Premier League Matchweek 13: What the stats say

SATURDAY 27 November 2021

Arsenal – Newcastle United

Arsenal have won 16 of their last 17 Premier League games against Newcastle, with the exception being a 2-1 away loss in April 2018.

Since a 1-0 victory in November 2010, Newcastle have lost each of their last nine away league games against Arsenal, failing to score in each of the last five.

Arsenal have scored at least once in each of their last 17 Premier League games against Newcastle. The Gunners have opened the scoring in their last 16 against Newcastle, the longest run one team has had scoring first against another in the competition’s history.

Arsenal have never lost a Premier League home game against the side starting the day bottom of the table (W15 D6), winning the last eight in a row by an aggregate score of 23-2.

Arsenal lost at Liverpool last time out, ending their eight-game unbeaten run in the Premier League (W6 D2). Indeed, the Gunners conceded as many goals in their 4-0 loss at Anfield as they had in their eight-game run combined.

Newcastle are the only side still without a win in the top four tiers of English league football this season (D6 L6). Their current run of 12 Premier League games without a win is their longest since a run of 13 between December 2007 and March 2008.

No side have conceded more Premier League goals than Newcastle this season (27), with the Magpies still yet to keep a clean sheet this term. However, they’ve scored more goals (15) than opponents Arsenal (13) so far this term.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been involved in nine goals in his eight appearances for Arsenal against Newcastle in all competitions (6 goals, 3 assists), scoring in each of his last five against the Magpies.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has taken just five points from 30 available in his Premier League meetings with Arsenal (W1 D2 L7), losing all five of his visits to the Emirates to face the Gunners.

Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin has carried the ball further than any other player in the Premier League this season (2952 metres), while no player has created more chances following a ball carry than the Frenchman (13, level with Jack Grealish).

Crystal Palace – Aston Villa

Crystal Palace have won five of their last six home league games against Aston Villa (L1), including each of the last three in a row.

Aston Villa have won three of their last five Premier League games against Crystal Palace (L2), as many as they had in their first 13 against them in the competition.

When scoring at least once in Premier League games against Aston Villa, Crystal Palace’s record is P11 W7 D3 L1, winning the last six such games. However, the Eagles have failed to score in five of their last eight against the Villans in the competition.

Crystal Palace are unbeaten at home in the Premier League so far this season (W2 D4). They last avoided defeat in their first seven home games of a league campaign in 1993-94 (second tier), while they last did so in the top-flight in 1990-91.

Crystal Palace are without defeat in their last seven Premier League games (W2 D5), the longest current unbeaten run in the competition. The Eagles themselves last had a longer unbeaten run in the competition in December 2017 (8 games).

Aston Villa got off to a winning start under Steven Gerrard against Brighton last time out – the only manager to win both of his first two Premier League games in charge of the Villans was John Gregory in March 1998.

Aston Villa have lost their last three Premier League away games, last losing more in a row on the road in the competition between February 2016 and September 2019 (10).

Christian Benteke’s last eight Premier League goals have either put Crystal Palace ahead (4) or been an equalising goal (4). Indeed, 71% of his overall Premier League goals have altered the result at that point in the match (61/86) – among players to score at least 60 Premier League goals, only Dion Dublin (72%) has scored a higher share of this type.

Against no side has Aston Villa striker Danny Ings scored more Premier League goals than he has against Crystal Palace (5). However, after scoring (2) or assisting (2) four goals in his first five league appearances for the Villans, Ings has netted just once more (0 assists) in his last five games.

As players, Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira and Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard met nine times in the Premier League. Gerrard didn’t lose any of the first six such meetings (W3 D3), with Vieira winning two of the last three (L1).

Liverpool – Southampton

Liverpool have won seven of their last eight Premier League games against Southampton, with the exception being a 1-0 away loss in January last season.

Since a 1-0 win in September 2013, Southampton are winless in their last seven away league games against Liverpool (W5 D2), losing their last four at Anfield by an aggregate score of 12-0.

Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 25 Premier League games kicking off at 3pm on Saturday (W22 D3) since a 2-0 loss at Hull in February 2017. The Reds’ last such loss at home was against West Ham in August 2015 under Brendan Rodgers (W18 D5 since).

Liverpool are the only team to have scored in all 12 of their Premier League games this season. The Reds have found the net in each of their last 22 league games overall, netting at least twice in 18 of those including each of the last nine.

Liverpool have scored more goals than any other side in the Premier League this season (35), while only Norwich (7) have scored fewer than Southampton (11). Indeed, Liverpool have scored more first-half goals (16) and more second half goals (19) than Saints have in total in the Premier League this term.

Southampton have lost 13 of their 17 Premier League away games in 2021 (W2 D2), conceding 43 goals in this run (2.5 per game). Indeed, Saints have lost more games and conceded more goals away from home than any other Premier League side in this calendar year so far.

