Friday 28 October 2016

Walcott’s threat underlined; Liverpool must be wary of Benteke

Theo Walcott: Forward has been much improved this term
Stats suggest Theo Walcott is the most threatening player in the Premier League, while Liverpool could be haunted by a former player.

Opta stats: Premier League matchday 10

Saturday
Sunderland v Arsenal
Stadium of Light, 12:30pm
Olivier Giroud, Arsenal celeb
– Sunderland have won just one of their last 25 Premier League matches against Arsenal, a 1-0 win for Steve Bruce’s side in November 2009 (D9 L15).
– Arsenal have conceded just eight times in 15 visits to Sunderland in the Premier League (incl. one game at Roker Park). The Gunners have kept a clean sheet in three of their last four at the Stadium of Light.
– The Black Cats have never managed to score more than twice in a Premier League game against Arsenal, and in the two games they have scored twice they’ve failed to win either match.
– David Moyes has lost 14 Premier League games against Arsene Wenger – the only manager he’s lost to as often is Sir Alex Ferguson.
– Olivier Giroud has scored five times and assisted two goals in his last six Premier games against Sunderland in all competitions.
– Jermain Defoe has faced Arsenal 21 times in the Premier League but has only scored twice – once at Highbury for West Ham in January 2003 and again for Spurs in their 5-4 loss to the Gunners in November 2004.
– Sunderland have made the worst start to a Premier League season (two points after nine games) since Sheffield Wednesday had one point after nine games in 1999/2000.
– Theo Walcott has had more shots on target this season than any other Premier League player (17). A goal in this game means he would surpass five goals in a Premier League season for the first time since 2012/13 (14).
– Jack Rodwell hasn’t won any of his last 34 Premier League games he’s started, the longest run ever by a Premier League player.
– Arsenal are one of two unbeaten Premier League sides away from home this season – the other being North London rivals Tottenham.

Manchester United v Burnley
Old Trafford, 3pm
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Striker underwhelmed recently
– Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 12 home league fixtures against Burnley, last losing to them at Old Trafford in September 1962 (W8 D4).
– Burnley beat Manchester United 1-0 in their first Premier League meeting in August 2009 thanks to Robbie Blake’s winning goal, but are winless in the three games since (D1 L2).
– Chris Smalling scored his only brace for Manchester United so far in their last clash with Burnley in February 2015, a game the Red Devils won 3-1.
– This could be Manchester United’s 100th Premier League victory over a newly promoted side. Their record currently stands at P143 W99 D30 L14.
– At Old Trafford, United have lost just one of their last 12 (W9 D2), scoring in each of those games (23 goals) and shipping just eight in that period.
– Jose Mourinho has lost 13 of his last 27 Premier League games (W9 D5), having lost only 13 of the 119 games prior to this run.
– Burnley have won three of their opening nine games this season, having won none of their first 10 in their last appearance in the top-flight in 2014/15.
– Zlatan Ibrahimovic has gone five league games without scoring for the first time since September 2010. He last went longer without a goal with Inter Milan in December 2007 (6 games).
– The Clarets are averaging just two shots on target per Premier League game this season, the lowest in the division. Away from home, they’ve had just three shots on target in three games.
– Burnley have lost each of their three away games this season, shipping three goals in each match.

READ MORE: Weekend Watch – Crisis? What crisis? Man Utd look ominous

Middlesbrough v Bournemouth
Riverside Stadium, 3pm

Jack Wilshere: On loan at Bournemouth
– This will be the first top-flight clash between Middlesbrough and Bournemouth.
– Middlesbrough are winless in their last five league fixtures against Bournemouth, although four of those games have ended in draws.
– The Cherries have never won away at Middlesbrough in any competition (D3 L5).
– Eddie Howe’s side have lost just one of their five Premier League meetings with newly promoted sides (W2 D2), losing their first v Norwich 1-3 last season and, in their most recent, enjoying their biggest ever Premier League win v Hull (6-1).
– On home soil, ‘Boro are without a victory in six league games, with three draws followed by three losses.
– Five Bournemouth players (Artur Boruc, Steve Cook, Charlie Daniels, Simon Francis and Adam Smith) have all played the full 810 minutes in the Premier League this season, more than any other Premier League side. By contrast, Middlesbrough have only had one (Ben Gibson).
– No Premier League player has hit the woodwork more often that Boro’s Gaston Ramirez and the Cherries’ Jack Wilshere this season (3, level with Kevin De Bruyne). Neither player has registered a goal this campaign.
– Bournemouth’s Adam Smith has won more fouls than any other Premier League player this season (28).
– Middlesbrough have scored fewer second half goals than any other Premier League side this season (2).
– These sides have conceded just twice from set-pieces this season, a joint-league low figure (also Everton, Manchester City and Manchester United).

Tottenham v Leicester
White Hart Lane, 3pm
Claudio Ranieri Mauricio Pochettino
– Tottenham and Leicester have met seven times in all competitions in the last two seasons, with Spurs enjoying three wins to Leicester’s two (D2).
– Leicester’s 1-0 win in January away to Spurs was their first league victory at White Hart Lane since October 1999 (D1 L3).
– Spurs have gone nine Premier League games against the Foxes without keeping a clean sheet – only against Arsenal are they on a longer run without a shutout among current top-flight sides (14 games).
– The nine goals scored in the four clashes between Spurs and Leicester last season were all scored by different players.
– Claudio Ranieri has never lost a Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur (W7 D3).
– Spurs are yet to concede a single goal from open play in the Premier League this season, with all four of the goals they’ve conceded coming from set piece situations.
– Leicester have lost all four of their away league games so far this season – the only reigning champion in the history of the top-flight to lose their opening five were Everton in 1932/33, whose losing run was halted by a 2-2 draw at Filbert Street with Leicester in the next game.
– Tottenham are looking to avoid defeat in their first 10 league games for the first time in the league since 1990/91 (W6 D4 that season).
– This fixture pits the two sides that have collected the most points in the Premier League in 2016 going into the weekend against each other (Tottenham 54 and Leicester 53). o Shinji Okazaki ended a run of 13 Premier League games without scoring by finding the net against Palace.

Watford v Hull City
Vicarage Road, 3pm
Troy Deeney: New deal
– This will be the first time this fixture has been played in the top-flight of English football.
– Watford’s 1-0 win over Hull City in April 2013 ended a run of eight games in all competitions without beating the Tigers (D2 L6).
– Hull last lost successive league games against the Hornets in April 1989 (a run of three defeats).
– Hull have lost their last five Premier League games – only once have they lost six in a row in the Premier League (January 2009).
– The Hornets have won just one of their last five Premier League games at Vicarage Road and just two of their last 11.
– The Tigers have shipped 11 goals in total in their last two top-flight away games (1-5 v Liverpool and 1-6 vs Bournemouth).They last lost three consecutive away Premier League games in January 2014.
– No side in Premier League history has ever conceded five or more goals in three consecutive away games. The last top-flight side to do so were Blackburn Rovers in August 1965, conceding five goals exactly in three consecutive games.
– Watford have received more bookings than any other Premier League side this season (25) and have also conceded the most fouls (137).
– Hull have had fewer touches in the opposition box this season than any other Premier League team (99).
– The Hornets could keep three successive clean sheets for the first time since last December in the Premier League.
– Troy Deeney has scored in each of his last three appearances for Watford against Hull City.
– Deeney has currently scored 99 goals for Watford in all competitions – only Luther Blissett, Tommy Barnett, Ross Jenkins and Cliff Holton have previously reached the century for the club.

West Brom v Manchester City
The Hawthorns, 3pm
Sergio Aguero: In danger of missing Man Utd clash
– West Bromwich Albion have lost their last nine Premier League games against Manchester City. The only Premier League side they’ve ever lost more in a row against is Chelsea (11, 2002-2011).
– Manchester City are unbeaten in 13 Premier League games against the Baggies (W12 D1), last losing to them in December 2008 when Roman Bednar scored a 90th minute winner for West Brom.
– Sergio Aguero has scored five times in eight games against West Brom in the Premier League, but only one of those goals has come at the Hawthorns.
– Only against Manchester United (11) has Tony Pulis lost more Premier League games as a manager than against City (10, level with Chelsea).
– David Silva has been directly involved in seven goals in his eight top-flight appearances against West Brom, (scoring four and assisting three).
– Pep Guardiola has failed to win any of his last three Premier League games (D2 L1) – he last went four league games without a win as manager in May 2009 (with Barcelona).
– Tony Pulis has won one of his 15 Premier League games against Man City (D4 L10), doing so with Stoke in January 2009. His sides have scored only six goals in those 15 games and never more than once in a game against the Citizens, conceding 29.
– Manchester City have had more touches in the opposition box than any other Premier League side this campaign (369).
– Only Tom Heaton (78%) has a better save percentage than Ben Foster among goalkeepers to make to make at least 20 saves so far this season (75.6%).
– No midfielder has been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Nacer Chadli (four goals and two assists).

Crystal Palace v Liverpool
Selhurst Park, 5:30pm
Sadio Mane Christian Benteke
– Liverpool ended a run of three successive defeats against Crystal Palace with a 2-1 victory in March. However, Christian Benteke, who scored the 90th minute winner that day, now plays for the Eagles.
– Crystal Palace last failed to score in a Premier League match against Liverpool in December 1997 (in a 3-0 defeat), netting in each of their last nine clashes with the Reds.
– Christian Benteke scored nine times in 29 Premier League games for Liverpool last season. Before joining the Reds, he had scored four times in five Premier League appearances against them.
– Since his Premier League debut in September 2012, no player has scored more headed goals than Christian Benteke (19) – level with Olivier Giroud.
– Sadio Mane has scored in three of his four Premier League games against Crystal Palace.
– Liverpool are without a clean sheet in their last 10 away Premier League games; only once before have they endured a longer run without a shut-out on the road, in September 1998 (12 games).
– The Eagles haven’t conceded more than once in any of their last eight home league games, conceding exactly one goal in each of their last five (W2 D1 L2).
– Jordan Henderson has attempted 765 passes in the Premier League this season, 131 more than any other player. He has also run further than anybody else (106.5km).
– Crystal Palace haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last 14 Premier League games, last stopping Everton in April.
– Liverpool have exactly the same record after nine games this season as they had in 2013/14 (W6 D2 L1)

READ MORE: Red Letter – Klopp turning Coutinho into a Liverpool ‘superstar’

Everton v West Ham
Goodison Park, 1:30pm
Romelu Lukaku: Scores emphatic hat-trick
– Everton’s defeat to West Ham in March ended a run of 15 Premier League games without defeat against West Ham (W10 D5).
– West Ham haven’t won back-to-back league games against Everton since March 1973.
– Romelu Lukaku has found the net eight times in 10 games against West Ham in all competitions, his favourite opponent since moving to the Premier League.
– Lukaku has scored in his last six Premier League games against West Ham. Only two players have scored in seven successive PL games v the same opponent (Hasselbaink v West Ham 7 and Robin van Persie v Stoke 8).
– West Ham have conceded two or more goals in six of their last seven visits to Goodison Park in the Premier League.
– Ronald Koeman’s first Premier League win came against West Ham in August 2014, while manager of Southampton.
– Koeman would be only the third Everton manager in the Premier League to remain unbeaten in his opening five home games (Mike Walker and Roberto Martinez also achieved this) should he avoid defeat in this game.
– Dimitri Payet has created more chances in the Premier League this season than any other player (30), while no one has provided more assists than the Frenchman (4).
– West Ham United last won three Premier League games in a row in March, the third of which came against the Toffees.
– The Hammers’ last Premier League clean sheet against Everton came in April 2007, a run of 16 games without one against them.

Southampton v Chelsea
St Mary’s, 4pm
Eden Hazard: Forward celebrates second-half strike
– Southampton have won just two of their last 14 Premier League games against Chelsea, though did beat the Blues in October 2015 (D5 L7).
– Chelsea have lost just one of their last eight visits to Southampton in the Premier League (W5 D2).
– The West Londoners have scored in each of their last 11 Premier League away games at Southampton, last failing to find the net in December 1997.
– Since a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in February last season, the Saints are unbeaten in nine home Premier League games (W6 D3). It is their longest home unbeaten top-flight run since March 2005, when they went 12 games without defeat.
– The Blues have won their last three Premier League games, last winning four in a row in April 2015 when they were on their way to winning the title.
– Only Liverpool (59) have had more shots on target this season than Southampton (55), with Chelsea in third (54, level with Spurs).
– Chelsea have taken eight more points from their first nine games than they did last season (11). This is the biggest improvement from all Premier League sides who were present in 2015/16.
– Nathan Redmond has scored in back-to-back league games for Southampton – he’s never scored in three successive Premier League matches.
– Eden Hazard has already equalled his goal tally from last season (4 in 31 games) from just nine appearances this season.
– Sofiane Boufal, who made his Premier League debut last weekend, scored 11 times in Ligue 1 last season. The only midfielder with more was Hatem Ben Arfa (17).

Stoke City v Swansea City
bet365 Stadium, 8pm
Wilfried Bony: Striker yet to score for Stoke
– Stoke City have never lost at home to Swansea City in the Premier League (W3 D2).
– Indeed, Swansea’s only top-flight victory at Stoke was in October 1981, their first clash in the top division.
– Wilfried Bony scored 25 times in 54 Premier League games for Swansea. He also scored twice in two Premier League games against them for Manchester City.
– Stoke have won their last two Premier League games, as many as they’d won in their 17 previous matches (D6 L9).
– Swansea are winless in their last eight Premier League games (D2 L6), their worst run in the top-flight since January 2014 (also eight without a win). They have never gone longer than eight games without a win their top-flight history, last enduring a longer league winless run in December 2008 as a Championship side (nine games).
– Swansea’s haul of five points from their opening nine league games is their worst start to a Premier League season and their lowest tally since picking up four points from nine games in 1983/84, a season they were relegated from the second tier.
– Mark Hughes’ men could keep three successive clean sheets having failed to keep any in their previous 17 Premier League games.
– This game will be Swansea’s 200th in the Premier League and since their first season in the division in 2011-12 only nine teams have won more games than the Swans in the competition (63).
– Xherdan Shaqiri has already matched his tally of goals from last season, scoring three times in five games in 2016/17. He scored three goals in 27 Premier League games for Stoke last season.
– The Swans have lost their last three league games away from home. The only time they have lost four in succession in the Premier League was their first four games after promotion in 2011

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