PREMIER LEAGUE SATURDAY: The Striker previews the busy Saturday fixture list in the Premier League. All match previews include stats and a recommended BETDAQ bet. The action starts at 12.30pm with VILLA v EVERTON.
ASTON VILLA V EVERTON
12.30pm It’s Super Saturday in the Premier League and we have a bumper day ahead on BETDAQ Betting Exchange with seven fixtures. We had some surprise results on the opening weekend, especially in the early kick off on Saturday as Fulham held Liverpool to a draw. It’s brilliant to have football back though! We kick this Saturday off with a very interesting market as Aston Villa host Everton. I have to say I thought we’d have a pretty open market here but to see Aston Villa trading odds on is a surprise for me. They are a very tempting lay at 1.88, and it’s going to be hard to look past that bet to be honest. The debate in my opinion is what stake to go with. As I highlighted in the opening week, Villa weren’t that good last season and I’d expect them to hang around the same position by the end of the season. They aren’t bad enough to go down or be in a relegation fight, but at the same time they aren’t good enough to even get close to the top ten. I know Everton were very poor last season, only avoiding going down in the last few weeks of the season, but I still can’t have Aston Villa at odds on here.
Although I am confident with my selection, there are worries. The biggest worry has to be Everton’s form away from home last season – they only managed ten points away from home last season and that’s just not good enough. That was actually tied as the lowest total with Norwich. The thing is Aston Villa weren’t seriously impressive at home either last season, and going forward they have a number of issues. We landed a nice bet on Under 2.5 goals in the Aston Villa game last weekend, and that is a tempting bet again here. It’s trading 1.83 and I couldn’t put anyone off that bet to be honest – I just feel the Aston Villa lay offers slightly more value. The Bournemouth game last weekend was close, but they could still only manage an xG of 0.69 and when you consider that Bournemouth started the season odds on to go down, you see Villa have issues. Everton aren’t a side you can trust, so I will limit staking, but Villa shouldn’t be odds on here in my opinion.
The Striker Says:
Two points lay Aston Villa to beat Everton at 1.88 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/AstEve
MATCH STATS
● 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 vs Wolves and Everton vs 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
3pm We have five games kicking off at 3pm, and while we have a lot of talking points from the afternoon, this looks the highlight fixture. It’s fair to say that the jury is out for both these sides this season. Arsenal had the Top Four in their hands last season and threw it away on the run in – you’d imagine with European football that things will be tougher this season. Perhaps we judge Arsenal fans unfairly because of Arsenal Fan TV; but they are saying they are title challengers already – it’s absurd to be honest! The opening game against Crystal Palace was impressive – they answered some questions and won reasonably easily. They still conceded an xG of 1.22 though and with that coming against Crystal Palace, you’d imagine that they are going to come up well short against the top sides. My opinion on Arsenal hasn’t really changed – they still give away too many chances, can’t cope under pressure and the jury will always be out on them away from home. They will beat the mid-table sides impressively this season, and that’s why they have moved up to challenge the Top Four, but I still feel they are massively short of where their fans “expect” them to be.
Today will be a very interesting game, because I also feel that Leicester have huge problems this season. It was very disappointing to see them drop down to 8th last season after missing out on the Top Four on the final day for the last two seasons prior, but then you look at the underlining numbers and see that they actually over-performed compared to their finishing position. Things could have been even worse for Leicester, and if they perform to a similar level there’s no doubt that they could drop down to the bottom half of the table – you’d imagine the likes of Newcastle will be moving up too. Although I have plenty of questions about Arsenal and their expectations, they should get the job done here against this average Leicester side. They have home advantage which is a big thing for Arsenal, and Leicester have been giving away a host of chances – even on the opening day they conceded twice to Brentford, and conceded a higher xG figure. This is the exact side Arsenal do very well against, and they are worth backing at 1.51.
The Striker Says:
Three points win Arsenal to beat Leicester at 1.51 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/ArsLei
MATCH STATS
● 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 V NEWCASTLE
3pm We have a lot of open markets today, but this is the most open of them all as Brighton take on Newcastle. Brighton took most of the Premier League headlines last weekend with their 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. They didn’t get their credit they deserve though as the news was all about how bad Manchester United were. The reality is somewhere in between – Brighton played very well and took their chances. In the second half United were always going to attack 2-0 down, but all the Brighton chat at the break must have been about keeping the two goal lead which they did. It was a nice performance, and a big confidence boosting win to start the season. Brighton play some very nice football and you have to admire them for that – in fairness their manager is world class. Newcastle quietly started their season very strongly with a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest and their xG figures were impressive too. Obviously Nottingham Forest came up from the Championship and tougher tasks lie ahead – it will be interesting to see the xG figures from this game.
I broadly agree with the market here that we should have a very close game. However, I actually feel we should have the sides closer together in the betting. Brighton are trading 2.56 while Newcastle are 3.15. Given Brighton only collected 22 points at home last season, I feel Newcastle have a good chance of winning here. It’s not a huge amount of value compared to some other bets today, but I would have Brighton a little bigger and Newcastle a little shorter here. Newcastle haven’t splashed the cash like everyone thought they would, but you couldn’t knock their performances at the end of last season and they look like they have a very high morale in the squad at the moment too. It is tempting to back the 3.15 on Newcastle but I’m going to keep the draw on my side and lay Brighton at 2.56. After beating Manchester United on the opening weekend, this might be a massive crash landing!
The Striker Says:
Two points lay (liability) Brighton to beat Newcastle at 2.56 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BriNew
MATCH STATS
● 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% 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
3pm We have one of the shortest prices in football this weekend here as Manchester City host Bournemouth. At the time of writing, Manchester City are trading as short as 1.09 to win! It’s very hard to see anything bar a City win here to be honest, and it’s more of a question of how many goals can they score rather than will they win. I’m sure most football fans will be looking towards the handicap markets or goal markets here. City are definitely a section for any Betdaq Multiple this week, but for my bet I’m looking at the side markets. Bournemouth played well to beat Aston Villa on the opening weekend, but as I said above I don’t really rate Aston Villa. They did keep Villa down to an xG of just 0.69 but how many levels do they step up in grade here? Haaland scored twice on his Premier League debut last weekend, and he wasn’t happy either because he thought he could have had a hat-trick! Obviously with City trading so short in the match odds market, it makes sense that the market is expecting goals here.
Over 2.5 goals is trading as short as 1.4 at the time of writing. That’s the same price as Both Teams Not To Score as the market is expecting a one way traffic win here for City. I’m not going to recommend either, but I would definitely favour Over 2.5 goals compared to Both Teams Not To Score. If City take an early lead and go into half-time 3-0 or 4-0 up, they do tend to relax and let the game open up. Bournemouth could take a token goal at some stage. Guardiola is definitely going to attack all season and go with the “we’ll score more than you approach.” I feel we’ll see plenty of goals from City here, and Any Other Home Win is worth backing at 2.36 in the Correct Score market. They never got out of second gear to beat West Ham last weekend, and they should have scored more than two – I just don’t see a way Bournemouth can stop City here and the goals should flow.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Any Other Home Win Correct Score at 2.36 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/MciBou
MATCH STATS
● Manchester City have won all 10 of their Premier League matches against Bournemouth, the best 100%- 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 vs 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
3pm We finish the day with three reasonably open markets, and the first of them is Southampton v Leeds. Southampton are a lot of football fans dark horses to get into a relegation battle this season, and they definitely silenced those doubters for a short time when they took the lead against Spurs on the opening weekend! Those hopes for Southampton were dashed quickly though as Spurs bounced back quickly though and they went on to hammer Southampton 4-1. This is definitely a step down in grade for Southampton, but in my opinion the odds are very wrong here. I just can’t have Southampton trading as short as 2.34 here – that for me is the lay of the day. Leeds have their issues but they actually performed better away from home compared to at home last season. They finished the season with more points away from home compared to at home, and while we do have two pretty average sides here I can’t escape the Southampton lay.
