Premier League MD18: What the stats say

Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Bromwich Albion
16 January, 2020

Wolves and West Brom haven’t met in the Premier League since a 5-1 win for the Baggies at Molineux in February 2012, their biggest away league win against Wolves since 1962.

West Brom haven’t won consecutive away league matches against Wolves since a run of three between 1929 and 1931, though this is their first Molineux visit since 2012.

Wolves have won eight of their last 10 Premier League games against promoted sides (D1 L1), with their only defeat in that time coming at Sheffield United last season. At home, they’re unbeaten in eight such games (W5 D3) since a 0-3 loss to QPR in September 2011.

Wolves have lost eight of their 18 Premier League games this season (W6 D4), only one fewer than they lost in the entirety of last season (W15 D14 L9). Wolves’ eighth defeat in 2019-20 wasn’t until their 34th game of the season.

West Brom have conceded 39 goals in the Premier League this season, more than any other side. However, despite being winless away from home so far, just 38 per cent of those goals conceded have come on the road (15/39).

After netting five goals in their first three league games this season, West Brom have netted just six in their last 14, and never more than once in a match in that time.

Wolves have won each of their last six home Premier League games against teams starting the day in the relegation zone without conceding a single goal, since losing 2-0 to Huddersfield Town in November 2018.

Wolves’ Pedro Neto created four chances in their 2-1 defeat to Everton – the Portuguese forward has created the most chances in the Premier League for Wolves this season (32) and has the most league-wide of any player younger than 21.

West Brom manager Sam Allardyce has faced Wolves more often without losing than any other side in the Premier League (P5 W3 D2), with this his first meeting against them since a 3-0 win in December 2010 with Blackburn.

Rúben Neves has scored in each of his last two Premier League appearances for Wolves (two goals), scoring as many as in his previous 57 in the competition. Only four Portuguese players have scored in three consecutive Premier League appearances – Cristiano Ronaldo (seven times), Luís Boa Morte, Raul Meireles and Bruno Fernandes (three times).

Leeds United v Brighton and Hove Albion
16 January, 2020

Leeds United have lost seven of their last nine league matches against Brighton (W2), though the Whites won 2-0 the last time the sides met in March 2017 courtesy of a Chris Wood brace.

This is the first top-flight meeting between Leeds and Brighton since May 1982, a 2-1 victory for Leeds at Elland Road. Leeds have never lost at home against Brighton in the top-flight (P3 W2 D1).

Leeds have conceded 33 goals in their 17 Premier League games this season – the Whites had only conceded 35 in their 46 Championship games last term.

Leeds are looking to win three consecutive home games in the Premier League for the first time since a run of five between April-August 2001 under David O’Leary.

Brighton are winless in their last nine Premier League games (D5 L4), the longest current run in this season’s competition.

Leeds United have lost their first two matches in 2021 in all competitions, 3-0 defeats to both Spurs and Crawley, last losing their first three matches in a year back in 2014 under Brian McDermott, when they lost their first four.

Brighton are averaging 12.3 shots per game in the Premier League this season, their highest in a single Premier League campaign. However, just 28 per cent of these shots have been on target, their lowest ratio in a single season in the competition.

Brighton have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side in the Premier League this season (12).

Brighton striker Neal Maupay has scored in three of his four league matches against Leeds, netting three times for Brentford in the Championship between November 2017 and April 2019, scoring home and away against Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds in 2018-19.

Since his first Premier League start for Leeds in November, only Patrick Bamford (36) has had more shots for the Whites than winger Raphinha (27), with the Brazilian having nine carries ending with a shot, five more than any other Whites player in that time.

West Ham United v Burnley
16 January, 2020

West Ham lost just two of their first nine Premier League games against Burnley (W6 D1) but have since lost their last three in a row without finding the net.

Burnley are looking to win consecutive away league trips to West Ham for the first time since April 1961 under Harry Potts.

West Ham are looking to win their opening three matches in a calendar year in all competitions for only the second time in the last 28 years, achieving it in 2016 under Slaven Bilic.

Burnley have won their last three away top-flight matches in London, as many as they’d won in their previous 35 visits to the capital in the top-flight. The Clarets are looking to win four consecutive away top-flight matches in London for the first time, last managing that in any league back in December 2001 in the second tier.

Burnley have won just one of their last eight away league games (D3 L4) and have failed to score in five of their last six on the road with the exception in both cases being a 1-0 victory against Arsenal.

West Ham have scored in 14 of their 17 Premier League games this season, with only Liverpool (15) finding the net more often so far this term. However, having netted 12 goals in their first six league games this season, the Hammers have scored the same amount in their last 11.

