PREMIER LEAGUE SATURDAY: The Striker looks ahead to a busy Saturday in the Premier League which starts at 12.30pm with WEST HAM v CHELSEA. All matches include FACTMAN stats and a recommended BETDAQ bet.
WEST HAM V CHELSEA
12.30pm We have another massive Saturday in the Premier League on BETDAQ Betting Exchange! It’s a busy afternoon with seven fixtures, and plenty of games that are going to have a big impact everywhere in the table. We actually have a lot of important games kicking off at 3pm, but we start the day with a London Derby as West Ham host Chelsea. We have two sides here who are having very disappointing seasons with Chelsea sitting in mid-table and West Ham sitting down just outside the relegation zone. Chelsea have had a terrible time of things since re-starting their season after the World Cup, but you can see looking at their xG figures that they are improving. Their results have come yet but their performance level is increasing. In their loss away to Fulham, they finished the game with their highest xG figure of the season with 2.74. They then created 2.06 in their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace and finished the game with a higher xG than they conceded away to Liverpool and then again against Fulham. They would have been very disappointed with that 0-0 draw, but they created enough to suggest they should have won the game. West Ham have been struggling this season, but they have put a decent run together recently aided by a few wins in the FA Cup too.
I can understand why the market as Chelsea as big as 2.36 here, but for me they should be shorter. I know they clearly haven’t been at their best this season, and we can debate all day whether it was a good idea to sack Thomas Tuchel or not, but you can see Graham Potter is starting to get them to play better football. I can see West Ham moving up the table and not having to worry about the relegation battle because they are creating more than they are conceding looking at their xG figures. However, it’s hard to get away from the 2.36 on Chelsea here. I’m going to keep stakes limited here because they have to start winning games and taking their chances. We lost our money on them against Fulham because they had been playing better football going into that game too – it’s time they started translating the performances into results, and hopefully that starts here.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Chelsea to beat West Ham at 2.36 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/WesChe
FACTMAN MATCH STATS
● West Ham have alternated between winning (4) and not winning (D1 L2) in their last seven Premier League home games against Chelsea, winning this exact fixture 3-2 last season.
● Chelsea have won four of their last five Premier League games against West Ham (L1) and are looking to win three in a row against them for the first time since April 2011.
● There have been seven winning goals scored in the final five minutes of Premier League meetings between West Ham and Chelsea, more than any other fixture in the competition. Each of the last three games between the sides have been settled by a goal in the final five minutes.
● West Ham have lost eight of their last 10 Premier League London derby matches, with the exceptions being a draw against Tottenham and a win against Fulham this season. Meanwhile, if Chelsea win, they will be the first team to reach 150 London derby victories in the Premier League.
● West Ham have earned four points from their last two Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous nine (W1 D1 L7). Only once this season have they gone three league games unbeaten, doing so in October against Wolves, Fulham and Southampton.
● Chelsea’s last two Premier League matches have finished 0-0 – they last failed to score in more consecutive league games in September 2007 (4), while they’ve never had three consecutive goalless draws in their league history.
● Chelsea won their first three Premier League games under Graham Potter, scoring seven goals in the process. However, they’ve won just two of their subsequent 12 (D5 L5), netting just another seven goals in this run.
● West Ham have scored 18 goals in the Premier League this season, around 10 fewer than their expected goals tally suggests (27.9) – it’s the biggest negative difference between goals and xG in the competition this term.
● Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling has been involved in nine goals in his five Premier League appearances against West Ham at the London Stadium (4 goals, 5 assists), the most of any non-West Ham player at the ground.
● Jarrod Bowen is West Ham’s top scorer in the Premier League this season with four goals, with all four strikes coming at the London Stadium. Only Everton have a lower scoring top scorer so far this term (3).
ARSENAL V BRENTFORD
3pm We have a very busy afternoon with five games kicking off at 3pm. We have some huge games at both ends of the table, including some interesting games with the likes of Leicester hosting Spurs, but we start with league leaders Arsenal hosting Brentford. That fixture, Southampton v Wolves and this fixture could easily all be TV games given how important the results will be! Arsenal hit their first major bump in the road in their title challenge last weekend with a 1-0 loss away to Everton. That was two losses back-to-back including the FA Cup and everyone was asking was panic starting to set in. They got extremely lucky however with their North London rivals Spurs beating Manchester City on Sunday afternoon so the gap at the top of the table stays at five points. Arsenal picked a very good weekend to lose in fairness, and they march on. I think, given the situation, they really need a win here to just steady the ship. They want as little drama as possible, and you do that winning games. They face a pretty tough test here though against an in-form Brentford side. They have re-started their season in superb form since the World Cup, and if Brentford had home advantage I could see this being a very worrying fixture for Arsenal. The good news for Arsenal fans is that Brentford aren’t as good away from home compared to at home, but this should be a very good game nonetheless.
Arsenal come into the game as the heavy favourites trading 1.44 at the time of writing. Arsenal have been fantastic this season, but the 1.44 definitely feels a little short here. You can’t knock Arsenal at home this season, but I feel Brentford have been on fire since the World Cup so I have a lot of respect for them at the moment. I know they had home advantage against Liverpool, but they fully deserved their 3-1 win over them – I know Liverpool have had a number of issues though! Brentford are unbeaten since the World Cup and their xG figures have been 2.36, 1.57, 2.51, 1.33, 0.25 and 2.28. That 0.25 performance is a worry, however it was a very boring 0-0 against Leeds in which they only conceded an xG of 0.40. Perhaps the most worrying thing for Arsenal fans is they were totally outplayed by Everton last weekend, and while they have been much more comfortable at home I can’t get away from the 1.44 lay here. I fully expect Brentford to make the game closer than the odds suggest, and expect to see more drama in the title race!
The Striker Says:
Two points lay (liability) Arsenal to beat Brentford at 1.44 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/ArsBre
FACTMAN MATCH STATS
● Arsenal are looking to complete the Premier League double over Brentford, following their 3-0 win at the Brentford Community Stadium earlier this season. The Bees would be the 47th different club the Gunners have beaten home and away in the same Premier League campaign, more than any other side.
● Brentford have won just one of their eight away games against Arsenal in all competitions (D3 L4), winning a top-flight match 2-0 at Highbury in April 1938.
● Arsenal have won their last seven Premier League London derby matches, with all of those taking place this season. Only once have the Gunners ever had a longer such winning run in their league history, winning nine in a row between April 1988 and February 1989. That run included their first eight such games in the 1988-89 campaign.
● Arsenal have lost their last two games in all competitions, as many as they had in their previous 21. They last lost three in a row in April 2022.
● Brentford are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League matches (W5 D4), with only Newcastle United (16) on a longer current run without defeat. The Bees are also looking to keep four consecutive clean sheets as a top-flight side for the first time, last doing so in any division in July 2020 (5).
● Arsenal’s last two goals conceded in the Premier League have come from corners – just one of the first 15 the Gunners had conceded this campaign had come from a corner.
● No side has scored more goals from set piece situations in the Premier League this season than Brentford (14), with a league-high five of these coming from the penalty spot.
● Brentford have kept back-to-back clean sheets away from home in the Premier League, having kept just one in their previous 24 on the road.
● Since the start of last season, Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah has scored more goals at the Emirates Stadium in all competitions than any other player (13). His 13 goals have come in his last 13 starts at the ground.
● With four goals and eight assists, no player has been involved in more Premier League London derby goals since the start of last season than Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (12). The 21-year-old has been involved in six in his last six such matches, including two assists in the reverse fixture against Brentford.
CRYSTAL PALACE V BRIGHTON
3pm With some big games kicking off at 3pm, this one could easily get lost but it’s actually my most confident bet of the day! Crystal Palace host Brighton, and I can only see one winner here. I was very surprised to see Brighton trading as big as 2.08 when I clicked into the market, and fully expected to see them trading odds on. We have two clubs heading in completely different directions here with Palace coming into the game off the back of a losing run and Brighton winning five of their last six games in all competitions. I know Liverpool are going through a tough time at the moment, but two of those wins have come against Liverpool in the Premier League and FA Cup. Palace have re-started their season in poor form after the World Cup, and they’ve yet to win a Premier League game outside of Bournemouth who have been dropping down the table like a stone. They have picked up two draws here against Manchester United and Newcastle, but both times they were completely outplayed. They conceded an xG of 1.78 against Newcastle and only created 0.34, while Manchester United finished the game with an xG over three times what they conceded but credit to Palace there – it was a wonderful free kick in injury time to get a draw.
Brighton have really impressed me since the World Cup – their performances have been all the more impressive because the club had to go through a change in manager too with Graham Potter going to Chelsea. They start the weekend sitting in sixth, and given they have a couple of games in hand on Spurs they could easily put pressure on them too above them! Since re-starting the season Brighton have finished games with xG figures of 0.91, 1.40, 2.52, 1.96, 1.81 and 2.06. They have been very consistent in front of goal, indeed their average xG going forward this season is 1.8. Crystal Palace have been very average going forward – their average xG is only 1.1 and it’s a high 1.7 for their average conceded. I know Crystal Palace have home advantage here, but there’s a huge gulf between these sides performance wise and I can’t see past a Brighton win. At odds against they are worth a Max Bet at 2.08 for me – I’d have them odds on.
The Striker Says:
Five points win Brighton to beat Crystal Palace at 2.08 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/CryBri
FACTMAN MATCH STATS
● Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last six Premier League games against Brighton (W2 D4) but are winless in their last four at home against the Seagulls (D3 L1).
● Brighton haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last nine Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace, though they’ve also failed to score in just one of those nine games.
● Each of the first eight Premier League goals scored in meetings between Crystal Palace and Brighton were netted in the first half. Since then, just four of the 16 goals scored in this fixture has been netted in the opening 45 minutes.
● Crystal Palace remain winless in the Premier League in 2023 so far (D2 L3), with their last victory coming at Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve. At home, the Eagles are winless since beating Southampton 1-0 in October (D2 L2 since).
● Brighton have won six of their last nine Premier League games (D1 L2), with both defeats in that run coming at home. Since the competition restarted following the World Cup, only Manchester United (16, before Leeds game) and Brentford (14) have won more Premier League points than the Seagulls (13).
● No side has won more Premier League games when conceding the first goal this season than Crystal Palace (4). Indeed, the Eagles have won twice the amount of games when conceding first (4/12) than they have when scoring first this term (2/6).
● Only Arsenal (8) have won more Premier League away games than Brighton (5) this season, with the Seagulls only winning more on the road in a single top-flight season once before (7 last season).
● 32 of Brighton’s 38 premier League goals this season have come from open play, with the Seagulls scoring the lowest share of their goals from set piece situations in the competition this term (16% including penalties, 8% excluding).
● Against no side has Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha scored more goals in his career in English football than he has against Brighton (8). He’s scored five in his last five appearances against them at Selhurst Park, netting once in each of the last three.
● Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma has been involved in nine goals in his last 12 appearances in all competitions, scoring seven and assisting two. He’s scored in each of his last three for the Seagulls, with the last two being winning goals in the 90th and 87th minute respectively.
FULHAM V NOTTINGHAM FOREST
3pm Next we have Fulham hosting Nottingham Forest, and this definitely strikes me as one of those games that only get a brief two minutes on Match Of The Day unless we see some major drama! With so many talking points from the other games kicking off at 3pm today, this one could easily get lost as both sides sit in mid-table. Nottingham Forest will be delighted with that though, because they have definitely been involved in the relegation battle this season! After losing their opening game returning after the World Cup to Manchester United, Forest have put in five games unbeaten. They picked up draws with Chelsea and Bournemouth, and then they’ve picked up massive wins over Southampton, Leicester and Leeds. A worry coming into this game would be that they’ve only managed six points away from home this season, and perhaps that’s why we see Fulham trading marginally odds on. Fulham were one of the sides who had midweek action, having to replay their FA Cup Fourth Round tie against Sunderland. I’m not sure I would have them odds on here, but they have been having a great season.
Fulham will be absolutely delighted with their performance so far – they have created a lot of chances going forward this season and that is what has picked up points for them. However, they are over-performing at the back and their figures are worrying. They are conceding an average xG of 1.9 per Premier League game this season which is very high – we usually see figures like that from sides in the relegation battle for example. Their actual figure is only 1.4 which makes a big difference, and eventually sides will start taking their chances against them. I feel this game comes at a good time for Nottingham Forest who look to be playing their best football of the season, and they must be full of confidence too. They can make this game a lot closer than odds of 1.98 suggest on Fulham, and I’m happy with the home lay here from a value point of view.
The Striker Says:
Two points lay (liability) Fulham to beat Nottingham Forest at 1.98 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/FulNot
FACTMAN MATCH STATS
● Fulham have won six of their last eight league games against Nottingham Forest, though both defeats in that run have come in home games.
● Nottingham Forest have won their last two away league games against Fulham, beating them in the Championship in August 2019 and April 2022. They’d never previously won consecutive away matches against the Cottagers.
● Following their 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest in the reverse fixture, Fulham could complete the Premier League double over an opponent for the first time since 2013-14, when they did so against both Aston Villa and Norwich City.
● Having failed to score just twice in their first 19 Premier League games this season, Fulham have now gone three games without a goal in the competition. They’ve not gone four league games without a goal since a run of five in December 1999.
● Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games (W3 D2), their longest run within a single top-flight season since their first 12 matches in 1995-96.
● Between August and December, Nottingham Forest conceded 33 goals in 16 Premier League games at an average of 2.1 per game. Since then, they’ve conceded just two goals in five games (0.4 per game).
● Nottingham Forest have won four points from their last two away games, double the amount they had in their first eight on the road this term. However, Forest remain the lowest scorers away from home in the Premier League this season, netting just three goals in their 10 games.
● Aleksandar Mitrovic is Fulham’s top scorer in the Premier League this season with 11 goals, though he hasn’t scored in any of his last three appearances. The last Fulham player to net more in a single top-flight campaign was Dimitar Berbatov in 2012-13 (15), which was the last season the Cottagers played in the Premier League but weren’t relegated from the division.
● Brennan Johnson has been involved in each of Nottingham Forest’s last five league goals over the last four games, scoring three and assisting the other two. He’d scored just twice (no assists) in his 17 Premier League appearances before this.
● Keylor Navas made four saves and kept a clean sheet in his Premier League debut in Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 win over Leeds last time out. The last Forest keeper to record a shutout in his first two league starts for the club was Paul Smith, who did so in his first three in August 2006.
LEICESTER V TOTTENHAM
3pm Leicester host Spurs next and this should be a very interesting game. As I said above, this could easily be a TV game. Spurs completely turned morale around at the club over the weekend with a 1-0 win at home to Manchester City. They seem to keep their best performances for Pep Guardiola’s side, and it was a big blow for City in the title race. Spurs finished the game with a higher xG figure than City, which is always a great achievement. I suppose the only negative thing you’d say about the weekend is ask why can’t Spurs play like that every weekend? It would be “classic Spurs” to follow that performance and win up with a loss here! Leicester also record a big win for them at the weekend with an entertaining 4-2 win over Aston Villa. After slipping back down the table and into the relegation battle since coming back after the World Cup, that win was badly needed. They played well too which was encouraging, and they battled hard for a 2-2 draw over Brighton prior to that along with a 1-0 win in the FA Cup. I’ve said this before but the World Cup came at a bad time for Leicester, and perhaps they are finally getting their form back now.
Spurs have had a lot of issues this season, and most of their worst performances have come away from home. You can fully understand the market not having Spurs odds on here – even against a team like Leicester who have been very average this season. Ironically, looking at the away form table you can see Spurs sitting in second at the start of the weekend, but their xG figures away from home have been pretty low. They have been conceding a lot of sloppy goals, and Leicester have been doing the same too. Their games have had a lot of goals this season, and only Southampton and Bournemouth have conceded more goals than Leicester this season – and they sit in the bottom two spots! I’m happy to stay away from the match odds market here because this game just screams goals to me. Over 2.5 goals is trading 1.8 and that looks a cracking bet. Neither side likes to sit back here, and we could easily see a 3-3 or another 4-2 like last weekend in a Leicester game. Both sides are averaging over 3 goals per game they are involved in this season, and I can see them gelling together very well for a good end-to-end game.
The Striker Says:
Three points win Over 2.5 goals at 1.8 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/LeiTot
FACTMAN MATCH STATS
● Leicester have kept just one clean sheet in their 16 Premier League home games against Tottenham, shipping at least once in each of the last 13 since a 3-0 win in September 1997.
● Tottenham have won their last four Premier League games against Leicester, their best winning run against the Foxes in their league history.
● Since Leicester’s return to the Premier League in 2014, their games against Tottenham have produced a total of 71 goals, the most of any fixture in the competition in that time.
● Tottenham won this exact fixture 3-2 last season, having found themselves behind still after 94:51, the latest a side has been trailing in a game they’ve gone on to win in Premier League history. Indeed, Spurs have conceded the first goal in each of their last two trips to the King Power but come back to win both (4- 2 in 2020-21 & 3-2 in 2021-22).
● Leicester City picked up their first Premier League win since the competition resumed following the World Cup break last time out, scoring more goals in their 4-2 win over Aston Villa than they had in their five previous games (3).
● After a run of one clean sheet in 10 Premier League games, across which they’d conceded 21 goals, Tottenham have won their last two league games by a 1-0 scoreline. They last won three in a row without conceding in their final three games last season.
● Tottenham striker Harry Kane has scored 18 goals in 15 Premier League games against Leicester, with only Alan Shearer netting more against a single opponent in the competition (20 vs Leeds).
● Tottenham’s Son Heung-min has been directly involved in six goals in his last two Premier League games against Leicester (5 goals, 1 assist), coming off the bench to score a hat-trick in Spurs’ 6-2 win in the reverse fixture.
● Leicester’s James Maddison has been directly involved in nine goals in his last nine Premier League starts (6 goals, 3 assists), picking up where he left off with a goal against Aston Villa on his return to the starting XI last time out.
● Kelechi Iheanacho has been directly involved in five goals in his last five games for Leicester in all competitions (3 goals, 2 assists), more than he had in his previous 30 appearances for the Foxes (3 goals, 1 assist).
SOUTHAMPTON V WOLVES
3pm We finish the 3pm fixtures with Southampton hosting Wolves in a huge relegation battle. Wolves come into this game buzzing after a 3-0 win at home against Liverpool last weekend. I know Liverpool have had a tonne of issues this season, but I’m sure not many punters would have expected a 3-0 Wolves win! Wolves finished the game with an xG of 2.89, and that probably highlights how poor Liverpool have been at the back. That pushed them up the table, and definitely gives them a little cushion coming into this game. I feel if Southampton don’t get a result here then they will be in massive trouble; if they aren’t already in massive trouble! In recent weeks Southampton have recorded huge wins in Cup football, but they have been heading in the wrong direction in the Premier League. They are now one of the clear favourites for relegation, and they need to start winning games quickly. They have problems all over the pitch – their average xG going forward is only 1.1, and they aren’t even taking all those chances. They are conceding an average xG of 1.6 which isn’t as high as some other sides in the relegation battle but coupled with how bad they are going forward it’s clearly a major issue.
That win over Liverpool must give Wolves huge confidence heading into this game. They will see this game as another massive chance to get three points, and do serious damage to another side in the relegation battle. They have recorded big wins against Everton and West Ham since the World Cup, and I feel they can notch up another win here. I’m going to keep stakes small but Wolves at 2.68 looks a nice bet here. The stats don’t look good for Southampton – they have only managed three points since the World Cup, a big win over Everton but they’ve gone backwards since. They were outplayed by Aston Villa and Brentford, and Wolves can edge this one. I’m happy to keep stakes to a minimum here, because we do have two sides playing poor football this season!
The Striker Says:
One point win Wolves to beat Southampton at 2.68 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE..
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/SouWol
FACTMAN MATCH STATS
● After winning five consecutive top-flight home games against Wolves between 1980 and 2019, Southampton have lost their last three against them at St Mary’s.
● Wolves have won their last four Premier League games against Southampton – they’ve never won five in a row against an opponent in the competition.
● Southampton have lost eight of their last nine Premier League games, with the exception being a 2-1 win at Everton. Saints have also kept just one clean sheet in their last 27 league matches, conceding in each of their last 12 at St Mary’s.
● Wolves have won three of their six Premier League games under Julen Lopetegui (D1 L2), one more than they had in 15 games under Bruno Lage/Steve Davis this term (W2 D4 L9). They’ve scored seven goals in their six games under the Spaniard, just one fewer than in their first 15.
● Southampton have won fewer home points than any other side in England’s top four tiers this season (6 – W1 D3 L6). However, Wolves have won just one of their 10 Premier League away games this term, with no side winning fewer on the road.
● Southampton have conceded a league-high 13 goals from crosses in the Premier League this season, with two of their three shipped against Brentford last time out coming from a cross. However, just one of Wolves’ 15 Premier League goals this season has been from a cross, with only West Ham netting fewer such goals (0).
● Wolves remain the lowest goalscorers in the Premier League this season with 15 goals, though 20% of their total came in their 3-0 win against Liverpool last time out.
● Wolves have the lowest shot conversion rate in the Premier League this season (6.2%), netting 15 goals from 243 attempts. However, under Julen Lopetegui it’s 10.6% (66 shots, 7 goals), compared to 4.5% before his arrival (177 shots, 8 goals).
● Southampton striker Che Adams has scored more goals in five League Cup games this season (5) than he has in 20 Premier League appearances (4). All four of his league goals have also come away from home this season.
● The two players with the most shots on target without scoring so far in the Premier League this season are Southampton’s Mohamed Elyounoussi and Wolves’ Diego Costa (8 each).
BOURNEMOUTH V NEWCASTLE
5.30pm We finish an intriguing Saturday in the Premier League with Bournemouth hosting Newcastle. This is another game that will have a big impact at both ends of the table, and Newcastle come into the game as the favourites at 1.6. To be honest, given how poor Bournemouth have been this season I expected Newcastle to be trading shorter. Bournemouth have dropping down the table like a stone since the season resumed – they’ve lost five of their six fixtures and are now starting the weekend sitting second bottom. Their performances have been poor, and they actually haven’t managed to score in five of the six games – the game they did manage to score in finished 1-1 with Nottingham Forest. Their xG figures are very poor, as they have been all season really, and the reality is that the squad just doesn’t look up to Premier League standard. They are creating an average xG of 0.9 and conceding an average of 1.8. Conceding close to two goals and not even creating one always means disaster really no matter what league you are in. When you compare their performances with Newcastle it’s night-and-day in the difference.
Newcastle have very close to the opposite stats. They are creating an average xG of 1.9 going forward this season and only conceding 1.1. They deserve to be sitting in the Top Four, and they have an excellent chance of staying there too in my opinion. Champions League football would be a huge success, especially with the amount of money they have backing them now. They have dropped a few points recently, but their performances have still be excellent. They were very unlucky to draw 0-0 with Leeds and Crystal Palace because they finished those games with xG figures of 2.85 and 1.78. The games against Arsenal and West Ham were pretty even, and their most disappointing draw was definitely against West Ham last weekend. Bournemouth have been so poor at the back, it’s hard to see them not giving Newcastle a host of chances here and the 1.6 is worth a Max Bet in my opinion. I can’t see past the Newcastle win.
The Striker Says:
Five points win Newcastle to beat Bournemouth at 1.6 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BouNew
FACTMAN MATCH STATS
● After winning two of their first three Premier League games against Newcastle (L1), Bournemouth are now winless in their last six against the Magpies (D3 L3).
● