Southampton – Norwich City
Southampton have lost just one of their eight Premier League home games against Norwich (W5 D2), going down 1-0 in January 1994. Saints have won their last three against the Canaries at St Mary’s, netting nine goals in these games.
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Norwich won the reverse fixture against Southampton 2-1 in November, in their first match under Dean Smith. They last did the league double over Saints in the 2007-08 Championship campaign, while they last did so in the top-flight in 1986-87.
Southampton lost to Norwich earlier this season in the Premier League, with the Canaries sitting bottom of the table – they’ve never lost to the same bottom side twice within the same campaign in the competition. However, they did lose twice to the lowest ranked side in 1993-94, once vs Queens Park Rangers and once vs Swindon Town.
Having won just one of their first eight Premier League games played on Friday (D2 L5), Southampton have now won three of their last four on this day (D1), including a 3-0 win against Norwich in June 2020.
Norwich have won two of their last three Premier League games played on a Friday, the same number as they’d managed in their first 14 such matches in the top-flight (W2 D4 L8). They won their last such match 3-0 at Watford last month.
Southampton have lost just once at home in the Premier League this season and are unbeaten in their last nine at St Mary’s (W4 D5). They last had a longer unbeaten home run in the top-flight between October 2004 and March 2005 (12 games).
Norwich have had fewer shots on target than any other Premier League side this season (70). Their record of 2.8 shots on target per game is their lowest on record in a single campaign in the competition (since 2004-05).
Southampton’s Che Adams has been involved in a goal in each of his last three Premier League games, scoring against Tottenham and Manchester United, and assisting against Everton. He’s never registered a goal involvement in four consecutive top-flight appearances before.
Shane Long scored his first goal in 25 Premier League appearances in Southampton’s 2-0 win against Everton last time out. He last scored in consecutive games in the competition back in April 2019.
Norwich’s Milot Rashica became the first Kosovan player to score a Premier League goal in their 3-1 defeat against Liverpool last time out. Only Teemu Pukki (6 goals, 1 assist) has been involved in more league goals for the Canaries this season than Rashica (1 goal, 2 assists).
SATURDAY 26 February
Leeds United – Tottenham Hotspur
Leeds have won just one of their last eight Premier League games against Tottenham (D1 L6), though it did come in this exact fixture last season (3-1).
Spurs have won just two of their 13 Premier League away games against Leeds (D3 L8), with those victories coming in May 1996 (3-1) and January 2004 (1-0).
Spurs won just 21% of their first 19 Premier League matches against Leeds United (4/19) but have won 75% of their last eight against the Whites (6/8).
West Ham United (2-1 in September) and Arsenal (4-1 in December) have both won at Elland Road this season in the Premier League. The last time three sides from London all won away at Leeds in a season in the league was in 1995-96 (QPR, Arsenal and Spurs all winning).
Leeds United have lost three of their last four Premier League home games, as many as they had in their previous 17 at Elland Road. They’ve not lost three consecutive top-flight home games since November 2003.
Leeds United have lost their last four Premier League matches on Saturdays and have won just one of their 11 games on this day this season (D3 L7), a 1-0 home win over Watford in October.
Tottenham have lost eight of their last 12 Premier League matches that have kicked off at 12:30pm (W3 D1), with one of those defeats a 3-1 away defeat at Leeds last May.
Of all managers to have taken charge of at least 10 such games, Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has the best Premier League win rate in games played on Saturdays (76% - W28 D3 L6). Meanwhile, all six of the Italian’s defeats on this day have come in London, all while he was Chelsea boss (home against Crystal Palace, Burnley and Man City, and away to Arsenal, Crystal Palace and West Ham).
? Raphinha has scored 40% of Leeds’ Premier League home goals this season (6/15). Indeed, the Brazilian and Rodrigo (2) are the only Leeds players to score more than one league goal at Elland Road so far this term.
