What numbers say ahead of PL matchday 6

SATURDAY 25 SEPTEMBER

Chelsea – Manchester City

Chelsea have won their last three meetings with Man City in all competitions, in the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League. They last had a longer winning run against the Citizens between December 2005 and March 2009 (8 games).

Manchester City have won three of their last six Premier League away games against Chelsea (L3), more than they had in their previous 23 visits to Stamford Bridge in the top-flight (W2 D8 L13). The Citizens are looking to win back-to-back away top-flight games vs Chelsea for the first time since January 1955.

None of the last 12 Premier League meetings between Chelsea and Manchester City have been drawn, with Chelsea winning five to City’s seven.

Chelsea and Manchester City have the joint-best defensive records in the Premier League this season, with just one goal conceded each (also level with Liverpool). Meanwhile, the Blues have an xG against figure of 5.5, conceding over four goals fewer than would be expected based on the quality of chances faced – the best such difference in the division this term.

Chelsea have kept 15 clean sheets in 24 Premier League games under Thomas Tuchel, more than any other side since the German took charge.

Manchester City have failed to score in two of their five Premier League games this season, as many as they had in their previous 30 in the competition. They’ve not failed to score in as many as half of their first six games in a Premier League campaign since 2006-07.

Excluding own goals, Chelsea have already had 10 different goalscorers in their five Premier League games this season. Only Arsenal in 2009-10 have played fewer games before reaching 10 different scorers in a single campaign in the competition (4).

In his managerial career, Man City boss Pep Guardiola has lost more games against Chelsea than he has vs any other opponent in all competitions (8). Indeed, the Blues could become the first team to win four consecutive matches against the Spaniard.

Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne has scored in each of his last three Premier League appearances against Chelsea – only Craig Bellamy against Newcastle (between 2007 and 2011) has scored in four consecutive games against a specific club they’ve previously played for in the competition.

Man City’s Jack Grealish has been pressured (closed down by opponent) with the ball more often than any other player in the Premier League this season (195).

Manchester United – Aston Villa

Manchester United have won 18 of their last 21 home league games against Aston Villa (D2 L1), failing to score on just one occasion in that run.

Aston Villa have picked up just one win in their last 45 Premier League games against Manchester United (D11 L33) and are winless in their last 17 against them since a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in December 2009.

In Premier League history, no side has won more games against an opponent than Manchester United’s 37 victories against Aston Villa.

Since a goalless draw with Manchester City last December, Manchester United have scored in each of their last 15 Premier League home games (44 goals in total). However, the Red Devils have also conceded in each of their last seven league games at Old Trafford, last having a longer top-flight home run without a clean sheet in February 1972 (8 games).

Manchester United are the highest scorers in the Premier League so far this season with 13 goals. With an expected goals total of eight, the Red Devils are also overperforming their xG more than any other side this season (5 goals more).

Aston Villa have lost both of their Premier League away games this season, conceding three goals in each defeat. Indeed, the Villans have lost five of their last eight away league games (W2 D1), more than they had in their previous 15 on the road (W7 D4 L4).

No side has had more direct attacks in the Premier League this season than Aston Villa (15). A direct attack is one that starts just inside a team’s own half, with at least 50% of movement towards the opposition goal that ends in a shot or touch in the opposition box.

Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes has scored in all three of Premier League games against Aston Villa, with all three of his goals coming from the penalty spot. Only one player has scored more goals against an opponent with 100% of them being penalties in the competition – Troy Deeney against Man Utd (4).

Since the start of February (when he joined West Ham on loan), only Kelechi Iheanacho (12) has scored more Premier League goals than Jesse Lingard (11). Lingard is looking to score in three consecutive league games for Man Utd for the first time.

Man Utd’s Cristiano Ronaldo has the shortest average shot distance from goal of the 23 players to have had at least 10 open play shots in the Premier League this season (12.6 metres – excluding headers).

