Premier League Matchweek 4: what the stats say

Southampton v Manchester United

● Southampton are winless in their last 14 Premier League meetings with Manchester United (D8 L6) since a1-0 away win in January 2016.

● Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League away games against Southampton (W7 D5) since a 1-0 loss in August 2003.

● Manchester United have only lost one of their last 30 Premier League games against promoted sides (W22 D7), winning 15 of their last 17 since a 4-1 loss at Watford in November 2021.

● Manchester United have come from behind to beat Southampton in 10 different Premier League games –only Liverpool have more comeback wins against a single opponent in the competition’s history (11 v Newcastle).

● Southampton have lost all three of their Premier League games so far this season. They could be the first side to lose each of their first four in three different campaigns in the competition, previously doing so in 1998-99 and 2012-13 (the last time they were a promoted side).

● Manchester United have lost as many as two of their first three league games in a season for the second time under Erik ten Hag (also 2022-23), as many times as they had in their previous 29 campaigns combined (2018-19 and 2020-21). They last lost three of their first four back in 1986-87.

● Southampton (4) and Manchester United (3) have made the most errors leading to a goal in the PremiervLeague so far this season. All three of Man Utd’s goals conceded in their loss at Liverpool last time out came via errors, the first time on record they’ve ever committed as many in a single Premier League match (since 2007-08).

● Southampton have lost 399 of their 927 Premier League games. They could be the fifth team to lose as many as 400 in the competition, doing so in fewer games than any other side (West Ham 976, Aston Villa 1 072, Newcastle 1 090, Everton 1 128).

● Manchester United have scored around three goals fewer than their xG suggests they should have so far this season (2 goals, 5.2 xG), the biggest such difference in the competition this term. Meanwhile, Southampton have the second-largest difference so far (1 goal, 3.5 xG) and the lowest shot conversion rate among all teams (2.4 per cent).

● Since keeping a clean sheet in his first Premier League game against Manchester United while at Bournemouth in November 2019, Southampton ‘keeper Aaron Ramsdale has conceded in each of his last eight games against the Red Devils. His 19 goals conceded in these games is the joint-most he’s shipped against any opponent in the competition (also 19 v Liverpool). Brighton and Hove Albion v Ipswich Town

● This is the first league meeting between Brighton and Ipswich since a 1-1 draw in February 2017, and the first in the top-flight since a 2-0 win for Ipswich in January 1983.

● Ipswich have won two of their last four away league games against Brighton (D1 L1), with those wins coming in March 2014 (2-0) and December 2015 (1-0). They had been winless in their previous eight league visits to the Seagulls before this (D5 L3).

● Brighton v Ipswich will be the 936th different fixture to be played in the Premier League. They met eight times in the top-flight between 1979 and 1983 (4 Ipswich wins, 2 Brighton wins, 2 draws), with the Tractor Boys winning 2-0 in the most recent thanks to goals from John Wark and Alan Brazil.

● Brighton have lost just one of their last 13 Premier League home games against promoted sides (W5 D7), going down 1-0 against Fulham in February 2023.

● Brighton have won six of their last eight Premier League matches in September (D1 L1), scoring 3+ goals in each of their last four such victories. However, their last September match ended in a 6-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

● In a run stretching back to March 2002, Ipswich have lost each of their last five Premier League away games by an aggregate score of 18-3. They’re winless in their last eight on the road in the top-flight (D1 L7) since a 2-1 win at Everton in February 2002.

● Ipswich have had the fewest shots (19), shots on target (7) and the lowest expected goals total (1.2) of any side in the Premier League so far this season. The Tractor Boys ranked 1st, 2nd and 4th respectively for those metrics in the Championship last season.

● Excluding own goals, Simon Adingra has scored five of Brighton's last eight Premier League goals against newly promoted opponents. This accounts for 71 per cent of the Ivorian's Premier League goals (5/7).

● Only Jérémy Doku (20) has attempted more dribbles in the Premier League this season than Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma (19). Mitoma has had the most one-v-one’s in the box (7) in the division so far this season (defined as a situation where the attacking player with the ball is isolated against a single defender).

● Ipswich have applied more pressures than any other side in the Premier League so far this season (689), with winger Omari Hutchinson leading the way among players (128).

Crystal Palace v Leicester City

● Crystal Palace have won nine Premier League games against Leicester – against no side have they beaten more times in the competition.

● Leicester lost 2-1 the last time they faced Crystal Palace in the Premier League (April 2023), having been unbeaten in their previous seven against the Eagles beforehand (W4 D3).

● Since drawing consecutive home games 0-0 in September/October last season, Crystal Palace’s last 16 at Selhurst Park in the Premier League have seen 59 goals scored (F34 A25, 3.7 per game). Only Chelsea (63) and Manchester City’s (60) home games have seen more goals in the competition since the first game in that run (27th October).

● Leicester City have only opened the scoring in two of their last 24 Premier League games, conceding first in all three so far this season. Only in 1994-95 and 2001-02 have the Foxes conceded the first goal in each of their first four games in a Premier League season, being relegated in both of those campaigns.

● Crystal Palace have conceded first in each of their three Premier League games so far this season (D1 L2), already one more than in their 13 such games under Oliver Glasner last term. The Eagles are yet to win a Premier League game under the Austrian in which they’ve trailed (D2 L5).

● Leicester City have won just two of their last 16 Premier League games in London (D3 L11), conceding 40 goals during that run (2.5 per game).

● Only Bournemouth (50) have recorded more pressed sequences in the Premier League this season than Crystal Palace (42), while only Nottingham Forest (10) have recorded more direct attacks than the Eagles’nine.

● Since 24th February – Oliver Glasner’s first game in charge – only Phil Foden (5) has scored more Premier League goals from outside the penalty area than Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze (4). Indeed, since the start of 2020-21, only James Ward-Prowse (13), Kevin De Bruyne (12) and Son Heung-min (11) have more such goals than his 10.

● Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has made more targeted runs into the box than any other player in the Premier League so far this season (14).

● Only Bruno Guimarães (16) has won more fouls in the Premier League this season than Leicester City’s Abdul Fatawu (10), seven of which have been following an attempted take-on, more than any other player.

Fulham – West Ham United

● Fulham won both Premier League meetings with West Ham last season by an aggregate score of 7-0.They’ve not won three consecutive league games against the Hammers since between October 1965 and October 1966.

● West Ham have won 16 of their 28 Premier League games against Fulham, their best win rate against any side they’ve faced at least five times in the competition (57 per cent).

● Fulham have won only three of their last 12 Premier League games (D4 L5), with two of those victories coming against newly promoted sides – 4-2 v Luton in May and 2-1 v Leicester in August. Indeed, their only other such win came away to West Ham in April (2-0).

● West Ham’s only win so far in the Premier League this season came away to Crystal Palace (2-0); they last won their opening two away league games of a season in 2015-16 (first 3).

● Fulham lost only one of their four Premier League games that followed an international break last season (W2 D1), while West Ham lost three of their four such games in 2023-24 (W1).

● Fulham manager Marco Silva has more Premier League wins against West Ham than any other side (P9 W6 L3), with the 17 goals his sides have scored against the Hammers in the competition also being his most.

● Only Newcastle United (54) have faced more shots in the Premier League this season than West Ham (52), while their expected goals against total of 6.4 is also the second-highest, behind newly promoted Ipswich (6.9).

● Fulham’s Raúl Jiménez has scored five Premier League goals against West Ham, his joint-best return against an opponent in the competition (also Everton and Southampton), with four of those five coming at home.

● Since the start of last season, only Kieran Trippier (10) has more assists among defenders in the Premier League than Fulham’s Antonee Robinson (8). All eight have come in open play, with only Mohamed Salah(13), Brennan Johnson (10), and Anthony Elanga (9) having a better 100 per cent open play assist rate in the division in that time.

● West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has nine Premier League goals away from home since the start of last season, with only Erling Haaland (16) and Ollie Watkins (10) netting more, while his only goal this term came away at Crystal Palace. Liverpool – Nottingham Forest

● Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 25 home league games against Nottingham Forest (W20 D5), winning the last six in a row. Their last such defeat was in February 1969 under Bill Shankly (0-2).

● Nottingham Forest have lost their last three Premier League games against Liverpool, their longest run of league defeats against the Reds since a run of five between 1983 and 1985.

● Liverpool have won all three of their Premier League games under new manager Arne Slot without conceding a single goal. No manager in the competition’s history has kept a clean sheet in each of their first four matches in charge, while only six have won each of their first four, most recently Maurizio Sarri in 2018.

● Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in four Premier League matches (W2 D2), their longest such run under Nuno Espírito Santo, while not since February 2023 have they enjoyed a longer unbeaten streak in the division (5 games).

● Liverpool have only lost once in their last 24 Premier League matches that have immediately followed an international break (W18 D5), going down 4-1 at Manchester City in April 2023. When playing at Anfield in the league straight after an international break, the Reds haven’t lost since September 2014 against Aston Villa (0-1).

● Nottingham Forest have registered more direct attacks (10) than any other side in the Premier League this season, while only Bournemouth (2.14) average a higher direct speed (metres per second progressed upfield in open play sequences) than the Tricky Trees (2.12) in the competition this term.

● Liverpool have won all three of their Premier League games this season while keeping a clean sheet each time. They could be only the fifth side in English top-flight history to win each of their opening four in a season without conceding, after Aston Villa in 1900-01, Ipswich Town in 1974-75, Chelsea in 2005-06, and Manchester City in 2015-16.

● Mohamed Salah has scored in each of his three Premier League games this season, and could be only the second player to score in each of Liverpool's first four in a season in the competition, after Daniel Sturridge in 2013-14. He could also be the third player to score in a manager’s first four matches in charge of a Premier League club, after Matt Le Tissier under Alan Ball (Southampton) and Fabrizio Ravanelli under Colin Todd (Derby County).

● Chris Wood has scored four of Nottingham Forest’s last five Premier League goals, including two of their three so far this season. However, Wood has never scored in 11 league appearances against Liverpool, only facing Chelsea (12) more times in the Premier League without scoring.

● Diogo Jota has scored six goals in five appearances against Nottingham Forest in all competitions, netting in all three of his games against the Tricky Trees for current side Liverpool (4 goals). It’s his longest scoring run against a single opponent in his English club career.

Manchester City v Brentford

● Manchester City have won four of their six Premier League games against Brentford (L2), doing the double over them in both 2021-22 and 2023-24.

● Brentford remain the last side to win away to Manchester City in any competition, winning 2-1 in November 2022. The Citizens are unbeaten in 45 at the Etihad in all competitions since (W38 D7).

● Manchester City have won all three of their Premier League games this season. They have won each of their opening four matches of an English top-flight campaign on eight previous occasions (1903-04, 1912 13, 1961-62, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2023-24), which is already the most of any club.

● Since the start of last season, Brentford have lost more Premier League away games (13) than any side currently in the competition. The Bees have also lost each of their last five away league games against sides that finished the previous season in the Premier League’s top four.

● Manchester City have won each of their last 12 Premier League games, all by a margin of 2+ goals. Indeed,under Pep Guardiola alone, the Citizens are responsible for six of the 16 runs of 12+ consecutive wins by any clubs in English top-flight history (38 per cent).

● Brentford have won two of their three Premier League games this season (L1), their best start to a campaign in the competition. In the top-flight, only in 1946-47 have they ever won three of their opening four matches – but that was the only season they were relegated from this level.

● Brentford are allowing their opponents on average 16.7 passes per defensive action (PPDA) in the Premier

League this season, the highest figure of any side, and the Bees’ highest in any of their four Premier League seasons so far.

● Erling Haaland has seven goals in the Premier League this season, the most ever by a player in a team’s first three matches of a campaign in the competition. The record in a team’s first four matches in a Premier League season is eight goals by Wayne Rooney for Manchester United in 2011-12.

● Both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa have scored in two of Brentford’s three Premier League games this season. Overall, the pair have scored in the same Premier League match 13 times, at least 10 more than any other duo for the Bees.

● Manchester City’s Jérémy Doku has progressed the ball upfield 747.8m via ball carries in the Premier League this season, almost 300m more than any other player (Jan Paul van Hecke second with 457.3m). His 64 progressive carries are also a league-high, along with his 17 carries ending in a take-on Aston Villa v Everton

● Since their return to the Premier League in 2019, Aston Villa have remained unbeaten in all 10 of their league meetings with Everton (W7 D3), keeping seven clean sheets and conceding just three goals in that run.