Excluding blocked shots, Liverpool have had the highest percentage of their shots go on target so far in the Premier League this season (55%), while only Newcastle (38%) have a lower shooting accuracy than Southampton (42%).

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has made 19 take-ons in the opposition box in the Premier League this season season, at least 11 more than any other player in the competition.

No player has scored the opening goal in more different Premier League games this season than Liverpool’s Sadio Mané (4). In total he’s opened the scoring on 36 occasions in the Premier League since he’s been at Liverpool, with the Reds going on to win 28 of those games (D6 L2).

Southampton’s Adam Armstrong has scored (1) or assisted (2) a goal in each of his last three Premier League appearances, more than he had in his first 23 games in the competition with Saints and Newcastle combined (1 goal, 1 assist).

Norwich City – Wolverhampton Wanderers

After a run of three consecutive wins against them between 2015 and 2017, Norwich are winless in four league games against Wolves (D1 L3).

Wolves have won their last two away league games against Norwich, having lost four in a row at Carrow Road before this.

Norwich City have won their last two Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 35 in the competition. They last won three consecutive games in the division back in December 2012.

Norwich have scored as many goals (4) in their last two Premier League games as they had in their previous 20 combined. The Canaries are looking to score more than once in three consecutive top-flight games for the first time since August 2013.

After losing four of their first five Premier League games this season (W1), Wolves have now won five of their last seven (D1 L1). Indeed, no side has taken more points over the last seven Premier League matches than Wolves (16, level with Chelsea and Manchester City).

Norwich have scored (7) almost three goals fewer than their expected goals (9.7) suggests in the Premier League this season, while Wolves have netted (12) around four goals fewer than their xG (16.4) – only Southampton (11 goals, 15.7 xG) are underperforming in this category more so far this season.

Norwich manager Dean Smith has already lost at home to Wolves this season, a 3-2 loss while he was at Aston Villa. Only four different managers have ever lost two home games against the same opponent in a single Premier League campaign – Gerry Francis vs Wimbledon (1994-95), Ron Atkinson vs Manchester United (1994-95), Steve Bruce vs Aston Villa and Man Utd (2007-08) and Mark Hughes vs Chelsea (2017-18).

Norwich got off to a winning start under Dean Smith against Southampton last time out – in their history, Mike Walker is the only manager to win both of his first two top-flight league games in charge of the Canaries, doing so in August 1992.

Teemu Pukki has scored in his last two Premier League games for Norwich, and is looking to score in three in a row in the competition for the first time since August 2019, when he netted in his first ever three Premier League appearances.

45.9% of Raúl Jiménez’s Premier League goals for Wolves have been the winning goal of the game (17/37), with all three of the Mexican’s goals this season proving decisive. Of all players with at least 30 goals in the competition, only Robert Lee (50%) and Mikel Arteta (46.3%) have scored a higher ratio of winners.

Brighton and Hove Albion – Leeds United

Brighton have won eight of their last nine league games against Leeds (L1), achieving the double over the Whites in the Premier League last season.

Leeds have lost their last five away league games against Brighton without scoring a single goal, while their last away league win against the Seagulls was back in November 2009 in League One (3-0).

Having won four of their first five Premier League games this season, Brighton are now winless in their last seven (D5 L2) – only bottom side Newcastle (12) are on a longer current run without a win than the Seagulls.

In their first eight Premier League games this season, Brighton conceded just five goals (0.6 per game) and faced just 21 shots on target (2.6 per game). In their last four, the Seagulls have conceded nine goals (2.3 per game) and faced 23 shots on target (5.8 per game).

Only Burnley (14) and Newcastle (12) have dropped more points from winning positions than Leeds (10) in the Premier League this season. It’s four more points than the Whites dropped in the whole of last season (6).

Leeds have scored the highest percentage of their goals from outside the box in the Premier League this season, with five of their 12 goals coming from distance (42%). Meanwhile, the Whites are one of just two sides (along with Chelsea) yet to concede a goal from outside the box this term.

Leeds have converted just 6.9% of their shots in the Premier League this season (12 goals from 175 shots) – only Norwich (5.8%) have a lower shot conversion rate than Marcelo Bielsa’s side this term.

Brighton’s Neal Maupay has scored four goals in his six league games against Leeds, more than he’s netted against any other side in English league football.

Since his debut for the club in October 2020, Leeds have won 45% of their Premier League games in which Raphinha has featured (18/40), but have won none of their six matches when the Brazilian has been absent (D2 L4).

Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa has won 65% of his Premier League games against English managers (13/20), compared to just 23% versus managers from anywhere but England (7/30).

SUNDAY 29 November

Brentford – Everton

Brentford have lost three of their last four league meetings with Everton (W1), with this their first such game since a 6-1 away loss in the second tier in February 1954.

