What stats say ahead of PL match-week two

Aston Villa v Everton

Since returning to the Premier League in 2019, Aston Villa are unbeaten in all six of their league games against Everton (W4 D2); they are the only side they’ve faced in all three seasons since then and not lost against.

Everton have failed to score in each of their last three away Premier League matches against Aston Villa, attempting 38 shots without success. They are the only side they’ve faced in each of the last three seasons and not scored against on the road.

This is the 105th different English top-flight season Aston Villa and Everton are set to face, the most of any two sides in history. It is one of only three Premier League fixtures this season that was also played in the inaugural top-flight season in 1888-89, along with Aston Villa v Wolves and Everton v Wolves.

Everton won just two away Premier League games in 2021-22, their fewest in a season since 2003-04 (1), while the Toffees lost 13 games on the road, their most since 2000-01 (also 13).

Aston Villa have won just two of their 10 home Premier League games so far in 2022 (D4 L4) – no side to have featured in both seasons have won fewer than the Villans this calendar year.

Everton are unbeaten in their first away league game in each of the last 11 seasons (W5 D6) since a 1-0 loss at Blackburn Rovers in 2010-11.

Aston Villa had 15 shots in their 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth in their opening match, more than twice as many as the Cherries (7), and with only three teams having more across MD1. However, just two of their attempts were on target, with both of those coming in the opening 21 minutes.

Everton lost their opening Premier League match for the first time since 2011-12 – they’ve lost both of their opening two league games in just one of the last 31 top-flight campaigns, doing so in 2009-10.

This is the first managerial meeting between Aston Villa’s Steven Gerrard and Everton’s Frank Lampard, who started 59 matches alongside one another for England, and were on opposite sides for 20 Premier League matches as players; Lampard won 10 of those, with seven wins for Gerrard (D3).

Aston Villa’s Philippe Coutinho has been involved in four goals in his last three home league starts against Everton (2 goals, 2 assists), most recently scoring and assisting in a 3-1 win for Liverpool in April 2017.

Arsenal v Leicester City

Arsenal have won their last three Premier League matches against Leicester City, scoring seven goals and conceding just one. The Gunners last had four consecutive league victories over the Foxes between February 1999 and December 2000.

Leicester have won just one of their last 25 away league matches against Arsenal (D4 L20), a 1-0 win in October 2020. The Foxes have lost more away top-flight matches against the Gunners than against any other side (35).

Arsenal have lost six of their last 12 Premier League home games in August (W4 D2); before this run, the Gunners had won 15 of their previous 16 home August matches.

Leicester have kept one clean sheet in their last 26 away Premier League matches, doing so in a 2-0 win at Burnley last March. They haven’t kept a clean sheet on the road against a current top-flight side since February 2021, a goalless draw at Wolves.

Arsenal won 2-0 against Crystal Palace in their opening game. The Gunners have started a Premier League campaign with two wins on six occasions, but they’ve not started with two wins without conceding since 1971-72.

Since the start of last season, only Southampton (32) and Newcastle (24) have dropped more points from winning positions in the Premier League than Leicester (23), with the Foxes letting a two-goal lead slip in their opening match against Brentford.

Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus has scored five goals in seven Premier League games against Leicester – only against Everton (8) and Watford (6) has he netted more in the competition.

Only Harry Kane (13) and Wayne Rooney (12) have scored more Premier League goals against Arsenal than Leicester’s Jamie Vardy (11), although the 35-year-old hasn’t scored in his last two games against the Gunners.

Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli has been involved in five goals in his last five Premier League starts (2 goals, 3 assists), netting their opening goal of the season against Crystal Palace. He’s looking to score in three consecutive Premier League games for the first time.

Leicester’s James Maddison has been involved in eight goals in his last five Premier League games (4 goals, 4 assists), while in Premier League history only Jamie Vardy (174), Riyad Mahrez (66) and Muzzy Izzet (59) have been involved in more goals for the Foxes than Maddison (57 – 33 goals, 24 assists).

Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United

Brighton have never lost a home Premier League game against Newcastle in five previous meetings (W2 D3), only facing West Ham as often without losing at the Amex Stadium in the competition.

Following a 2-1 victory in March, Newcastle are looking to secure consecutive league wins over Brighton for the first time since beating them twice in the 2016-17 Championship campaign.

