target cluster more tightly:

Seven, eight and nine shots on target were the most common totals, each in about 12% of matches. Eight in ten matches (79.7%) had between 5 and 12. In 483 matches (5.1%), at least one team failed to put a single shot on target.

Hit rates for common lines

The league matters for these lines. Over 24.5 shots landed in 71.8% of Eredivisie matches and 72.5% of A-League matches, but only 39.2% in Argentina and 39.7% in Greece. The Premier League was a coin flip at 50.3%.

Most shots in a football match: the records in our sample

The record total is 54 shots, in Marseille's 3-1 win over Rennes on the final day of the Ligue 1 season. The highest count for one team was St. Louis City's 43 shots at home to FC Dallas in MLS on 7 September 2025. They put 15 on target and still drew 1-1 against a side that had four shots.

The most shots on target in one match was 28, in Hapoel Haifa 3-4 Maccabi Netanya in Israel on 7 December 2025, with Netanya putting 23 of their 38 shots on target. That is well clear of any other match in the sample (the next highest was 21), so treat it as an outlier as recorded.

At the other end, the fewest shots was six, in NK Varaždin 1-1 Lokomotiva Zagreb in Croatia (three each). Only one match had no shots on target at all: Bolton 0-0 Northampton in League One, from 25 attempts.

Home vs away shots

Home teams took 13.84 shots per match and away teams 11.43, so the home side took 55% of all shots. The home team had more shots in 59.5% of matches, the away team in 35.7%, and they were level in 4.8%. On target, home teams averaged 4.67 and away teams 3.84.

The accuracy was the same: 33.7% of home shots and 33.6% of away shots were on target. Home advantage in this data shows up as more shots, not better ones.

The home edge held in all 29 leagues, but its size varied. It was smallest in Israel's Ligat Ha'al (0.7 more shots for the home side), the Saudi Pro League (1.0) and the Primeira Liga (1.3). It was biggest in the two Brazilian divisions (3.7 in Serie B, 3.6 in the Série A) and Argentina (3.0).

Game state matters too. In home wins, home teams averaged 14.57 shots and away teams 10.66; in away wins the gap almost closed (12.93 against 12.57), because teams that are behind push forward. For more on venue splits, see our guide to home and away stats.

First-half vs second-half shots

The first half produced 11.55 shots and 3.85 on target; the second half 13.73 and 4.66. So the first half accounts for about 46% of a match's shots. The second half was busier in all 29 leagues, for total shots and for shots on target. At match level, the second half had more shots in 62.3% of matches and the first half in 30.3%.

The most common first-half count of shots on target was three (20.1% of matches). 53.2% of first halves had four or more on target, 26.7% had two or fewer, and 2.7% had none. For why second halves are busier in general, see our first-half and second-half statistics guide.

Top 5 and bottom 5 teams by shots per match (big five leagues)

Across the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 (96 teams, 32-38 matches each with shot data):

Bayern were in a class of their own on target: 8.48 per match, 44.9% of their shots. No other big-five team reached seven. The best Premier League side was Manchester City (15.63), outside the top five. The gap between the best and worst team inside one league was more than six shots per match in every big-five league, larger than the gap between any two leagues in the table. Arsenal conceded the fewest shots (8.11 per match), and Burnley the most (16.74).

For how to turn team numbers like these into a projection, see our team total shots betting guide.

Shots and goals

More shots meant more goals, but loosely:

Matches with five or more goals had 22% more shots than goalless ones, but twice as many shots on target (11.64 against 5.71). The correlation with goals was 0.26 for total shots and 0.55 for shots on target. Overall there were 9.5 shots per goal and 31 goals per 100 shots on target.

In the 7,023 matches with a winner, winners averaged 13.75 shots against 11.58 for losers, but 5.46 against 3.29 on target. The loser had more shots in 37.8% of those matches, and more shots on target in only 19.3%.

What this means for betting

Start from the league baseline

Over 24.5 match shots came in more than seven times in ten in the Eredivisie and the A-League, and less than four times in ten in Argentina and Greece. Note the league baseline before you look at the teams.