The Southampton stats from last season are very poor, and I can understand why they are the “fancied” outsiders to go down this season. They conceded close to two goals per game last season and only scored a little over one. They didn’t perform much out of line with their xG stats. Indeed, if we are judging based solely off xG numbers – Leeds are a worse side from last season. The thing is though, Leeds have the talent to be much better while Southampton just seem a limited side. Clearly Leeds have a lot of issues at the back, these have stuck with them for the last two seasons and they won’t be going away quickly either, but going forward Leeds are a much better side than Southampton and I’m happy to lay the home win here at 2.34. We won’t go too mad on the stakes given there are issues with Leeds, but I do feel the market is miles out.
The Striker Says:
Three points lay (liability) Southampton to beat Leeds at 2.34 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/SouLee
MATCH STATS
● 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
3pm We finish the 3pm games with Wolves hosting Fulham. When you look at the relegation betting, the Wolves price is probably surprising to most people. Especially given they finished last season 10th position. It’s probably a reflection of their decline in recent years, and they did finish last season poorly. What you would say about Wolves is they are usually a side who grinds out results, but they conceded too many goals last season and their average xG conceded was 1.6 per Premier League game last season. They didn’t conceded as many goals as chances they conceded, which means they are likely to go backwards this season if their results move in line with their performances. We should see a lot of movement on the Wolves price with the result of this game – if they lose they definitely move a little more into the relegation picture. They will be expected to win however Fulham did pick up a point last weekend against Liverpool. That was a total bonus, and a really nice confidence booster for Fulham to start the season with.
Both sides saw Over 2.5 goals in their games last weekend, but I expect a very cagey game here. Fulham were impressive in the Championship last season but as I highlighted last weekend their success was based on them being solid at the back. They needed to score twice for a draw against Liverpool last weekend, but they still performed nicely to keep Liverpool down to two goals – they can’t be expected to do much better against such a top side to be fair. Wolves won’t pose the same attacking threat, and Fulham will be happy to sit back here too. I think that could make for a very boring game and Under 2.5 goals looks very nice value at 1.8. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a 0-0 score line here to be honest, but the Under 2.5 goals is hard to get away from at the odds.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.8 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/WolFul
MATCH STATS
● 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
5.30pm The Manchester United saga continues. They took all the Premier League headlines last weekend when they lost 2-1 to Brighton – we had Ronaldo on the bench and poor performances on the pitch. Even the Harry Maguire video in the tunnel of him standing on the wrong side coming out was embarrassing. Then that’s not even mentioning the transfer business they have been doing, and their fans seem very unhappy at the moment – we have a very interesting season coming up with the fans so unhappy with the owners. I know this is likely not going to cause much drama given you get a lot of tourists in Old Trafford but the local base will protest in my opinion. It’s been quite the start for Erik ten Hag! He seems an excellent manager, very professional and has a vision on how he wants his side to play, but when you look at this United squad you just see so many problems. I don’t think they are good enough for ten Hag to produce the football he wants, and then the owners just aren’t good in the transfer window either. Plus, you can’t forget that Manchester United don’t have Champions League football now either so players don’t want to join the club either. The whole situation is a mess, but it’s clear now it’s down to the owners.
It’s not a surprise to see United trading odds against here, but it is a surprise to see them so close to 2.0. I thought they would be bigger than 2.06 before clicking into the market, and they are a tempting lay at the odds. They remind me of Arsenal a few years ago – can’t be trusted away from home and they throw in the towel under pressure. Let’s not forget how many managers this squad has thrown under the bus too – and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them down tools for ten Hag if things don’t go well either. Brentford worked hard to get a 2-2 draw against Leicester last weekend, but they created a better xG figure and they played much better at home last season compared to away. This will be a very tough test for United and I’m happy to be against them at the odds. I think laying United will be a popular bet this season, and it should be a profitable one too.
The Striker Says:
Two points lay (liability) Manchester United to beat Brentford at 2.06 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BreMun
MATCH STATS
● 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 vs 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).