Everton – Norwich City

Everton have only lost one of their last seven home league meetings with Norwich (W4 D2), though it was the last time the sides met at Goodison Park in November 2019 (0-2).

After winning three of their first four Premier League meetings with Everton (D1), Norwich have won just two of their subsequent 14 against the Toffees in the competition (D6 L6).

Everton have lost three of their last four home league games against sides starting the day bottom of the table (W1), including a defeat against Norwich in November 2019. The Toffees had only lost three of their previous 17 league matches at Goodison Park against bottom placed sides before this (W10 D4).

Everton have won each of their last three home league games, last winning more consecutively at Goodison Park between March and September 2019 under Marco Silva (6).

Norwich have earned just six points from their last 72 available away from home in the Premier League (W1 D3 L20), and are winless in 14 on the road since beating Everton 2-0 in November 2019.

Everton are averaging 3.6 sequences of 10+ passes per match in the Premier League this season, with only Burnley (2.6) averaging fewer. Under Carlo Ancelotti last season, the Toffees were averaging 10.7 such sequences per game, ranking 10th overall in the competition.

Norwich City boss Daniel Farke has lost his last 15 Premier League games – this is the longest losing run by a specific manager in English top-flight history.

Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul has been on the losing side in 99 of his 198 Premier League appearances. Only three players have ever suffered their first 100 defeats in fewer than 200 games in the competition – forward Steven Fletcher (185), defender Paul Robinson (192) and forward Matthew Jarvis (193).

No player has scored more Premier League goals for Everton this season than new signing Demarai Gray, with his three goals coming from just three shots on target so far. Only in 2018-19 has Gray scored more goals in a single top-flight campaign (4).Over their last two Premier League seasons, Teemu Pukki has scored 46% of Norwich’s Premier League goals (13/28), netting both of the Canaries’ goals so far this campaign.

Leeds United – West Ham United

Leeds lost this exact fixture 2-1 last season – they’ve never lost consecutive home league games against West Ham in their history.

West Ham won both league meetings against Leeds last season, as many victories as they’d managed in their previous 28 against the Whites (D8 L18). They’ve not won three in a row against the Yorkshire side since August 1949 (a run of four).

Leeds are without a win so far this season (D3 L2) – only once in their history have they failed to win any of their first six games of a top-flight campaign, doing so in 1935-36.

Leeds have conceded five goals in their two home Premier League games this season, as many as they had in their previous nine at Elland Road.

West Ham’s defeat against Manchester United last time out ended their seven-game unbeaten run in the Premier League (W4 D3). Since the start of last season, the Hammers have only lost consecutive league games twice – vs Newcastle and Arsenal in September 2020 and vs Newcastle and Chelsea in April.

Leeds have faced more shots on target than any other Premier League side this season (35), with only Newcastle (13) and Norwich (14) shipping more goals than the Whites so far. At the other end, 47% of Leeds shots have come from outside the box (33/70), with no team having a larger share of their attempts from distance than Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Since the start of last season, West Ham have scored more goals from crosses than any other side in the Premier League (20), with the Hammers leading the way for cross-assisted goals in both 2020-21 (16) and this term (4).

West Ham’s Michail Antonio has never scored in nine previous league games against Leeds – he hasn’t faced an opponent more often without scoring in the English league.

West Ham manager David Moyes has lost 199 of his 588 Premier League games, and could become the fourth different manager to lose 200 games in charge in the competition (Harry Redknapp 238, Sam Allardyce 214 and Steve Bruce 209).

West Ham’s Saïd Benrahma has been directly involved in five goals in five Premier League games this season (3 goals, 2 assists), just two fewer than he managed in 30 appearances last season (1 goal, 6 assists).

Leicester City – Burnley

Leicester are unbeaten in their last 10 home league games against Burnley (W6 D4) since a 1-0 loss in the Championship in November 2007.

Burnley have won just three of their 12 Premier League meetings with Leicester (D3 L6), with all three such victories coming at Turf Moor.

Leicester have lost six of their last nine Premier League games (W3), more than they had in their previous 24 before this (W13 D6 L5). However, the Foxes have won each of their last six league games against sides starting the day in the relegation zone by an aggregate score of 15-2.

Burnley have lost their last three away league games, last losing more consecutively on the road in February 2017 (7). Overall, the Clarets have taken just one point from their last 24 available home and away in the Premier League (D1 L7), netting just three goals in that run.

Burnley have already dropped a league high eight points from winning positions in the Premier League this season. Only the top two sides Chelsea (5) and Liverpool (4) have opened the scoring in more of their games than the Clarets in the division this season (3).

Burnley have used fewer players than any other side in the Premier League this season (17), with the Clarets also having the division’s oldest average starting XI so far this term (29y 135d).

Burnley have made more open play crosses than any other Premier League side this season (105), with two of their three league goals this term being assisted by a cross. Among players, Dwight McNeil has made more open play crosses than any other player in the division (36), finding a teammate 25% of the time but yet to register an assist.

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has won all five of his home games against Burnley in all competitions – in his managerial career, he’s only got a better 100% home win ratio against Motherwell (6/6).

Jamie Vardy has been directly involved in six goals in his last six Premier League games for Leicester (5 goals, 1 assist), with these involvements accounting for 86% of Leicester’s total goals in that run (6/7).

Burnley’s Chris Wood has scored four Premier League goals against former side Leicester, only netting more against West Ham (7) and Wolves (5) in the competition. The New Zealand striker has scored in his last two league visits to the King Power Stadium.

Watford – Newcastle United

Watford have won five of their 12 Premier League meetings with Newcastle (D4 L3) – no side have they beaten more in the competition. Indeed, their 19 points against the Magpies is more than they’ve earned against any other opponent in the Premier League.

Newcastle have won just one of their last nine away league games against Watford (D4 L4), while they’ve never won a top-flight match at Vicarage Road before (D5 L5).

Watford have won 13 of their last 15 home league games (L2), losing their last such match at Vicarage Road 2-0 against Wolves. They’ve not lost back-to-back home league games since November 2019.

Newcastle have failed to win any of their five Premier League games this season (D2 L3). They could become the first team to fail to win any of their first six on as many as six different occasions in the competition, with the Magpies previously doing so in 1999-00, 2003-04, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2018-19.

Newcastle won 2-0 at Fulham on the final day last season – they’ve not won consecutive Premier League matches against promoted sides since November 2015, while they haven’t done so away from home since winning all three such games in 2013-14.

Newcastle have faced more shots than any other side in the Premier League this season (93), and also have the highest xG against total in the competition this term (11.95).

Just one of Watford’s 21 corners in the Premier League this season has led to a chance, fewer than any other side in the competition. Meanwhile, only Manchester United (8), Brighton (11) and Liverpool (12) have had more corners leading to an attempt than Newcastle (7).

Newcastle have made fewer presses than any other Premier League side so far this season (56), with a press being defined as two or more defending players applying pressure at the same time to one or more opposition players.

As well as being Watford’s top scorer in the Premier League with three goals this season, Ismaila Sarr has created the most chances (9), had the most shots (13) and completed the most dribbles (16) of any player for the Hornets this term.

Allan Saint-Maximin has been directly involved in three goals in his last three Premier League games for Newcastle (2 goals, 1 assist), as many as in his previous 12 for the Magpies. This is the first time in his Premier League career he’s been involved in a goal in three consecutive appearances.

Brentford – Liverpool

This will be the first league meeting between Brentford and Liverpool since May 1947. The sides played out a 1-1 draw at Griffin Park, which resulted in the Bees’ relegation from the top-flight, while Liverpool went on to win the title.

In all competitions, Liverpool have won their last four meetings with Brentford, scoring 14 goals and conceding just twice. However, this is the first meeting between the sides since a 4-0 win for the Reds at Anfield in the FA Cup in March 1989.

Liverpool have scored exactly four goals in each of their last three meetings with Brentford in all competitions, though all of these games took place between 1983 and 1989. The Reds have scored 4+ goals in more consecutive matches vs three opponents – Rotherham Town (4 between 1894-1896), Crewe Alexandra (5 between 1895-1992) and West Ham (4 between 2017-2018).

Liverpool have lost just one of their last 27 Premier League games against promoted sides (W22 D4), going down 1-0 at home to Fulham last season. Meanwhile, the last time the Reds lost their first ever Premier League meeting against a side was in October 2010 (1-2 vs Blackpool).

Brentford Community Stadium will be the 60th different ground at which Liverpool have played a Premier League game. The Reds have won at 57 of the 59 they’ve played at so far, more than any other side in the competition.

Brentford lost their last home league game against Brighton, thanks to a 90th minute winning strike. They’ve not lost consecutive home league games since a run of three in December 2018.

Liverpool are on the longest current unbeaten run in English league football (15 – W12 D3). Away from home, the Reds have won their last five games by an aggregate score of 15-3, including 3-0 in each of their last three on the road – in top-flight history, only Liverpool themselves have won four consecutive away league games by 3+ goals each time, doing so in December 2017.

Brentford striker Ivan Toney has the most goals (2), goal involvements (3), joint-most shots (12) and joint-most chances created (7) for the Bees in the Premier League this season.

Only Steven Gerrard (13) has scored more Premier League goals in London for Liverpool than Mohamed Salah (12), with the Egyptian netting six in his last five visits to the capital. Meanwhile, no Liverpool player has scored in more different stadiums in London than Sadio Mané (6).

Mohamed Salah has scored 99 goals in 150 Premier League games for Liverpool. A goal here would see him become the fastest player to score 100 top-flight goals for the Reds, with that record currently being held by Roger Hunt (152 games).

SUNDAY 26 SEPTEMBER

Southampton – Wolverhampton Wanderers

Southampton have won just one of their last 10 league meetings with Wolves (D4 L5), a 3-1 home win in April 2019.

Wolves have won their last two Premier League away games against Southampton, as many victories as they’d managed in their previous 14 league visits to St Mary’s/The Dell combined (D3 L9).

Southampton have opened the scoring in each of their last five Premier League meetings with Wolves. They won first time around (3-1 in April 2019), but have failed to win any of the subsequent four (D2 L2).

Each of Southampton’s last four Premier League games has ended level, with Saints last having a longer run of draws back in February 1995 and a joint Premier League record seven in a row.

Despite being winless in seven Premier League games (D4 L3), Southampton have kept consecutive clean sheets in the competition, more than they’d managed in their previous 24 league games.

Wolves have lost seven of their last eight Premier League games (W1), but are looking to secure back-to-back away wins in the competition for the first time since a run of three in June 2020.

Wolves have the third highest xG total in the Premier League this season (9.2) but have scored just two goals, with their difference of -7.2 the biggest negative difference between actual goals and expected goals in the competition this season.

Of sides to have played across both seasons, Southampton have the fewest points (21) and fewest wins (5) of any side in the Premier League in 2021. Meanwhile, Wolves have failed to scored in more different league games this calendar year than any other current Premier League side (12).

Wolves’ Adama Traoré has had 49 successful take-ons in the Premier League this season, more than double that of any other player. Five of these have ended with a shot from the Spaniard, and six with him creating a chance, though he’s yet to score or assist in the Premier League this season.

Wolves pair Adama Traoré and Raúl Jiménez have created more chances for each other than any other duo in the Premier League this season (10). They’re yet to combine for a goal this season however, with the two ranking joint-top for most shots without a goal this term (14 each).

Arsenal – Tottenham Hotspur

Arsenal beat Spurs 2-1 in this exact fixture in March – they’ve not won consecutive league games against Tottenham since doing the double over their rivals in the 2013-14 campaign.

Tottenham have won just one of their last 28 away league games against Arsenal (D11 L16), coming from behind to win 3-2 in November 2010.

Since consecutive 0-0 draws at Highbury in 1997-98 and 1998-99, Arsenal have scored at least once in each of their last 22 Premier League home games against Spurs.

After losing their first three league games by an aggregate score of 9-0 this season, Arsenal have won both of their last two by a 1-0 scoreline. They last won three in a row without conceding in July 2020, while they last had three consecutive 1-0 victories in August 2008.

After winning their first three league games all 1-0 this season, Tottenham have lost 3-0 in both of their last two, with both matches being London derbies. Spurs have never lost three consecutive league games by 3+ goals in their entire history.

Coming into this weekend’s games, Arsenal have used the most different players (26) and had the most starting XI changes (16) in the Premier League this season. The Gunners also have the youngest average starting XI so far in the top-flight this term (24y 328d).

Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has been involved in six goals in his eight Premier League appearances against Tottenham. He’s scored in each of his last three against Spurs at the Emirates – no Arsenal player has ever scored in four consecutive home league games against Tottenham.

Just one of the last 10 Tottenham managers (to take charge in a north London derby) has won their first top-flight meeting against Arsenal (D5 L4), though it was José Mourinho in July 2020. Nuno Espírito Santo will be the 10th different individual Spurs manager whose first north London derby came away from home, with just one of the previous nine emerging victorious (Peter Shreeve in January 1985, otherwise D5 L3).

Both of Arsenal’s Premier League games with Aaron Ramsdale in goal this season have finished 1-0. The only keepers to record a clean sheet in each of their first three Premier League starts for the Gunners are Alex Manninger and David Ospina.

Spurs’ Harry Kane is the all-time highest goalscorer in competitive meetings between Arsenal and Tottenham, with 11 goals. He failed to score against Arsenal in their last meeting in March, but has never gone without a goal against the Gunners in back-to-back games.

Crystal Palace – Brighton and Hove Albion

Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last four league meetings with Brighton (W2 D2), though both victories in this run have come away from home.

Brighton have won just one of their last seven away games against Crystal Palace in all competitions (D4 L2), though they are unbeaten in their last three at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace have won just one of their last 12 Premier League matches played on a Monday (D3 L8), though this victory did come against Brighton (2-1 in February). Meanwhile, Brighton are winless in all 10 of their Premier League games played on a Monday (D7 L3).

Crystal Palace have kept a clean sheet in both of their Premier League home games this season, drawing 0-0 with Brentford and beating Spurs 3-0. The only top-flight campaign in which the Eagles didn’t concede in any of their first three home games was 1979-80, while Patrick Vieira could be the first Palace manager to do so in his first three home league games in charge since Ian Holloway in December 2012.

Crystal Palace have had fewer shots on target than any side in the Premier League this season (11). However, they’ve scored five goals, giving the Eagles the best goals to shots on target ratio in the competition this term (45%).

Brighton have won four of their last five Premier League games (L1), and are looking for three consecutive league victories for the first time since October 2018.

Brighton have won both of their Premier League away games so far this season. They’ve never won three in a row on the road in the top-flight before, while only three times have they ever won each of their first three away league games in a single season (1953-54, 1957-58 and 2011-12).

42% of Brighton’s Premier League corners this season have led to a chance for the Seagulls (11/26), the highest ratio in the division. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have conceded more goals from corner situations than any other side in the Premier League this term (3).

Only Manchester City (6) have faced fewer shots on target in the Premier League than Brighton (13) so far this season. Brighton’s 2.6 shots on target faced per game this term is their lowest in a single season in the competition, with this number gradually declining each campaign (4.8 in 2017-18, 4.6 in 2018-19, 4.5 in 2019-20, 3.3 in 2020-21).

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has scored seven goals against Brighton in his career (all competitions) – against no side has he scored more in English football. The Ivorian has scored four goals in his last four against the Seagulls at Selhurst Park.