● Everton have lost four of their last five Premier League away games against Aston Villa (D1), having won three of their previous four such visits to Villa Park before this (L1).

● Following a run of 15 successive home league wins from March to December 2023, Aston Villa have since won just four of their last 12 Premier League games at Villa Park (D4 L4), losing their only such match this

season 0-2 to Arsenal. Only in 2013-14 have the Villans lost both of their first two home matches of a Premier League campaign.

● Everton, along with Southampton, are one of two sides to lose all three of their Premier League games so far this season. Only in 1926-27 (5) and 1958-59 (6) have the Toffees ever had a longer losing run from the beginning of a league campaign.

● Everton have lost eight of their last 10 Premier League games that have immediately followed an international break (W1 D1), including all four such matches last season. Aston Villa, meanwhile, have won each of their last five league matches immediately following an international break.

● Aston Villa have made fewer pressures in the final third (103) than any other side in the Premier League so far this season. They are also bottom of the division for high turnovers (12), and joint-lowest for pressed sequences (24).

● Everton have lost each of their last four Premier League games; not since October 2005 under David Moyes have the Toffees lost five in a row in the competition (run of 6).

● Everton have only scored once in their last five Premier League away games against Aston Villa, with thatcoming via a Lucas Digne own goal in August 2022. The last Toffees player to score a league goal at Villa

Park was Romelu Lukaku in March 2016.

● Despite only starting three Premier League games in his career, Jhon Durán has scored seven goals in the competition, with six of these coming as a substitute. His average of 96 minutes-per-goal is the best of any Aston Villa player to score 3+ times for the club in the Premier League.

● Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin has made 97 off-the-ball runs in the Premier League this season, the most of any player, with 44 of these being targeted, also a league-high. The striker has either scored (5) or assisted (2) seven of the Toffees’ last 12 league goals.

Bournemouth v Chelsea

● Bournemouth are winless in five Premier League meetings with Chelsea (D2 L3), having won three of their previous four against the Blues prior to this (L1).

● Chelsea have lost just one of their seven Premier League away games against Bournemouth (W4 D2), with three of their four defeats in the competition against the Cherries coming at Stamford Bridge.

● Bournemouth are unbeaten in all three of their Premier League games so far this season (W1 D2) – they’ve never gone four without defeat from the start of a campaign in the competition before.

● Bournemouth beat Everton 3-2 last time out, despite trailing 2-0 up to the 87th minute, the latest a team has come from 2+ goals down to win a Premier League game. It was the Cherries’ third win from 2+ goals behind since their return to the competition in 2022, more than any other team in that time.

● Chelsea have won each of their last three Premier League away games, last having a longer run between

February and April 2022 (4).

● Chelsea have conceded at least once in each of their last 17 Premier League away games, shipping 36 goals in total in this run. Only once have they had a longer run without a clean sheet on the road in the competition, going 24 games between January 1993 and February 1994.

● Both Bournemouth and Chelsea have scored a joint league-high four second half goals in the Premier League this season. All four of Bournemouth’s have been in the final five minutes of games (86th minute onwards), while all four of Chelsea’s came in their only away game so far against Wolves.

● Chelsea’s Premier League win rate in August is 61.1 per cent, their highest in any month excluding June/July, while it drops to 47.8 per cent in September (their second lowest). Excluding June and July, only Arsenal have a bigger such drop from one month to the next among ever-present sides in the competition (61.4 per cent in October, 45.4 per cent in November).

● Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo has had more shots than any other Premier League player this season

(17). Meanwhile, Semenyo (17 shots, 4 chances created) and teammate Marcus Tavernier (12 shots, 9 chances created) have been directly involved in 21 attempts so far, with only Kevin De Bruyne (23) being involved in more in the division.

● As well as having the most assists so far (4), no player has created more big chances than Chelsea’s Cole Palmer in the Premier League this season (4). Palmer is averaging a goal (23) or assist (15) every 76

minutes in the competition for Chelsea, the second-best rate of any player with at least 1 000 minutes for a specific club (behind only Erling Haaland, one every 67 with Man City).

Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal

● Tottenham have lost five of their last seven Premier League meetings with Arsenal (W1 D1), more than they had in their previous 16 against their north London rivals (W6 D6 L4).

● Arsenal have won their last two Premier League away games against Tottenham, as many as in their previous 17 such visits (D6 L9). They last won three consecutive away north London derbies between January 1987 and September 1988.

● Arsenal against Tottenham is the fixture to have seen the most penalties awarded (26) and scored (24) in Premier League history. Indeed, of all Premier League fixtures to have seen at least 100 goals scored, the north London derby has seen the highest per centage netted from the spot (12.9 per cent - 24/186).

● Arsenal v Tottenham has seen both teams score more often than any other fixture in Premier League history (43), while it’s also the fixture to see the team score first fail to win more often than any other (29– D19 L10).

● Tottenham have conceded an own goal in each of their last three Premier League meetings with Arsenal

(Hugo Lloris in January 2023, Cristian Romero in September 2023 and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg in April 2024). No team has ever put through their own net in four consecutive meetings with an opponent in the competition before.

● Just one of Tottenham’s last 49 Premier League home games has been drawn (2-2 v Man Utd in Apri 2023), and none of the last 22 (W15 L7). Of all grounds in Premier League history, the Tottenham Hotspur

Stadium has seen the lowest per centage of draws (9 per cent - 9/101), while it’s hosted more games without ever having a 0-0 than any other (101).

● Arsenal have won nine of their last 10 Premier League away games (D1), keeping eight clean sheets in thatrun. They’ve won each of their last five on the road, last having a longer such winning run between March and September 2013 (8).

● Tottenham’s Son Heung-min has scored eight goals against Arsenal in all competitions; in the history of the fixture, only Harry Kane (14), Emmanuel Adebayor (10) and Bobby Smith (10) have netted more thatthe Korean.

● Bukayo Saka scored home and away goals against Tottenham in the Premier League last season. The only Arsenal players to score in 3+ consecutive north London derby appearances in the competition are Emmanuel Adebayor (5 between 2006 and 2008) and Robert Pirès (4 between 2002 and 2004).

● Raheem Sterling could make his Arsenal debut in this match – he would be the first player to make his Gunners bow in a north London derby since Isaiah Rankin in December 1997. Having scored against Spurs at White Hart Lane (with Liverpool) and Wembley Stadium (with Man City), he could become the third player to net a Premier League goal against them at all three of their home grounds, after Jamie Vardy and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Newcastle United

● Wolves have lost just one of their nine Premier League home games against Newcastle, though seven of these have ended in draws (W1).

● Newcastle have won three of their last five Premier League games against Wolves (D2), more than they had in their first 13 such meetings (W2 D9 L2).

● 61 per cent of the Premier League meetings between Newcastle and Wolves have finished as a draw (11/18), the highest per centage of any fixture to have been played at least 15 times in the competition.

● Both teams have scored in all nine of the Premier League meetings between Wolves and Newcastle at Molineux Stadium, the most played specific fixture in the competition to never see a clean sheet.

● Wolves have won just one of their last 13 Premier League games (D3 L9), and are winless in their last six (D1 L5). At home, they’ve lost five of their last six league games (W1), more than in their previous 19 at Molineux (W11 D4 L4).

● Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Newcastle have won all seven of their Premier League games that have fallen immediately after an international break, scoring 22 goals in the process (3.1 per game).

● Wolves have been trailing for 154 of their 306 minutes played in the Premier League so far this season (including stoppage time), with only Everton trailing for longer (166 minutes).

● Newcastle have only failed to score in one of their last 23 Premier League games, a 2-0 away loss to Crystal Palace in April. Meanwhile, no current side is on a longer run of Premier League games without a clean sheet than Wolves (15).

● Newcastle have faced more shots than any other side in the Premier League this season (54), with their average of 18 shots faced per game their highest on record in a single campaign in the competition (since 2003-04).

● Newcastle’s Alexander Isak has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 20 Premier League appearances (15 goals, 3 assists). Since the first game in that run (Boxing Day last year), only Erling Haaland (20) and Cole Palmer (17) have scored more than the Swede (15) in the competition