Brighton ended the 2021-22 campaign with two home league wins, beating Manchester United and West Ham United. The Seagulls last won three in a row at the Amex Stadium in the Premier League in October and November 2019.

Newcastle have won five Premier League away games so far in 2022, already more than they won on the road in the whole of 2021 (4). The Magpies last won more Premier League away games in a single calendar year in 2013 (7).

Brighton are looking to win three consecutive Premier League games for the second time, previously doing so in October 2018. The Seagulls have won six of their last nine league games (D2 L1), picking up victories at Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United in that run.

Before this season, Newcastle had lost both of their opening two league games in four of the last six campaigns. Following their 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest this term, they’re looking to win both of their opening two league games for the first time since 1997-98.

Newcastle had more shots (23) and more shots on target (10) than any other Premier League side in the opening round of games, well up from their averages per game from last term (11.8 shots, 3.9 on target).

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has won five Premier League games against Brighton, his joint-most against a single opponent along with Everton. His biggest away top-flight win of his career came at the Amex Stadium in April 2019 as Bournemouth manager (5-0).

Brighton’s Pascal Groß has scored four goals in his last four Premier League games, as many as he had in his previous 79 appearances in the competition. 15 of his 19 Premier League goals have come in home games, with his brace at Manchester United on the opening weekend doubling his away tally.

16 per cent of Newcastle striker Callum Wilson’s Premier League goals have come in August (10/62). Among current players, only Raheem Sterling (14) and Jamie Vardy (11) have scored more Premier League goals in August than Wilson.

Manchester City v Bournemouth

Manchester City have won all 10 of their Premier League matches against Bournemouth, the best 100 per cent- winning ratio by a team against another in Premier League history.

Bournemouth have only led for eight minutes in their 16 league meetings against Manchester City between 1987 and 2020, with Charlie Daniels giving them the lead in August 2017 before Gabriel Jesus equalised.

Bournemouth are winless in all 16 league meetings with Manchester City (D2 L14), the joint-most one side has faced another in the history of the Football League without winning, level with Halifax Town against Cardiff City, and Wrexham against Crystal Palace.

Manchester City have only lost their first home league game in one of the last 22 seasons (W15 D6), a 5-2 loss against Leicester in 2020-21. The Citizens’ last four such games have produced 23 goals (F15 A8), at an average of 5.8 per game.

Bournemouth have won two of their five Premier League away games against reigning champions (D1 L2), although both of their defeats in such games have been against Manchester City.

Since a goalless draw with Crystal Palace in March, Manchester City have scored at least twice in each of their last 10 Premier League games. It’s the 13th run of a team scoring 2+ goals in 10+ consecutive Premier League matches, with Man City accounting for more of them than any other side (4).

In the last 20 Premier League seasons, only two promoted teams have won away from home at the reigning champions: Bournemouth in 2015-16 and Scott Parker’s Fulham in 2020-21. Parker could become the first manager in top-flight history to win away at the reigning champions with two different promoted clubs, and the first overall since Dick Ray at Leeds United (1928 and 1933 v Everton).

Erling Haaland scored twice on his league debut for Manchester City at West Ham on the opening weekend. The only players to score in both of their first two Premier League appearances for the Citizens are Robinho (2008) and Emmanuel Adebayor (2009).

Kieffer Moore scored on his Premier League debut for Bournemouth against Aston Villa and is looking to become the third Welshman to score in his first two appearances in the competition, after David Phillips (1992 for Norwich) and Harry Wilson, who did so for the Cherries in matches against Aston Villa and Manchester City in 2019.

Bournemouth’s Scott Parker has lost all four of his managerial meetings with Manchester City in all

competitions, all with Fulham between 2019 and 2021. They are the side he’s faced the most without winning against, lost the most times against and the team who have scored the most goals against teams managed by him (11).

Southampton v Leeds United

Southampton have won four of their last five home league matches against Leeds (L1), with those wins coming across the Premier League, Championship and League One.

Away from home at Southampton in the Premier League, Leeds United collected 1.9 points per game at their old ground, the Dell (P9 W5 D2 L2), but are only averaging 1.2 points per game at St Mary’s (P5 W2 L3).

Southampton have won their first home league match in just three of the last 31 seasons (D13 L15) and in none of their last 10 (D6 L4). The last team they beat in their first home league game was Leeds in 2011-12 under Nigel Adkins.

