Premier League Game Previews - 23-25 November 2007
| English Premier League Matches - 23-25 October 2007 | ||
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Arsenal v Wigan | ||
| History | ||
| * Met four times in the Premier League and Arsenal have won all four matches between the two * Wigan have scored in three of the four meetings between the two with Arsenal leading the scoring 10 to five * Last season there was just one goal between the sides in both matches * Since coming into the Premier League Wigan have lost all 19 matches against the ‘Big Four’ * Referee Peter Walton has never taken charge of Arsenal although has refereed Wigan six times |
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| Trends | ||
| * Arsenal will be looking for a win to make it two in a row after drawing against two of the big rivals Liverpool and Manchester United before beating Reading 3-1 last time out * The Gunners have only kept one clean sheet in their last five Premier League matches * At the Emirates the Gunners won their opening six matches before being held to a draw last time out against the Champions 2-2 * In seven matches at the Emirates this season Arsenal have kept just three clean sheets * In all but one of their home Premier League matches this season they have scored at least two goals * Arsenal are the top scorers in this seasons Premier League whilst Wigan are the 2nd lowest with just 10 goals * and Fabregas has got three of those * Wigan go into the game on the back of seven straight defeats and in five of those matches they have failed to get on the scoreboard. In those seven matches they have conceded 18 goals and scored just three * Marcus Bent since joining Wigan on loan has found the net three times and they have all come on the road * Referee Peter Walton has refereed six matches in the Premier League and given out 21 yellow cards and has yet to give out a red card or award a penalty | ||
| Betting | ||
| * Four of Cesc Fabregas’s six goals this season have come at home and five of the six he has scored this season have come in the second half * Arsenal are a second half side with 18 of there 27 goals coming in the second half * Arsenal have picked up five yellow cards in seven matches at home this season * In seven matches away from home this season in the Premier League Wigan have suffered six defeats and in the other match they shared the points in a 1-1 draw at Upton Park * Wigan have yet to keep a clean sheet on the road this season * Wigan have fallen behind in nine matches this season and gone on to lose eight of them, in the other they came back to get a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham * Wigan have played the other three ‘Big Four’ sides this season and lost all three conceding seven goals and failing to register a goal * In the four previous matches between the sides there have been 18 yellow cards and one red |
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Birmingham v Portsmouth | ||
| History | ||
| * Three of the six matches between the sides have ended in draws * City have managed two wins in three matches against Pompey at St Andrews including a 5-0 win in their last meeting in January 2006 * Maik Taylor has played in all six matches between the sides in the PL and has also seen red in a previous fixture against Pompey * Referee Martin Atkinson has taken charge of the sides on seven occasions in total between them and given just eight yellow cards | ||
| Trends | ||
| * Portsmouth are the joint second highest scorers in the Premier League this season with 23 goals second only to Arsenal. Despite the 7-4 home win against Reading Portsmouth have actually scored more goals away form home this season 12 to 11 * Portsmouth are joint leading scorers along with Arsenal for goals scored form outside the penalty area whilst Birmingham City have managed just the one * Summer signing Olivier Kapo in the leading scorer for City with five goals, three have come at St Andrews and three have come in the first half of matches * At St Andrews City have only managed two wins in six matches all season, against Wigan and Bolton * The Blues have picked up 12 yellow cards in their six home matches this season with 10 different players carded * Pompey were 4-1 winners in their last away match at Newcastle either side of that win were 0-0 home draws * Portsmouth have kept clean sheets in six of their last eight matches * Both sides have had 23 yellow cards this season, Pompey have had one red card and City have yet to have anybody red carded * Referee Martin Atkinson has refereed eight Premier League matches this season and given out 19 yellow cards and one red, nine of the cards have been to home sides and 10 to the away sides | ||
| Betting | ||
