Premier League weekend fixtures analysis with two massive games at the bottom of the table

Arsenal followed by Man City and Sunderland have the lowest goals against ratios of 0.75 or under per game. Wolves and Forest are joint bottom for lowest goals scored (0.67) per game.

The home/away form analysis metrics of the weekend fixtures

 (RAG Codes – Red – bottom third for goals scored/conceded,  Amber– middle third for goals scored/conceded, Green  – top third goals  scored/conceded)

• Everton V Tottenham – Historic stats favour a draw (67% of all fixtures) and current form suggests a close game. Key stats – Both teams are averaging over a goal per game but Tottenham are conceding under a goal per game. Could be a hard fought match.
• Brentford V Liverpool – Three consecutive defeats will sting at Liverpool conceding 2 goals in each of these games. Key stats – Brentford have only failed to score in 1 game this season and Liverpool have scored in every game. Expecting both teams to score.
• Bournemouth V Notts Forest – A tough away fixture for Sean Dyche’s first game in charge of Forest. The Cherries are going well with 4 wins, 3 draws and 1 defeat. Key stats – Bournemouth are unbeaten in 7 since the opening day of the season. Contrast Forest who are winless since the opening day of the season and yet to keep a clean sheet. The wild card is the impact of the new manager at Forest whose teams tend to be strong defensively.
• Leeds V West Ham – Massive relegation battle on Friday night. Key stats – both teams are struggling to score. Leeds have scored 7 goals and West Ham 6. The Hammers have conceded 5 more goals than Leeds (18).
• Man United V Brighton – United achieved back-back wins this season for the first time with a huge win at Anfield last weekend. Key stats – Brighton have yet to keep a clean sheet this season and United have just 1.   Have to expect goals in this game.
• Newcastle v Fulham – Key stats – Newcastle are strong defensively with 5 clean sheets conceding just 7 goals. Both teams are not prolific in front of goals (Newcastle 7 and Fulham 8 goals). Expecting a tight game.
• Wolves V Burnley – Massive relegation battle as winless Wolves face the visit of a relegation rival in newly promoted Burnley. Key stats – both teams have conceded similar number of goals (16 for Wolves and 15 for Burnley) whilst Burnley have scored 9 to Wolves paltry 5 goals.  Last season Wolves started last season badly and pulled away to safety. They will need to hit that kind of form to avoid relegation this season. Expecting some goals as Burnley have scored in their last 4 games and Wolves 3 out of 4 games.
• Chelsea V Sunderland – The Blues are banging in the goals – 16 this season and only failing to score on the opening day of the season. Sunderland have averaging over a goal a game. Defensively the teams are much closer with Chelsea conceding 9 and Sunderland 6 goals.  Could be a close encounter.
• Aston Villa V Man City – Key stats – Both teams are unbeaten in their last 5 games (Villa with 3 wins and City 4 wins).  Villa have scored in their last 4 games whilst City have found the net in their last 6 games. Expecting goals.

Arsenal V Crystal Palace – The battle of the mean defenses – both teams have just 1 defeat this season

On historic form (last 9 seasons) this is an uneven fixture (44% home win, 44% draw and just 1 away win back in 2019). Key stats – Both teams have lost just 1 game this season. The Gunners have conceded only 3 goals this season with back-to-back clean sheets. Palace had conceded 3 goals until the last 2 games when they shipped 2 and 3 respectively. On defensive records alone you would expect a low scoring game but Arsenal have scored 15 this season and Palace 12 goals. Should be a cracking game