Burnley boss Sean Dyche has lost none of his four Premier League meetings with West Ham’s David Moyes (W3 D1), the joint-most he has faced a manager without losing in the top-flight (also four vs Chris Hughton and David Wagner).

Burnley’s Chris Wood has scored six goals in six Premier League appearances against West Ham, averaging a goal every 58 minutes against the Hammers.

West Ham’s Tomas Soucek has scored eight Premier League goals but is yet to register an assist – only Dean Ashton (15) has scored more Premier League goals without an assist for the Hammers.

Tomas Soucek is West Ham’s top scorer in the Premier League this season with five goals, while the Czech international has also been involved in more open play sequences ending in a goal than any other player for the Hammers this term (7).

Fulham v Chelsea
16 January, 2020

Fulham have won just one of their 28 Premier League matches against Chelsea (D10 L17), winning 1-0 in March 2006 under Chris Coleman at Craven Cottage.

In all competitions, Chelsea have lost just one of their last 19 away matches against Fulham (W12 D6) since losing four in a row between 1975 and 1977.

Among the 373 fixtures to have been played at least 50 times in the English top-flight, the lowest win percentage by a team against an opponent is Fulham vs Chelsea (6 per cent), with the Cottagers winning just three of their 50 games against the Blues.

Fulham’s 1-1 draw with Spurs last time out ended a run of 13 consecutive Premier League defeats in London derbies. They last avoided defeat in back-to-back such games during a run of three wins between January-April 2013.

Chelsea have lost four of their last six Premier League games (W1 D1), as many as they had in their previous 23 in the competition (W14 D5).

Chelsea lost 1-3 against Manchester City in their first league game of 2021 – they’ve not started a calendar year with two consecutive league defeats since 1993, with their first defeat in that year being at home against Manchester City.

Fulham have drawn each of their last five Premier League games, as many draws as they’d had in their previous 45 top-flight matches. The Cottagers last had a longer run of consecutive league draws between December 2006-January 2007 (6).

Fulham have lost 12 of their last 14 home top-flight London derbies (W1 D1), losing the last seven in a row, a record run by a London team in the top-flight. Manager Scott Parker played in Fulham’s last home top-flight London derby win against West Ham in January 2014.

Scott Parker’s first match as Fulham manager was a 1-2 defeat against Chelsea in the Premier League in March 2019. With Frank Lampard in charge of the Blues for this game, this is the first top-flight meeting between the clubs with both having an English manager since December 1967 – Vic Buckingham (Fulham) and Dave Sexton (Chelsea).

Chelsea’s Timo Werner has failed to score in any of his last nine league games, his longest drought in top-flight football since a run of 11 between March-September 2016. The German has played 663 minutes across these nine matches but managed just seven shots on target.

Leicester City v Southampton
16 January, 2020

Leicester have lost their last two home Premier League matches against Southampton, one more than they did in their first 12 home games against Saints in the competition (W7 D4).

Southampton are unbeaten in their last four away top-flight matches against Leicester (W2 D2), winning their last two at the King Power Stadium.

The away team has won the last four Premier League matches between Leicester and Southampton, with the last home win in this fixture back in January 2017 (3-0 Saints). The last Premier League fixture to see five consecutive away wins was Crystal Palace vs Liverpool between May 2015 and April 2017.

Just 31 per cent of Leicester’s Premier League points this season have been won in home games, the lowest ratio in the division. The Foxes have lost four of their eight home league games so far this term (W3 D1).

Leicester City are looking to win their first two top-flight league matches in a calendar year for the first time since 1984 under manager Gordon Milne.

Southampton are looking to keep four consecutive Premier League clean sheets for the first time since a run of six in January/February 2016. Saints have kept eight clean sheets in 17 Premier League games this season, just one fewer than they kept in 38 games last term.

Having scored in 12 consecutive Premier League matches between September and December (25 goals scored), Southampton have failed to score in three of their last four league games (1 goal scored).

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has lost five of his last nine home league matches (W3 D1), as many as he suffered in his previous 77 games (W57 D15) spanning spells at Liverpool, Celtic and the Foxes. Having lost four home league games this season, Rodgers has only lost five in a season once previously, with Reading in the Championship in 2009/10.

All five of Leicester striker Jamie Vardy’s Premier League goals against Southampton have been scored away from home – in six home appearances, he has only managed seven shots and three on target against Saints.

Each of Danny Ings’ last five Premier League goals have all been scored in different months (September, October, November, December, January) – this is the second consecutive season Ings has scored in each of his first five months of a Premier League season.