Tottenham striker Harry Kane has scored 10 goals in his eight Premier League games played in Yorkshire – only Alan Shearer (16) has scored more as a visiting player in the county than the England captain.
Brentford v Newcastle United
This is the first time Brentford have hosted Newcastle in a top-flight match, with all four previous such games coming in the second tier. The Bees won the first two (1935 and 1948), while Newcastle have won the most recent meetings (1992 and 2017).
Newcastle are unbeaten in their last five league meetings with Brentford (W4 D1), netting 15 goals across these five games in a run stretching back to October 1992.
This will be Newcastle’s 150th Premier League game in London – the Magpies have lost more away games in the capital than any other side in the competition (82).
Newcastle are unbeaten in their last six Premier League games against promoted sides. However, five of those games have finished level (W1), including all four of their meetings so far this season.
Brentford are winless in their last seven Premier League games, drawing one and losing six. No side is on a longer current run without a victory in the competition than the Bees.
Newcastle are unbeaten in six Premier League games, winning three and drawing three. The Magpies last had a longer unbeaten run in the competition between May and November 2011 (14 games).
Including penalties, both Brentford (44% - 12/27) and Newcastle (42% - 11/26) have scored over 40% of their Premier League goals from set piece situations this season.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney scored against Newcastle in the 3-3 draw at St James’ Park earlier this season; the last players to score home and away against the Magpies in a Premier League season, having previously played for them in the competition, were Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye and Craig Bellamy in 2008-09.
Newcastle striker Chris Wood has netted nine goals in his last 13 Premier League appearances against promoted sides, including a strike against Brentford for Burnley earlier this season. However, the New Zealander is yet to get off the mark for the Magpies (5 games).
Allan Saint-Maximin has the most combined goals and assists (8 – 5 goals, 3 assists) for Newcastle in the Premier League this season. The Frenchman has also had the most shots (47) and created the most chances (37) for the Magpies this term.
Brighton and Hove Albion v Aston Villa
Brighton are winless in their last five home league games against Aston Villa. However, the last four of these meetings has ended level, including both such games in the Premier League.
Following a 2-0 win in November in Steven Gerrard’s first game in charge, Aston Villa are looking to complete the league double over Brighton for the first time since 1981-82.
Aston Villa limited Brighton to just six shots in this season’s reverse fixture in November (a 2-0 win). Only against Brentford in September (4) have the Seagulls had fewer attempts in a Premier League game this season.
Brighton have lost their last two Premier League games by an aggregate score of 5-0, having lost just two of their previous 14 in the competition (W3 D9). The Seagulls last lost three in a row in March 2021, while they last lost three in a row without scoring in April 2019 (a run of four).
Brighton have scored just 10 goals in their 12 Premier League home games this season, with four of the Seagulls’ six league defeats this term coming at the Amex Stadium.
After winning four of their first six Premier League games under Steven Gerrard, Aston Villa have won just one of their subsequent seven (D2 L4) – a 1-0 away win against Everton.
No side has scored fewer Premier League goals in the opening 15 minutes of games this season than either Aston Villa or Brighton (2 each). Meanwhile, Aston Villa have conceded the highest share of their goals in the competition this term in the same timeframe (22% - 8/37).
Brighton’s Danny Welbeck has scored five goals in 10 Premier League appearances against Aston Villa – his most against a single opponent in the competition. Four of those have come in his most recent four league games against them.
Neal Maupay’s has scored 26 goals in the Premier League for Brighton – one more strike will see him become the Seagulls’ highest goalscorer in the competition (currently level with Glenn Murray).
Since their Premier League debuts for the club on 15th January, no Aston Villa player has had more shots in the competition than Philippe Coutinho (12), while no player has created more chances for the club than Lucas Digne (10). Coutinho also has the joint-most goal involvements for the Villans since he joined (2 goals, 2 assists).
Crystal Palace v Burnley
After four straight Premier League victories against Burnley between January 2018 and November 2019, Crystal Palace are now winless in their last four against the Clarets in the competition (D1 L3).
