Our analysis shows great differences between Northern (England, Germany) and Southern (Italy, France, Spain) European leagues.

In Germany, clubs have employed so far 4.4 players taller than 185cm on average. This figure is only 2.0 in Spain.

All clubs fielded at least one player over 185cm in height. However, four teams play on average with less than a footballer taller than 185 cm (Celta Vigo, Real Valladolid, Valenciennes and Montpellier).

Conversely, four teams are on average made up of a majority of players taller than 185cm (Stoke City, Hamburg, Schalke 04 and Bayer Leverkusen).

Among current top ranked clubs, the lowest number of tall players was fielded by Barcelona (1.5 on average on the pitch), while the greatest was registered at Juventus (5.5).

The figures for all big-5 league clubs are available on the CIES Football Observatory website.

All interested users can now actively consult and access the trends observed in each of the big-5 leagues in relation to the following indicators:

• Average age

• Average height

• % of club-trained players

• % of full internationals

• % of expatriates

• Average stay

(More detailed descriptions for each indicator are available on the Football Observatory website)

For more information please contact us at football.observatory@cies.ch

On another level, we are pleased to inform our European audience that the Football Research in Enlarged Europe (FREE) project has launched an online survey about what football means to Europeans in their daily lives. You are kindly invited to participate at this link

Our predictions are based on the analysis of player profile data from the perspective of “experience” (number of matches played and results achieved), “prolificacy” (number of goals scored and level of the competition) and “stability” (number of seasons with the employer club and years remaining on contract).

Using these indicators, we have classified teams by taking into account the 11 players with the highest scores (potential “starting 11”), as well as squad members ranked between the 12th and 22nd positions (“substitutes”). The final ranking has been estimated on the basis of the average position in the two tables. In case of equality, we ranked teams according to their overall score.

Manchester United and Paris St-Germain are the only two most probable champions ranked in first position for both “starting 11” and “substitute” players. While the competitive advantage of Borussia Dortmund is mainly related to the 11 players with the highest scores, and that of Juventus is due to the quality of substitutes. The same holds true for Real Madrid with respect to Barcelona.

Monaco is the only promoted team with a real chance of finishing the season in the top three of their domestic league. Conversely, this year many prestigious teams risk being sucked into a fight against relegation (Fulham, Levante, Valenciennes, Werder Bremen, Torino, etc.).

Using the indicators described above, we were also able to identify the players with the highest scores, and whose performance levels should have the greatest impact on results obtained by their respective teams (key players).

The full predictions may be downloaded from the CIES Football Observatory website. We are at your disposal for more information at football.observatory@cies.ch

With xxx million euro invested for new players, English teams were the most active. It is the highest level ever recorded. A new record high was also measured in France (383 million euro) and Germany (259 million).

The transfer expenditure of the 10 clubs that spent the most account for 49.2% of fees paid. This figure is at an all-time high and reflects the growing concentration of wealth in top level football. The percentage of fees paid by the three most active clubs per league varies from 85.8% in France to 45.6% in England.

More information is presented in the issue 45 of the Big-5 Weekly Post. For further enquiries, please contact us at football.observatory@cies.ch

The new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is now available here (issue 44).

The Post includes the 20 latest paying transfers concerning players who were employed by big-5 league teams during the second semester of the season 2012/13.

The CIES Football Observatory estimation takes into account a multitude of variables such as players’ pitch performances (notably the number of matches and goals), length of contract remaining, age, position and international experience.

More information is presented in the 2013 edition of our Annual Review. The publication is on sale in the online shop of the International Centre for Sports Studies.

Students, academics and journalists may ask for a discount by writing to football.observatory@cies.ch

The publication presents a comparative analysis of clubs and players in the big-5 European leagues at demographic, economic and pitch performance levels. An excerpt of the study is to be found on the Football Observatory’s website.

The Annual Review is on sale as a pdf on the CIES online shop. Journalists, students and academics may obtain a discount by writing to football.observatory@cies.ch. Please write to the same address for more information.