Aston Villa v Everton - postponed
17 January, 2020

Aston Villa registered a 2-0 home Premier League win over Everton last season, last winning against the Toffees at Villa Park in consecutive seasons between 1995-96 and 2000-01 (six in a row).

Everton failed to win either Premier League game against Aston Villa last season (D1 L1), the first time that had happened since 2011-12. Everton last went three games without a win against the Villans between 2006 and 2012 (12 without a win).

This will be the 205th top-flight meeting between Aston Villa and Everton, the most played fixture in England’s top division. Everton have won 76 of these meetings to the Villans’ 74 (54 draws).

Aston Villa have won more games (19) and scored more goals (71) in the Premier League against Everton than they have vs any other side in the competition.

Everton have won 10 of their first 17 Premier League matches this season (D2 L5), the earliest into a campaign they have registered 10 wins since 2004/05, when their 10th win was in their 16th game and they went on to finish fourth.

Aston Villa have lost their first two matches in all competitions in 2021, losing to Man Utd and Liverpool – as a top-flight team, they haven’t lost their first three matches in a calendar year since 1927, losing to Cardiff, Newcastle and Burnley.

Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti has won just one of his five league matches against Aston Villa (P5 W1 D3 L1, 20 per cent) – among the 40 teams he has faced at least five times in the league in his managerial career, he only has a lower win rate vs Juventus (19 per cent - P21 W4).

Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traoré has been involved in four goals in his last four Premier League games (3 goals, 1 assist), as many as he had in his first 19 in the competition (2 goals, 2 assists).

Since August 2018, Everton’s Lucas Digne has assisted 16 Premier League goals – five more than any other Toffees player in that time. Digne has three assists in his last two league matches for Everton.

Jack Grealish has been directly involved in 12 goals in 15 Premier League matches for Aston Villa this season (5 goals, 7 assists), the most by a Villa player in their first 15 games of a top-flight season since Dalian Atkinson in 1992/93 (9 goals, 3 assists).

Sheffield United v Tottenham Hotspur
17 January, 2020

Sheffield United have lost just two of their last 11 top-flight matches against Spurs (W5 D4), avoiding defeat in both matches last season (W1 D1).

Spurs are winless in their last seven away league matches against Sheffield United (D3 L4) since a 2-1 win in December 1975.

Sheffield United have won consecutive games in all competitions, after going 21 matches without a win beforehand (D3 L18).

After scoring 13 goals and winning their first four away league games this season, Spurs are winless in their last four on the road (D3 L1), netting just three goals in that run.

The two other teams to go as many as 17 games winless from the start of a top-flight season – Burnley in 1889-90 and Bolton in 1902-03 – both registered back-to-back wins after winning their first games of their seasons, as Sheffield United could achieve here.

Sheffield United are looking to become the first side to win in consecutive Premier League matches when starting the day in bottom place since West Bromwich Albion in April/May 2018.

No side has scored more first-half goals than Tottenham in the Premier League this season (19), including a league-high eight goals in the opening 15 minutes of games. Spurs have also shipped fewer goals before half-time than any other Premier League side this term (4).

Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp has scored five Premier League goals for the Blades, with those goals worth eight points to the club. Sharp has scored in 53 league games under Chris Wilder and only lost one of those (W41 D11), a 2-3 defeat to Bristol City in March 2019.

Billy Sharp has scored in each of his last two Premier League appearances as a substitute for Sheffield United – aged 34 years and 342 days, he is the oldest player to do so in the top-flight since Frank Lampard in September 2014 (36y 99d).

Between them, Spurs duo Harry Kane (24) and Son Heung-min (19) have had 43 of Spurs’ 81 shots on target in the Premier League this season (53 per cent) – no other player at the club has had more than five so far. Kane and Son’s combined 43 shots on target is just nine fewer than Sheffield United have managed as a whole so far this term.

Liverpool v Manchester United
17 January, 2020

Liverpool have won their last two home Premier League games against Manchester United, last winning three in a row in March 2011.

Manchester United are winless in their last four Premier League games against Liverpool (D2 L2), their longest run without a win against their rivals since a run of five between March 2000 and January 2002.

Manchester United have had just 77 shots in their last 11 Premier League games against Liverpool, failing to register double figures for attempts since December 2014 (11). At Anfield, the Red Devils haven’t had as many as 10 shots since September 2013 under David Moyes (10).

Liverpool are winless in three Premier League games (D2 L1), failing to score in their last two. They last went four without a win in February 2017 (a run of five), while they’ve not failed to score in three consecutive league games since March 2005.