Then move to the teams

The league average is a starting point, not a forecast. The match-to-match spread (about six shots) and the gap between the best and worst teams in one league are both bigger than the gap between leagues. Use each team's shots for and against, home and away. Our shots on target betting guide covers how this feeds into player markets.

Use the home/away split, but not for accuracy

Home teams take about 55% of shots, but don't add a home boost to accuracy: both sides put a third of their shots on target. In Israel, Saudi Arabia and Portugal even the volume edge was small.

First-half lines need their own baseline

A first-half shots line should start from about 11.6, not half of 25.3, and a first-half shots on target line from about 3.9. In 26.7% of matches the first half had two or fewer shots on target.

Method notes

• Source: StatPair match database. Shot counts are full-time (90 minutes plus added time) as recorded in our team match statistics; first-half counts come from our half-by-half data.
• Sample: 9,545 league matches from 29 leagues, 23 January 2025 to 20 June 2026. All 9,545 had full-time and first-half shot data for both teams.
• Minimum sample: 150 matches per league with shot data. Leagues below this in their latest completed season (for example the Czech Liga, with 108 matches from February 2026) are left out.
• Seasons: 2025/26 for leagues played from summer to spring, 2025 for MLS, Argentina's Liga Profesional, the J1 League, the Brasileirão Série A and Brazil Serie B. Our Brazil Serie B data covers May to November 2025 (212 matches), so it's not a full season.
• Goals: match goals include own goals, so in 45 matches a team scored more goals than it had shots on target. Goals-per-shot figures are slightly higher than they would be with own goals removed.
• Team table: some teams have a few matches without shot data, so team averages cover 32-38 matches.
• Excluded: cups, super cups, friendlies, European and continental club competitions and international matches. European club competition figures are quoted separately and include qualifying rounds.
• No xG. StatPair doesn't provide xG; this study uses shots, shots on target, goals and results only.

How to check this with StatPair

1. Note the league baseline from the table above.
2. Open each team's match-by-match history and use the home/away filter to see shots and shots on target for and against in the relevant venue. Compare both teams with the league average.
3. Use the opponent filter to see how many shots similar sides took against them.
4. Switch the first-half / second-half filter before betting a first-half shots line.
5. For player markets, check which players take the biggest share of their team's shots; our most reliable shooters cheat sheet is a starting list. Save the teams you follow in your Notebook and ask the AI Analyzer for a pre-match read.

Try StatPair free for 7 days → · Team total shots betting → · Shots on target betting →

FAQ

Q: What is the average number of shots in a football match?
A: About 25. Across 9,545 league matches in 29 leagues in the 2025/26 season, the average was 25.28 shots per match and the median was 25. Home teams took 13.84 shots on average and away teams 11.43.

Q: How many shots on target are there per match on average?
A: About 8.5. The average was 8.51 shots on target per match across 9,545 league matches, with a median of 8. Home teams averaged 4.67 and away teams 3.84, and 33.7% of all shots were on target.

Q: Which league has the most shots per match?
A: In our 2025/26 data, the Eredivisie, with 28.26 shots and 10.40 shots on target per match over 301 matches. The A-League Men (28.03) and the Ekstraklasa (27.26) were next. Argentina's Liga Profesional had the fewest (23.28), followed by the Greek Super League (23.62).

Q: How many shots does the Premier League average per match?
A: 24.98 shots and 8.34 shots on target per match over 374 matches in 2025/26, slightly below the 29-league average of 25.28 and 8.51. Manchester City took the most shots per match in the league (15.63).

Q: Are there more shots in the first or second half?
A: The second half. It averaged 13.73 shots against 11.55 in the first half, and 4.66 shots on target against 3.85. The second half was busier in all 29 leagues we analysed.

Q: What is the most shots in a football match?
A: In our sample of 9,545 league matches, the record was 54 shots, in Marseille 3-1 Rennes in Ligue 1 on 17 May 2026, with 27 for each side. The highest total for one team was 43, by St. Louis City at home to FC Dallas in MLS.

Bottom line

The average football match has 25.3 shots and 8.5 on target: 13.8 shots for the home team and 11.4 for the away team, 11.6 in the first half and 13.7 in the second. Leagues range from 23.3 (Argentina) to 28.3 (Eredivisie). Use the league average as your baseline, then do the real work on the two teams.