This is the first meeting between Brentford and Everton in any competition since September 2010, in a League Cup match. Following a 1-1 draw at Griffin Park, the Bees progressed 4-3 on penalties.

Everton have won five of their last six Premier League games in London (L1), as many as they had in their previous 32 visits to the capital in the competition.

Just 31% of Brentford’s Premier League points this season have come in home games (4/13), the lowest ratio in the competition so far this term. Indeed, the Bees are winless at home since beating Arsenal 2-0 on the opening day of the season.

Having kept three clean sheets and conceding just two goals (0.4 per game) in their first five Premier League games, Brentford have conceded in each of their last seven in the competition (15 in total – 2.1 per game).

Everton had won 13 points from their first six Premier League games this season (W4 D1 L1), leaving them in fifth place and just one point off top spot. However, since then the Toffees have earned just two more points (D2 L4), fewer than any other Premier League side over the last six games.

No side have conceded more Premier League goals in the first half of games than Brentford this season (11), with the Bees shipping the highest share before half-time (65%). However, only Aston Villa (3) have scored fewer goals in the opening 45 minutes of games than Everton (4) this term.

Rico Henry has scored in consecutive Premier League games for Brentford, having netted just twice in his first 120 league appearances for the Bees. Indeed, 33% of his goals in English league football have come in the last two games (2/6).

As Liverpool manager, Everton’s Rafael Benítez lost just one of his 36 Premier League games against promoted sides (3% - W26 D9). Since then, the Spaniard has lost seven of his 18 such games (39% - W5 D6), including a 5-2 home loss against Watford in his last such game.

Only Emmanuel Dennis (6) has been shown more yellow cards than Everton’s Richarlison (5) in the Premier League this season, with the Brazilian picking up six bookings in his last nine appearances in the competition. Indeed, since he joined the Toffees in 2018, Richarlison has been booked more than any other forward in the Premier League (22).

Burnley – Tottenham Hotspur

Burnley have won just one of their last 12 Premier League games against Spurs (D3 L8), winning 2-1 at Turf Moor in February 2019.

Tottenham have only failed to score in one of their 14 Premier League games against Burnley, a 0-0 draw in April 2015. Meanwhile, they’ve kept eight clean sheets against the Clarets in the competition.

Burnley have won just one of their last 15 league games (D6 L8), keeping just one clean sheet in that run. However, the Clarets are unbeaten in four in the Premier League (W1 D3), scoring more goals in this run (9) than they had in their previous 13 combined (8).

Only Everton (7) have won more points from losing positions in the Premier League this season than Tottenham (6), with Spurs winning against Leeds last time out having trailed 1-0 at half-time.

Only Norwich (120) have had fewer shots than Tottenham (124) in the Premier League so far this season. Indeed, Spurs’ record of 10.3 shots per game is their lowest on record in a single Premier League campaign (since 1997-98).

Burnley have scored a league-high six headed goals in the Premier League this season, while Tottenham are one of three sides yet to have scored a header so far this term.

Burnley keeper Nick Pope has conceded 14 goals against Tottenham in the Premier League, only against Manchester City (17) and Chelsea (15) has he conceded more. He’s also yet to keep a clean sheet in his five Premier League games against Spurs, only against Leicester City (7), Manchester City and Chelsea (both 6) has he played more against an opponent without keeping a clean sheet.

Each of Burnley’s six Premier League goals against Tottenham under Sean Dyche have been scored by either Chris Wood or Ashley Barnes (both 3), with the only game the pair both scored in being their last league win against Spurs in February 2019 (2-1).

Tottenham’s Harry Kane has either scored or assisted in each of his last six Premier League games against Burnley (7 goals, 3 assists), having scored just once in his first four Premier League appearances against the Clarets.

Son Heung-min’s four Premier League goals have been worth six points to Tottenham this season, with no player’s strikes being more valuable to their side than the South Korean’s. Indeed, Son has scored the winning goal in three of Tottenham’s six Premier League victories this term.

Leicester City – Watford

Leicester have lost just one of their last 12 home league games against Watford (W9 D2), going down 2-1 in April 2013 in the Championship. The Foxes have won each of their last five such games by an aggregate score of 11-1.

Watford have never previously kept a clean sheet in 20 top-flight meetings with Leicester – it’s the most one team has faced another in top-flight history while conceding in every single meeting.

Four of the last five Premier League meetings between Leicester and Watford have seen a goal scored in the 90th minute (5 in total). The one game in this run in which there was no 90th minute goal saw a player red carded in the final minute instead.

Leicester have lost their last two Premier League home games by an aggregate score of 5-0. They last lost three consecutive home league games without scoring back in September 1983.

Only Norwich City (1) have scored the opening goal in fewer Premier League games than Watford this season (3). However, the Hornets have gone on to win all three games in which they’ve scored first.

Though they’ve failed to score in a joint league-high seven different Premier League games this season, only six sides have scored more goals than Watford (16) in the competition so far this term.

No side has conceded more Premier League goals from outside the box than Watford this season (5), while all 16 of the Hornets’ goals have been from inside the box. Only Crystal Palace (18) have scored more goals than Watford without any being from outside the area this term.

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy has scored in each of his last three Premier League home games against Watford, with all three of these strikes coming from the penalty spot.

Watford manager Claudio Ranieri – who guided Leicester to the Premier League title in 2015-16 – has won just one of his six Premier League games against sides he’s previously managed (D2 L3), beating Chelsea 2-1 in December 2015 with the Foxes.

Emmanuel Dennis has scored four goals and assisted five more in just 11 Premier League appearances for Watford – should he score in this game, he would be only the sixth player in Premier League history to reach both five goals and assists in 12 or fewer games, after Eric Cantona (11), Jurgen Klinsmann (12), Arjen Robben (11), Andrey Arshavin (10) and Bruno Fernandes (9).

Manchester City – West Ham United

Manchester City have won nine of their 10 Premier League games against West Ham under Pep Guardiola (D1), scoring 28 and conceding just five in these matches.

West Ham have won just one of their last 15 Premier League away games against Man City (D1 L13), winning 2-1 in September 2015 under Slaven Bilic.

Having scored in 20 consecutive meetings with West Ham in all competitions, Manchester City drew 0-0 against the Hammers in their last meeting in the League Cup in October, before being eliminated on penalties.

West Ham have taken just five points from 75 available in Premier League away games against reigning champions (W1 D2 L22), with their one victory coming at Manchester United in December 2001.

Manchester City have kept a clean sheet in six of their last seven Premier League home games (W5 D1 L1), with the exception being a 2-0 loss against Crystal Palace last month.

West Ham’s loss at Wolves last time out ended the Hammers’ four-game winning run in the Premier League. They’ve only lost consecutive league games twice since the start of last season, doing so in September 2020 and April 2021.

Manchester City have played more open play crosses than any other team in the Premier League this season (206). The Citizens have had at least four teammates in the box for 98 of these, at least 37 more than any other side (West Ham, 61).

West Ham are averaging 5.1 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season, their most in a single campaign in the competition since 2000-01 (5.3).

Man City’s Raheem Sterling has been involved in 11 goals in his last eight Premier League games against West Ham (6 goals, 5 assists). However, only two of these have come at the Etihad (2 goals in August 2016).

Bernardo Silva is Man City’s highest goalscorer in the Premier League this season with four goals. The Portuguese is looking to score in three consecutive league games for the very first time with the Citizens.

Chelsea – Manchester United

Chelsea are winless in their last seven Premier League games against Man Utd, only having a longer run without a league win against the Red Devils once before (10 games between 1938 and 1950).

Manchester United have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four Premier League meetings with Chelsea – the only team to record a shutout in more consecutive league games against the Blues is Newcastle United, who did six in a row between 1913 and 1919.

In all competitions, Manchester United have won three of their last four away games against Chelsea (D1), having won just three of their previous 25 visits to Stamford Bridge before this.

This is the fifth time Chelsea have hosted Manchester United in a Premier League game when starting the day as the league leaders. The Blues have won three of the previous four (L1), going on to win the title in the season of each of the three victories (2005-06, 2009-10 and 2014-15).

Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League away games in London (W7 D4), winning each of their last three in a row. They last won four consecutive league visits to the capital between May and November 2005.

League leaders Chelsea have conceded just four goals in their 12 Premier League games this season. Only the Blues themselves (3 in 2004-05) have shipped fewer at this stage of an English top-flight campaign.

Manchester United have lost five of their last seven Premier League games (W1 D1), as many as they had in their previous 42 in the competition. They’ve lost their two league games (vs Man City and Watford), but haven’t lost three in a row since December 2015.

Michael Carrick will be the first Englishman to take charge of Manchester United in a league game since Ron Atkinson in November 1986 (1-1 vs Coventry). Four of the five managers to take charge of the Red Devils since Alex Ferguson left have won their first league game in charge, with Louis van Gaal the exception (1-2 vs Swansea in August 2014).

Manchester United caretaker manager Michael Carrick will be the 14th different manager to take charge of his first ever Premier League game against Chelsea. 10 of the previous 13 to do so have lost (W1 D2), with Duncan Ferguson the only one to emerge triumphant (3-1 in December 2019).

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has only scored in one of his 11 Premier League appearances against Manchester United, netting a hat-trick as a substitute for West Brom in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final game in charge of the Red Devils in May 2013.

In all competitions, Man Utd’s Cristiano Ronaldo has scored just one goal in 15 appearances against Chelsea, doing so in the 2008 Champions League final. The Blues are the side he’s faced the most without ever scoring against in top-flight football (10 games).