Burnley have won their last two Premier League away games against Crystal Palace – in their top-flight history, the only London side the Clarets have won three consecutive away games against is Tottenham Hotspur, doing so between 1953 and 1955.
Burnley have won five of their last 10 Premier League games in London (D2 L3), having won just 10% of their first 30 visits to the capital in the competition (W3 D4 L23). The Clarets have kept six clean sheets in these 10 games, double the amount they had in their first 30.
Having lost just one of their first 10 home league games under Patrick Vieira, Crystal Palace have now lost each of their last three at Selhurst Park. They last lost more consecutive home league games between December 2016-February 2017 (5).
Crystal Palace have scored at least once in 11 of their last 12 Premier League home games, though the exception in this run was their last such game (0-1 vs Chelsea).
Burnley picked up their first away league win of the season in their last game on the road, beating Crystal Palace’s rivals Brighton 3-0 at the Amex Stadium. The Clarets last won back-to-back away league games in May.
Burnley netted as many goals in their last Premier League away game (3) as they had in their previous six on the road combined. Only once have the Clarets scored 3+ goals in consecutive away games in the competition, doing so in November 2009 (3-3 v Man City, 3-5 v West Ham).
Only Norwich (101) have had fewer shots in Premier League away games this season than Burnley (104). However, the Clarets have registered at least 10 attempts in four of their last five away league games, having done so in just one of their first seven on the road this season.
Odsonne Édouard has scored in each of his last three Premier League home games for Crystal Palace – no player has ever scored in four in a row at Selhurst Park for the Eagles in the competition.
Burnley’s Aaron Lennon has scored in two of his last four Premier League away games, netting against Manchester United and Brighton. Before this, he hadn’t netted in 46 consecutive games on the road in the competition, while he’s never scored three away goals in a single Premier League campaign.
Manchester United – Watford
Manchester United have never lost a home league game against Watford (W11 D2) – no side have they faced more at home in their league history without suffering defeat (also 13 vs Hull).
Watford are looking to complete their first ever league double over Manchester United; they’ve won two of their last three against the Red Devils in the league, having won just one of their previous 15 before this (L14).
Claudio Ranieri was manager of Watford for their 4-1 win earlier this season over Man Utd, while Roy Hodgson will take charge of this game. Should the Hornets win, they will be the first team to complete a league double over Manchester United with a different manager in charge for each game since Bolton Wanderers in 1950-51 (Walter Rowley and Bill Ridding).
Manchester United have lost just one of their last 21 Premier League home games kicking off at 3pm on Saturday (W16 D4), though that loss did come against Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace in August 2019 (1-2).
Manchester United are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League games (W4 D3), with no side currently on a longer run without defeat in the competition than the Red Devils. Manchester United have lost just one of their 14 league games since Ole Gunnar Solskjær left the club in November (W8 D5).
Following their 1-0 win at Aston Villa, Watford are looking to win consecutive Premier League away games for the first time since a run of three in August/September 2017 under Marco Silva.
Just 7% of Manchester United’s Premier League goals this season have come from set-piece situations (excluding penalties), the lowest ratio in the competition this term. However, they did net their first goal from a corner this season in their 4-2 win at Leeds last time out.
Watford manager Roy Hodgson has won his last two Premier League away games against Manchester United, winning there with Crystal Palace in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Pep Guardiola is the only manager to win three consecutively away against Man Utd in the Premier League, while only three managers have ever won consecutive top-flight visits to Old Trafford with different clubs – Alf Ramsey (1963 with Ipswich, 1978 with Birmingham), Joe Mercer (1970 with Man City, 1972 with Coventry) and Brian Clough (1973 with Derby, 1977 with Nottingham Forest).
Only against Everton (8) has Watford’s Josh King scored more Premier League goals than the five he has against Manchester United.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has been involved in seven goals in his last seven Premier League appearances (4 goals, 3 assists), though all but one of these goal involvements have come away from Old Trafford.
Everton v Manchester City
Everton have won just one of their last 17 Premier League games against Man City (4-0 in January 2017), losing each of the last eight in a row.
Manchester City have won each of their last four away Premier League games against Everton, as many as they had in their first 20 visits to Goodison Park in the competition (W4 D5 L11).
Everton have lost their last eight league games against Manchester City – only against Portsmouth (13 between 1947 and 1956) and Manchester United (9 between 1999 and 2004) have they ever lost more consecutively in their league history.
Everton have lost 13 of their 23 Premier League games this season, as many defeats as they suffered in the whole of 2020-21. 12 of those defeats have come in their last 16 games in the competition (W2 D2).
Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League away games (W10 D2) since a 1-0 loss at Tottenham on the opening weekend. The Citizens have shipped just eight goals on the road in the Premier League so far this term, with no side shipping fewer.
No side has scored fewer first half goals in the Premier League than Everton this season (8), with just 29% of the Toffees’ goals this term coming before the interval (8/28). Manchester City have scored more first half goals (30) and second half goals (33) than Everton have in total this term (28).
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has won 24 of his last 25 Premier League games against English managers, since a 2-1 loss to Frank Lampard’s Chelsea in June 2020. The only exception in this run was a 3-2 loss against Graham Potter’s Brighton in May last season.
After scoring in all three of Everton’s Premier League games in August, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has failed to find the net in any of his five appearances since returning from injury in January, despite playing the full 90 minutes in four of those five games.
Since the start of November, Raheem Sterling has scored 12 goals in 18 appearances in all competitions for Manchester City – his previous 12 goals for the club came across a 58-game spell between October 2020 and October 2021.Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez has been involved in 25 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring 18 and assisting seven. In his career in English football, only in 2015-16 (18 goals, 11 assists) and 2019-20 (13 goals, 13 assists) has he registered more goal involvements in a single campaign.
SUNDAY 27 February
West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Ham won this exact fixture 4-0 last season, having lost three of their last four home league games against Wolves. They’re looking to secure back-to-back home league wins against them for the first time since October 2004.
Wolves have lost two of their last three league games against West Ham, as many as they had in their previous nine against them (W6 D1). However, they did win the reverse fixture this season 1-0 in November.
Of all sides they’ve played more than six times in the competition, Wolves’ best win rate in the Premier League is against West Ham (55% - W6 D1 L4). Indeed, no side have Wolves beaten more in the Premier League than they have the Hammers (6).
Wolves have won three of their last four Premier League games played on Sunday (D1), as many as they had in their previous 13 such games (W3 D3 L7).
This will be West Ham’s 13th Sunday game in the Premier League this season, the most they’ve ever played on the day in a single campaign in the competition. They won five of their first seven such games this term (L2), but have failed to win any of their subsequent five (D2 L3).
West Ham have both scored and conceded in 17 different Premier League games this season, with no side doing so more often in the competition this term. The Hammers have also found the net in all 13 of their Premier League home games so far this season, with their average of 1.8 goals per home game their best ratio in a single season at the London Stadium.
West Ham’s shot conversion rate is 13.7% this season (45 goals from 329 shots), their highest on record in a single Premier League campaign (since 1997-98).
In his English league career, West Ham’s Michail Antonio has faced Wolves more often without scoring than he has any other opponent – 820 minutes across 10 matches.
Only against Everton and Southampton (5 each) has Wolves’ Raúl Jiménez scored more Premier League goals than he has against West Ham (4). However, three of his four strikes against the Hammers have come at Molineux.
Jarrod Bowen has been involved in 16 Premier League goals for West Ham this season (8 goals, 8 assists). Only two English players have ever been involved in more in a single campaign for the Hammers in the competition – Marlon Harewood in 2005-06 (14 goals, 4 assists) and Trevor Morley in 1993-94 (13 goals, 4 assists).