Liverpool lost their first league game of 2021 but haven’t started a calendar year with consecutive league defeats since 1993. However, the Reds are unbeaten in 67 home league games (W55 D12), finding the net in each of their last 42 at Anfield.

Manchester United will be top of the table going into a Premier League meeting with Liverpool for the first time since January 2013 under Sir Alex Ferguson, with the Red Devils going on to win the title in that campaign.

Liverpool had eight shots on target in their 7-0 victory at Crystal Palace last month (14 shots in total). In their three league games since, the Reds have managed just seven shots on target (from 45 in total), netting just one goal.

Manchester United have won none of their three league games against Liverpool with Ole Gunnar Solskjær as manager (D2 L1) – the only two Red Devils managers to fail to win their first four league games against Liverpool are John Chapman (1921-26) and Tommy Docherty (1973-76).

This will be Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp’s 200th Premier League game in charge – he’s won 127 of his 199 games so far, with only José Mourinho winning more of his first 200 in the competition’s history (137). Klopp is also the 10th manager to reach 200 top-flight games for Liverpool, with the German winning more of his first 200 than any of his predecessors.

Man Utd’s Marcus Rashford has scored three goals in his last four Premier League games against Liverpool, with these goals being worth four points to Manchester United. Only Wayne Rooney (6), Andy Cole (4) and Ryan Giggs (4) have scored more Premier League goals against Liverpool for the Red Devils.

Manchester City v Crystal Palace
17 January, 2020

Manchester City have won six of their 10 home Premier League games against Crystal Palace (D3 L1), though they are winless in their last two (D1 L1).

Crystal Palace have lost 12 of their last 16 Premier League matches against Man City (W2 D2).

The home team hasn’t won any of the last five Premier League matches between Man City and Crystal Palace (D2 L3) since a 5-0 win for City at the Etihad in September 2017.

Man City haven’t won any of their last two home league matches against Crystal Palace (D1 L1) – in Pep Guardiola’s league managerial career, he has never failed to win in three consecutive home matches against an opponent.

Crystal Palace are looking to become the first team to win away against both Manchester clubs (City and United) in a single Premier League season since Liverpool in 2008-09. The last London club to do so in the top-flight were Arsenal in 1990-91.

Man City have won each of their last four Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 11 in the competition. No side has kept more Premier League clean sheets this season than the Citizens (8).

Only Manchester United (11) are on a longer current unbeaten run in the Premier League than Man City (8). The Citizens have conceded just two goals in this run, while keeping six clean sheets.

Man City striker Sergio Agüero has been directly involved in seven goals in his last three home Premier League starts against Crystal Palace (5 goals, 2 assists).

Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne has been involved in eight goals in 10 Premier League games against Crystal Palace (2 goals, 6 assists) – only against Southampton (2 goals, 7 assists) has the Belgian been involved in more in the competition.

No Premier League player has provided more assists in all competitions than Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne (14). The Belgian’s next assist will be his 100th in all competitions for the Citizens.

Arsenal v Newcastle United
18 January, 2020

Arsenal have won 14 of their last 15 Premier League matches against Newcastle (L1), losing the other 1-2 in April 2018.

Newcastle United have lost their last eight away Premier League matches against Arsenal since a 1-0 victory in November 2010.

Arsenal have kept 25 Premier League clean sheets against Newcastle – only Manchester United have kept more against a specific opponent in the competition’s history (27 against both Tottenham and Aston Villa).

Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-0 at home in the FA Cup third round on the 9th January this year – if they win here, it will be their shortest gap (9 days) between home victories against the same opponent since January 2008, when they beat Newcastle twice at the Emirates in the space of three days.

Arsenal have lost two of their last three Premier League games played on Mondays (W1), as many as they had in their previous 17 (W12 D3). However, the Gunners have won each of their last six Monday league matches at the Emirates.

Newcastle have won five of their last nine away Premier League games in London (D1 L3), having won just two of their previous 20 such visits before that (D3 L15).

Since beating Wigan 3-0 at St James’ Park in December 2012, this will be Newcastle’s 18th consecutive Monday Premier League game played away from home. The Magpies have lost 13 of their previous 17 in this run (W2 D2), failing to score on 12 occasions.

Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has either scored (3) or assisted (2) in five of his six games against Newcastle in all competitions, finding the net in each of his last three against the Magpies.

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has never won an away Premier League game against Arsenal (D3 L8), with his sides scoring just three goals in 11 away games against the Gunners.

Newcastle’s Andy Carroll has scored five Premier League goals against Arsenal – against no side has he scored more in the competition. He was the last player to score a winning goal for Newcastle away against the Gunners (November 2010) and had nine of the Magpies’ 12 shots in their recent FA Cup meeting against them.