| * City have suffered five defeats in their last five matches and have failed to keep a clean sheet in any on those games * Portsmouth are unbeaten in their last eight matches since losing at the Emirates 3-1 back in September * Portsmouth been involved in more 0-0 draws than any other side this season in the Premier League, three * Leading Premier League goal scorer Benjani has scored four at home and four on the road. * Pompey are looking for a 5th straight win on the road and have conceded just one goal in their four match winning run away from home * Portsmouth have a good record of scoring late in matches this season with six of their 23 goals coming in the last ten minutes of matches compared to three for City | ||
Bolton v Man Utd | ||
| History | ||
| * United are looking for a six straight win over Bolton in the Premier League * Bolton last beat United back in September 2002 when they left Old Trafford with a 1-0 win, a win that was their second successive win over United at Old Trafford * The injured Wayne Rooney scored a hat trick in this fixture last season only the second after Ole Gunner Solskjaer back in January 2002 * Mark Clattenburg has never refereed this fixture although has taken charge of the sides 18 times in total between them * Kevin Nolan is Bolton’s leading scorer in the PL against United with three goals * Wayne Rooney leads United’s list with five goals against Bolton in the PL – 1 more than the recently retired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who scored all his goals at the Reebok | ||
| Trends | ||
| * United have scored four goals in three of the last four matches between the two sides * Bolton have never beaten United at home in eight matches, United have left with a win five times and three matches have end as draws * Only 0-0 draw between the two sides was back in September 1997 at Bolton * United have scored in seven of their eight visits to Bolton * Nicolas Anelka is the Bolton’s top scorer with six goals, no other player has scored more than once. Four of Anelka’s goals have come at the Reebok * United have lost once on the road this season, a 1-0 defeat at the City of Manchester Stadium * United have scored in five of their six away matches this season and kept a clean sheet twice * Cristiano Ronaldo is United’s leading goal scorer this season with six in the Premier League but only two of them have come on the road, the winner at Birmingham and the 2nd goal against Arsenal * Bolton have conceded 18 goals this season and 13 of them have been in the first half - the joint highest total in the Premier League along with Derby County * Anelka has scored in six matches for Bolton this season and they have only won one of them, 3-0 win at Reading * United lead the way in the Premier League with headers this season, six whilst Bolton have managed just two | ||
| Betting | ||
| * United are looking to make it 10 in a row without a loss against Bolton * Wanderers have drawn their last three matches in the Premier League since Gary Megson took over as manager, in fact they have drawn five of their last seven matches * Bolton have gone nine matches since their last win, a 3-0 win at the Reebok against Reading * Carlos Tevez has scored his four goals in three matches and United have won all three of them * Mark Clattenburg takes charge of his 11th match of the season and has already given 32 yellow cards, of those 20 have gone to home team player and he has the highest % of home players booked in matches this season by any referee * He has also given three straight red cards and they have all been to the home team although has never given either of these sides a red card in a Premier League match | ||
Derby v Chelsea | ||
| History | ||
| * Chelsea are unbeaten in their last five matches against Derby County with four wins and a draw * In six matches between the sides at Derby the home side have picked up two wins, the last was in October 1999 when they were 3-1 winners * In 12 matches between the two sides Chelsea have scored in them all * The only hat trick in this fixture came from Gianfanco Zola in November 1997 at Stamford Bridge * Referee Andre Marriner has never taken charge of either side in a Premier League match * Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola scored six Premier League goals in his Chelsea days against Derby Country – more than any other player | ||
| Trends | ||
| # Never been a 0-0 draw in this fixture, there have only been two scoring draws and they have both been at Derby # Derby are looking to avoid a third straight home defeat after conceding seven and failing to find the net in their last two fixtures at Pride Park # In six matches at Pride Park they have only managed one clean sheet, against Newcastle in a 1-0 win # Derby have managed just five goals all season, half the number of the next worst record in the League, and just three players have got on the score sheet for them # Derby have failed to score in nine of their 13 matches this season and have kept just two clean sheets # Frank Lampard has a better scoring record away from Stamford Bridge since joining Chelsea and has continued that trend this season with three of his four goals coming away form the Bridge # Chelsea have conceded five of their nine goals this season in the first half which is against the trend # Chelsea have already had 25 players booked this season which is the fourth highest total in the Premier League and Derby are not far behind with 23 players receiving yellow cards # Andre Mariner takes charge of his 6th Premier League fixture of the season and has given out 14 yellow cards to date and sent off just one player | ||
| Betting | ||
| * Three times at Pride Park this season they have taken the lead and each time they were not beaten, they drew twice and beat Newcastle * Derby have not won in their last seven Premier Laeague matches losing five and drawing two * Since losing to United in Avram Grant’s first match in charge Chelsea have won all three of their away matches and kept a clean sheet each time * Chelsea are unbeaten in their last six matches, four wins and two draws * Chelsea are the fifth highest scorers in the Premier League but have only managed one goal in the last 10 minutes of a match this season * Chelsea have actually conceded more goals in the last ten minutes of matches than Derby this season, three to two | ||
Everton v Sunderland | ||
| History | ||
| * Everton are unbeaten in their last five meetings with Sunderland in the Premier League * Sunderland won the first ever fixture between the two in the Premier League at Goodison Park 3-1 in November 1996 but have not won there since, losing three and drawing two * Never been a 0-0 between the sides in the Premier League | ||
| Trends | ||
| * Never been a hat trick in the fixture * Since losing to Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby Everton have gone three matches unbeaten * Everton have scored in 10 of their 13 matches this season but have managed just two clean sheets all season * Everton have had 12 different scorers this season for their 17 goals (excluding two own goals) with both Joleon Lescott and Aiyegbeni Yakubu top scoring with three each * Six of Everton’s goal scorers this season have been English * No player has scored twice for the Toffees at Goodison this season * Everton have picked up just 13 yellow cards this season the lowest figure in the Premier League and just four of these have come at home. Last season they actually had more players booked at home than on the road * Everton have had two straight red cards this season the highest total along with Fulham * Everton have the joint worst record for headers conceded this season - five * Sunderland have failed to score four times in 13 matches in the Premier League * The Black Cats have managed just one clean sheet in 13 matches this season * Sunderland have not won in their last seven Premier League matches * Kenwyne Jones in Sunderland’s leading scorer this season with four goals withthree of them coming from headers * The last two matches between the sides have produced a total of just two bookings | ||
| Betting | ||
| * Everton have scored first six times this season and won each time whilst in the games they have conceded first they have yet to win in seven attempts * On the road this season Sunderland have yet to win with five defeats and two draws in their seven matches and have yet to keep a clean sheet * They have scored first twice on the road and ended up drawing both games 2-2 * Both sides have good record for scoring late in games with Sunderland scoring five times in the final ten minutes and Everton four times * But they have also conceded goals at this stage of matches with Everton conceding six and Sunderland five * Everton have also done well scoring early in matches with four goals in the opening 15 minutes of games * Phil Dowd is taking charge of just his 5th match of the season in the Premier League and has given out 13 yellow cards to date, 11 of them have gone to the away side and just two to the home side * However in 11 previous matches with Everton, Dowd has given 26 yellow and two red cards * Everton have managed just one clean sheet at home this season when beating Boro 2-0 and have scored in every match bar one * Everton have scored in six of the meetings between the two at Goodison | ||
Man City v Reading | ||
| History | ||
| * Dietmar Hamann and Ivar Ingimarsson are both one booking away from suspension * Despite their respective league positions both sides have scored the same number of goals this season (16) * Reading did the double over City last season – winning 2-0 in the equivalent fixture in February and also shutting City out at the Madjeski * Steve Tanner is refereeing his first ever Man City match in the Premier League | ||
| Trends | ||
| * City’s top scorer this season is Blumer Elano with four goals – all four coming at the City of Manchester stadium * City have only lost once in their last eight games – the 6-0 drubbing at Stamford Bridge * They have also not conceded a goal since then, keeping two clean sheets in their last two games, and three in the last four also being shut outs * Seven of Reading’s 16 goals this season have come in the last 10 mins of matches * 12 of Reading’s goals have come in the second half of matches with just four in the opening 45 * Reading have scored six headers so far this season – joint most with Man United * Dave Kitson and Kevin Doyle have scored four goals each this season for Reading – with seven of the eight goals coming in the 2nd half of matches * Reading have lost their last two matches 3-1 since beating Newcastle at the end of October * Reading have not been involved in a draw since the opening weekend’s goalless draw at Old Trafford * City have kept seven clean sheets this season – five coming at City of Manchester Stadium * Seven different players have scored for City this season and only one of them is English, promising midfielder Michael Johnson * City have picked up 10 home bookings in their seven matches whilst Reading have an excellent record with just six yellow cards picked up on the road this season, the lowest total in the Premier League * All four of Doyle’s goals for Reading have come from headers and he is the leading scorer for headers in the Premier League this season, one more than Joleon Lescott and Kenwyne Jones * Only one non British player has scored for Reading this season, Cameroon’s Andre Bikey and half their 16 goals coming from their Irish contingent * Referee Steve Tanner is taking charge of his 7th Premier League match of the season and has given out 15 yellow cards to date and has yet to issue a red card, he has though awarded three penalties the highest average of all Premier League referees this season | ||
| Betting | ||
| * City have the best home record in the league with a 100% success rate from their seven matches – including five 1-0 wins * Reading have the joint worst away record in the Premier league with just one point to show from their six matches * City have scored first seven times this season and have won every single time * They have conceded first five times this season and won just once against Newcastle back in September. They have lost three and drawn one also * Reading have scored first in five matches this season and have won four of them – their last four of these since losing to Chelsea back in August * They have conceded first seven times this season however and have lost all seven * Reading’s 13 games this season have totalled 45 goals – an average of almost 3.5 goals per game, bettered only by Tottenham * On the road Reading have lost five in a row since drawing their opening game of the season at Manchester United 0-0, and they have conceded 19 goals in five games * Reading have conceded 19 goals in 2nd half of matches this season the highest total in the Premier League, one more than bottom of the table Derby County * Don’t expect early fireworks as neither side has scored a goal in the opening 15 minutes of matches this season * Last season’s two matches between the sides produced just three bookings | ||
Bolton v Aston Villa | ||
| History | ||
| * Middlesbrough have not won since 1st September when they beat Birmingham 2-0 at the Riverside * Villa dominate this fixture with 13 wins in 24 PL meetings. Boro have beaten Villa just five times with their last success being a 3-2 win at Villa Park in October 2005 * Boro’s last home win against Villa was a 3-0 success in December 2004, having lost their last two home matches against the midlanders * Villa have won seven out of 12 PL meetings between the sides at the Riverside * Referee Ken Stroud has never taken charge of a Villa game and has only refereed Middlesbrough once previous, giving just one yellow card in this time * Mark Schwarzer and Gareth Barry have played this fixture 27 times between them | ||
| Trends | ||
| * Middlesbrough have the worst disciplinary record in the Premier League with 31 yellow cards received – however they have yet to receive a red card. * Villa have 5th worst record with 24 yellow and two red cards * Villa have only won once away from home this season but have only lost once also with three draws * Middlesbrough’s top scorer this season is Stewart Downing with three goals * George Boateng is one booking away from suspension * Gabriel Agbonlahor is Villa’s top scorer this season with five goals – he is one of nine different goal scorers for Villa, seven of which are British * Villa have only lost once in their last seven matches – their home defeat to Man United. They are also three games unbeaten since then, winning their last two games * Villa’s win at St Andrews in the Birmingham derby was their first away win of the season * Ken Stroud has refereed just two matches this season in the Premier League and given out seven yellow cards with four of them going to home team players * He has yet to send a player off or award a penalty * Gareth Barry has scored three times for Villa in matches against Boro, and has also been booked five times against the Teesiders, with three of these coming at the Riverside | ||
| Betting | ||
| * Boro have the second worst home record in the Premier league with just one win in seven matches * Boro have scored first in just two matches so far this season – winning one and drawing one * They have conceded first in 10 matches this season – winning just once at Fulham and losing six times * Villa have scored first five times this season and have won four of those matches, losing just the once against Man United * They have conceded first six times also this season and have only lost two of these, winning two and drawing two * Luke Moore has scored five times against Middlesrbough for Villa in the Premier League – and four of these have come at the Riverside. This puts him 2nd in the list of leading away scorers at the Riverside | ||
Newcastle v Liverpool | ||
| History | ||
| * Alan Smith is suspended having been booked five times this season * This will be Newcastle’s first match of the season against one of the ‘Big 4’ * Liverpool have more than double the number of Newcastle wins in this fixture in the Premier League – 15 to 7 * Newcastle’s 2-1 victory in Feb last year ended a run of three successive league defeats against Liverpool * Liverpool have won five times at St James’ in the Premier League – the most recent being a 3-1 success in March 2006 * Alan Wiley will be taking charge of his first match between the sides although having taken charge of the two on 40 occasions in total between them * Newcastle’s Michael Owen has a staggering 13 goals for Liverpool in previous matches against the Geordies in the Premier League – five of which have come at St James’ | ||
| Trends | ||
| * Liverpool and Newcastle have the 2nd and 3rd best disciplinary records in the Premier League with 16 and 18 yellow cards respectively * Newcastle’s top scorer this season is Obafemi Martins with four goals and all four of these have come in the first half of matches, although only one of these has come at St James’ * Nicky Butt and Jamie Carragher are both one booking away from suspension * Newcastle and Liverpool are both yet to receive a red card this season * Newcastle are three matches without a win with their last success coming at home to Spurs in October * Liverpool have the best away defensive record in the Premier League with just two goals conceded * Liverpool are yet to lose this season * Kuyt and Crouch have just one goal between them this season in the Premier League * Alan Wiley has refereed 10 games in the Premier League this season and given out 34 yellow cards with 18 going to the visitors. He has only dismissed one player and has yet to award a penalty * Wiley has sent Steven Gerrard off twice in previous Premier League matches * England players Crouch and Gerrard have both scored twice in matches against Newcastle | ||
| Betting | ||
| * Fernando Torres is Liverpool’s top scorer with five goals but he is yet to score away from Anfield * Newcastle have the 5th best home record in the Premier league this season, winning four of their six games to date * Liverpool have the best away record in the Premier League so far this season winning four and drawing two of their six matches * Newcastle have scored first on seven occasions this season and have won five times and only lost once – versus Man City in September * However Newcastle have conceded first on four occasions this season and have yet to win – losing three times and drawing once * 13 of Liverpool’s 19 goals this season have come in the first half of matches * Liverpool have scored six times this season in the last ten minutes of matches * 40% of Liverpool’s goals conceded this season have come in the last 10 minutes of matches * Liverpool have scored first eight times this season and have won five times and been pegged back for a draw on three occasions * They have only conceded first once this season and came back to win on the opening day of the season against Villa | ||
Fulham v Blackburn | ||
| History | ||
| * Fulham’s top scorer this season is Clint Dempsey with four goals * The sides have met 12 times in the Premier league with Blackburn leading the way with 7 wins, 4 defeats and one draw. In the six games played at home, Fulham have won two, lost three and drawn one * Fulham’s last win over Blackburn was back in December 2005 – a 2-1 home success * Christopher Samba is one booking away from suspension * Referee Mike Dean has taken charge of this fixture once previous, but gave no cards out during the game * In 11 matches for Fulham, Dean has given 13 yellow and 3 red cards, and in 15 matches for Blackburn has given 30 yellow and 1 red card * Brad Friedel has appeared in this fixture 11 times * Top scorers for both sides in this fixture have three goals – Boa Morte and Malbranque for Fulham and Andy Cole for Blackburn | ||
| Trends | ||
| * Blackburn have the second worst disciplinary record so far this season with 30 cards received (27 and 3) and one behind Middlesbrough * Blackburn have only lost once away from home this season – last match round at Manchester United * Fulham have only won once in the last six games – their last home game versus Reading * Fulham have lost twice at home this season with their last defeat coming back at the beginning of October against Portsmouth * Carlos Bocanegra has been booked three times at Craven Cottage this season * 12 of Fulham’s 16 goals this season have come at home * Blackburn have scored three penalties so far this season * 16 of Fulham’s 20 goals conceded this season have been in the second half of matches * Blackburn’s defeat at Old Trafford was their only defeat of their last six matches – a run which brought four wins and a draw against Liverpool * Mike Dean has refereed nine Premier League matches this season and given out 48 yellow cards, the highest total and average in the Premier League this season * He has sent off four players which the joint highest number with two each for the home and away sides. He has awarded three penalties and they have all been to the home side * David Bentley has been booked twice for Blackburn at Craven Cottage | ||
| Betting | ||
| * Three of Dempsey’s four goals this season have come in the first half of matches and has been first scorer twice * Fulham have failed to score in four of their last six matches * Fulham have scored first on seven occasions this season but have only managed to win one of those games – their last match against Reading * They have also only won one of four matches in which they have conceded first – a 2-1 home win back in August against Bolton * Fulham have conceded eight times in the last 10 mins of matches this season * Three of Roque Santa Cruz’s four goals this season have come away from home * Blackburn have yet to lose this season when they have scored first – winning four and drawing one against Everton * They have also won twice in matches they have conceded first in this season – versus Spurs and Middlesbrough * Benni McCarthy has scored in four matches this season and Blackburn have won each time. They have also never lost each time Santa Cruz has found the net * Fulham have only won once in matches that top scorer Clint Dempsey has scored in * Benni McCarthy scored in both games versus Fulham last season * The last six matches between the sides have produced 25 yellow cards | ||
West Ham v Tottenham | ||
| History | ||
| * Spurs did the double over West Ham last season, winning the equivalent fixture 4-3 with last minute goals from Berbatov and Stalteri * The sides have met 24 times in the Premier League and West Ham have won nine times, Spurs 10 and there have been five draws. In 10 home PL games, West Have won six and lost four with two draws * Spurs have yet to win away this season * Mike Riley has never taken charge of a West Ham v Spurs fixture before * Former West Ham and Spurs favourite Teddy Sheringham leads the scoring charts in this fixture with six goals scored for Spurs against West Ham in the Premier League | ||
| Trends | ||
| * Robbie Keane is 3rd top scorer in the league on six goals behind Adebayor and Benjani. Four of his goals have come in the 2nd half of matches * Lee Bowyer is West Ham’s top scorer with four goals. Three of these have come in the second half of matches. He’s also their top home scorer with just two goals * West Ham have not lost in four games – last defeat being back at beginning of October away at Villa * West Ham have four wins and three defeats against the ‘middle 13’ Premier league clubs * West Ham have lost twice at home this season – to top three sides Man City and Arsenal * 13 of West Ham’s 18 goals this season have come in the second half of matches * Only have one of West Ham’s goals this season have been headers * Paul Robinson has conceded eight goals from the outside of the box this season * West Ham have yet to receive a red card this season and their last red card was in December 2006 against Fulham * No player for Spurs has been booked more than twice this season * Tottenham haven’t lost since October – three games ago. They have won one and drawn one since losing at home to Blackburn * Spurs have yet to receive a red card this season – their last was in February in the 06/07 season * Mike Riley has refereed 11 times in the Premier League this season and given out 36 yellow cards and 22 have gone to away players. He has yet to give out a red card but has awarded four penalties all to home teams | ||
| Betting | ||
| * Bowyer has been first scorer twice this season. He has been booked five times also this season – two more than the next most West Ham player (Carlton Cole) and three times at home, also two more than any other player * West Ham have yet to lose this season in a match in which they have scored first – a record of five wins and a draw * They have also yet to win in a match in which they have conceded first – a record of four losses and a draw * Tottenham have scored six times this season in the opening 15 mins of a match and 14 times in the first half * Spurs have however conceded six times in the last 10 minutes of a match this season * Tottenham have yet to win a game this season against the ‘middle 13’ teams – three draws and four defeats * No Spurs player has been booked more than once away from home in matches this season * Spurs have only won twice in eight matches this season in which they have scored first – their 4-0 home wins against Wigan and Derby * They have also lost four of five matches in which they have conceded first, with one draw also * Robbie Keane has scored in five matches this season and Spurs have not won any of these * Darren Bent has scored in three games and Spurs have not lost any of these * There have been 19 bookings in the last 4 matches between the sides | ||
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