Premier League goalless draws are on the rise – is top flight getting boring?

The general trend since 2018 has been towards a drop in goalless draws. But after hitting a Premier League low of 11 two seasons ago, they are on the up again.

Former England number one Hart, who kept 127 clean sheets in 340 top-flight games, has noticed a tactical shift that may explain that.

Hart said: “I think the pragmatic approach is a lot more favourable now, no getting away from it.

“It’s the cycles that you talk about, and for years – I think set by the teams coming into the Premier League – teams were willing to go toe-to-toe and slug it out, and if they lost, so be it.

“But financially, it’s too dangerous to do that. The people in charge are saying: ‘We can’t really afford for you to go out there and have a right good go – it doesn’t work like that anymore. We need you to be a lot more safe and build foundations.’

“It’s gone right the way up the league. Before, you’d be seen as a dinosaur if you were willing to play like that. But you’ve seen the bigger and the more dominant teams adopt it.

“The physicality and the way you can make the changes in the game… there are far fewer mistakes and people coming out of their lines. They also back themselves to play for the 95 minutes rather than get the game done.”