Leeds won three of their last five away league games in 2021-22 (D1 L1), having won just two of their first 14 on the road last term (D4 L8).

Southampton have lost their last five Premier League matches, and defeat against Leeds will equal their longest ever losing run in their league history from January/February 2021, when they lost six consecutively.

Since losing their first two Premier League games under Jesse Marsch, Leeds have only lost three of their last 11 under the American (W5 D3), with those defeats coming against Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea. The Whites are looking for three consecutive league wins for the first time since winning their last four games in 2020-21 under Marcelo Bielsa.

Southampton suffered a 4-1 defeat in their opening Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur, having lost 4-1 on the final day of last season against Leicester. The last team to end a season and then start the next one with consecutive defeats by 3+ goals were Watford in 2018-19 and 2019-20, going on to be relegated at the end of the 2019-20 season.

Leeds striker Patrick Bamford has scored in each of his last three Premier League appearances against Southampton. His first ever top-flight goal came against Saints, while at Middlesbrough in May 2017.

James Ward-Prowse has only ended on the winning side in one of the last 12 Premier League matches he’s scored in for Southampton (D6 L5) and none of the last six (D3 L3). He’s also been directly involved in six of Saints’ last eight league goals (5 goals, 1 assist).

Leeds winger Jack Harrison created seven chances in their 2-1 win over Wolves on MD1, his most in a league game in his career across the MLS, Championship and Premier League. Only five Englishmen have created more chances in the Premier League since September 2020 and all five have won an England cap in that time (Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mason Mount, James Ward-Prowse, Jack Grealish & Luke Shaw).

Wolves v Fulham

Wolves have won nine of their last 12 league games against Fulham (D2 L1), winning their last three in a row all by a 1-0 scoreline in the Premier League between May 2019 and April 2021.

Fulham are winless in their last 10 top-flight visits to Wolves (D2 L8) since winning 3-1 in April 1962 under manager Bedford Jezzard.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have lost their first home league match in the last two seasons, losing to Man City and Spurs. They last did so in three consecutive seasons between 1985-86 and 1987-88, when they lost to Newport County, Cambridge United and Halifax Town.

Fulham have won their first away game in just two of their previous 27 top-flight campaigns (D6 L19), winning 1-0 against both Portsmouth in 2009-10 and Sunderland in 2013-14.

Wolves have lost three of their last four Premier League games when scoring first, more than they had in their previous 55 when opening the scoring following their return to the top-flight in 2018.

Wolves have scored first in their last two Premier League games, but have gone on to lose both times. There are just four previous occasions a side has lost three consecutive Premier League games having scored first in each one – Blackburn Rovers (April 2007), Sunderland (February 2011), Leicester City (December 2014), and Wolves themselves in April 2012.

Fulham are winless in their last 11 Premier League games, the longest ongoing run of any side currently in the division (D3 L8). Only twice have the Cottagers had longer runs without a win in the competition – 12 games between December 2020-February 2021, and 12 games between November 2007-January 2008.

Wolves are winless in their last 11 Premier League games in August (D6 L5), since a 2-0 home win against Fulham in 2011. Only in April (14 games between 2004 and 2012) have Wolves had a longer winless run in a specific month.

Wolves (Bruno Lage) against Fulham (Marco Silva) will be the 15th different Premier League match taking place between two Portuguese managers. Silva has been involved in seven of the previous 14 (W1 D2 L4), with his only victory coming in his last such match (3-2 against Nuno Espírito Santo’s Wolves).

Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice in Fulham’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool on MD1, only one fewer than he scored in 27 appearances in his last season at this level in 2020-21. The last Cottagers player to score in their first two matches of a Premier League season was Damien Duff in 2012-13.

Brentford v Manchester United

Brentford are winless in six top-flight meetings with Manchester United (D1 L5) since beating them twice in the 1936-37 season.

Manchester United scored six Premier League goals against Brentford last season, only netting more against Leeds (9), while against no side did the Bees concede more than they did against the Red Devils (also six v Liverpool).

Brentford haven’t lost their first home game in any of their six previous top-flight campaigns, winning five and drawing one. The Bees have scored at least twice each time, beating Arsenal 2-0 in their maiden Premier League season.

Manchester United ended last season on a six-match away losing run, their worst away run of defeats since March 1981 (also six in a row). The Red Devils haven’t lost seven consecutive away league games since a run of 10 between September and December 1936.

Since the start of last season, only Liverpool (21) and Tottenham (17) have picked up more points from losing positions in the Premier League than Brentford (16), with their 2-2 draw at Leicester the first time the Bees have recovered from a two-goal deficit.

? Manchester United lost 2-1 at home to Brighton in their opening league game, but haven’t started a season with two consecutive defeats since the inaugural Premier League campaign back in 1992-93.

Manchester United have lost five of their last seven Premier League games (W1 D1), though their only win in that time was against Brentford. The Red Devils have lost their last three league games, last losing four in a row in February 1979.

Including caretakers, none of the last seven managers to take charge of Manchester United have lost their first away league game in charge (W4 D3). The last manager to lose his first away game was Alex Ferguson in November 1986, a 2-0 defeat at Oxford United.

Ivan Toney has had a hand in 18 Premier League goals for Brentford (13 goals, 5 assists), seven more than any other player has registered for the Bees in the competition – all 13 of his top-flight strikes have been scored inside the penalty area.

Christian Eriksen created the most chances (3) and had the joint-most shots (3) for Manchester United in their defeat to Brighton in their opening game. Since the Dane’s return to the Premier League in February, only Kevin De Bruyne (45) and Martin Ødegaard (38) have created more chances than Eriksen (33).

Nottingham Forest v West Ham United

This is the first meeting between Nottingham Forest and West Ham United in any competition since January 2014, when Forest won 5-0 in an FA Cup tie at the City Ground.

West Ham only lost one of their eight Premier League matches against Nottingham Forest between 1994 and 1999 (W4 D3), a 1-0 home defeat in January 1997. They are unbeaten in eight top-flight visits to the City Ground, since Brian Clough’s Forest beat them 2-1 in April 1986.

West Ham have won 10 of their last 14 Premier League games against promoted sides (D2 L2), with both of their defeats in this run coming against Brentford last season.

This is Nottingham Forest’s first home Premier League match since May 1999, winning 1-0 against Leicester in what was Ron Atkinson’s final game as a manager in English football. They won their final seven home league games last season, last winning more in a row between November 2009 and March 2010 (12).

? This will be Nottingham Forest’s 200th Premier League game – just one of the last 10 sides to reach the milestone has won their 200th match, with Watford beating Huddersfield 3-0 in October 2018.

West Ham have won just one of their last eight Premier League games (D2 L5) and are looking to avoid losing three consecutive league games for the first time since June 2020.

Nottingham Forest have won 43 per cent of their Premier League games on a Sunday (6/14), their highest win rate on a specific day of the week in the competition. Forest played in the first ever Sunday Premier League match, beating Liverpool 1-0 thanks to a Teddy Sheringham goal almost 30 years ago to the day (16/08/1992).

Nottingham Forest (5) and West Ham United (6) had the fewest shots of any side in the opening round of Premier League matches this season, with West Ham managing the only shot on target between the two sides. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest faced more shots (23) and shots on target (10) than any other side.

This is West Ham boss David Moyes’ 623rd Premier League match as a manager, while it is Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper’s second. That gap of 621 games is the largest between two Premier League managers since May 2018, when Arsenal’s Arsène Wenger had taken charge of 790 more games (828) than Huddersfield’s David Wagner (38).

Nottingham Forest’s Jesse Lingard was involved in 13 goals in 16 Premier League appearances for West Ham in 2021 (9 goals, 4 assists). There have been seven occasions of a former West Ham player scoring his first Premier League goal for a club against the Hammers, most recently Cheikhou Kouyaté for Crystal Palace in December 2019.

Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur

Since losing consecutive Premier League games against Spurs in 2018, Chelsea are unbeaten in seven games against their London rivals (W6 D1), conceding only one goal in that run.

Tottenham Hotspur have won just one of their last 37 away matches against Chelsea in all competitions (D12 L24), a 3-1 win in April 2018 in the Premier League.

Chelsea are facing Spurs in their first home league match of the season for the first time since the 1958-59 campaign, winning 4-2. The other two occasions they’ve done so they have lost, in 1913-14 (1-3) and 1923-24 (0-1).

Tottenham have won 99 Premier League London derby matches, and could be the third side to reach 100 victories after Chelsea and Arsenal. However, only West Ham (112) have lost more such matches than Spurs (97).

Chelsea have lost two of their last three home Premier League London derby matches (W1), as many as they had in their previous 17 (W12 D3). The Blues have conceded eight goals in these three games, as many as in their previous 16 at Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham have won their last four Premier League games by an aggregate score of 13-1, the longest current winning run in the competition. Meanwhile, since losing 3-2 at Man Utd in March, Spurs have won the most games (9), scored the second highest number of goals (31), and conceded the fewest goals (6, excluding promoted teams) of all Premier League sides.

For a second consecutive Premier League match Chelsea will face a former manager, with Spurs’ Antonio Conte following Everton’s Frank Lampard. It is the first time a side has faced managers in back-to-back games who’ve previously taken charge of them in the top-flight since Chelsea in October 2016, when Conte himself led them to wins over Claudio Ranieri (3-0 v Leicester) and José Mourinho (4-0 v Man Utd).

Tottenham’s Harry Kane has scored 41 Premier League London derby goals, second only to Thierry Henry (43). However, he’s failed to score in any of his last five against Chelsea, only having longer goalless runs against Manchester City (7 between 2017 and 2021) and Manchester United (6 between 2014 and 2016) in the top-flight.

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho scored his 20th Premier League goal against Everton, with 18 of those penalties (90 per cent), the highest per centage of goals scored via the penalty spot of any player with 10+ goals in Premier League history. 34 per cent of his attempts at goal have been penalties (21/62) and 44 per cent of his touches within the opposition box have been his penalty attempts (21/48).

Dejan Kulusevski has nine assists in his 19 Premier League appearances for Tottenham Hotspur – only one player has ever hit double figures for assists in his first 20 appearances in the competition, with Brett Emerton doing so in the 2003-04 season for Blackburn Rovers.

Liverpool v Crystal Palace

Since losing 2-1 to Crystal Palace in April 2017, Liverpool have won 10 consecutive Premier League matches against the Eagles, scoring 30 goals in the process. The Reds are only a longer winning run currently against Wolves (11 in a row).

Crystal Palace have lost nine of their 13 away Premier League matches against Liverpool (W3 D1), losing their last five in a row. The Eagles’ three wins there came consecutively between May 2015 and April 2017.

Liverpool haven’t lost their first home league match in any of the last 18 seasons (W14 D4), winning their last nine in a row. Their last such defeat came against Chelsea in 2003-04, losing 2-1.

Liverpool against Crystal Palace marks exactly 30 years to the day since the first ever Premier League matches took place (15/08/1992). The Reds didn’t play on that day, but the Eagles drew 3-3 with Blackburn at Selhurst Park, with Rovers’ Alan Shearer scoring the first two of his record 260 Premier League goals.

Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 20 Premier League games (W16 D4), the longest current run in the competition. They’ve also found the net at least once in each of these 20 games, also the longest ongoing run.

Crystal Palace have lost two of their last three Premier League games (W1), as many as they had in their previous 11 (W5 D4). The Eagles lost against Arsenal in their opening match, last losing their first two games in a single Premier League campaign in 2017-18.

Liverpool have conceded first in each of their last five Premier League games, their longest run since a run of six between April and August 1997. However, they’ve not lost any of these five games (W3 D2), with only Everton having a longer run of conceding first but avoiding defeat in consecutive Premier League games (6 between September and November 2012).

Darwin Núñez scored and assisted on his Premier League debut for Liverpool in their 2-2 draw with Fulham, having three of the Reds’ four shots on target in the game despite only coming on as a second half substitute. Including his time at Benfica, Núñez has been involved in 28 goals in his last 21 league appearances (23 goals, 5 assists).

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has been involved in 11 goals in 10 Premier League appearances against Crystal Palace (7 goals, 4 assists), with each of these coming in his last seven games against them. Only against West Ham (9 goals, 3 assists) has he been involved in more.

Two of the six players to complete at least 90 passes in the Premier League across MD1 were Crystal Palace’s central defensive pairing Joachim Andersen (91) and Marc Guéhi (93). They passed to one another 61 times, the most of any duo on MD1, 16 more than the next most (45 – Liverpool’s Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk).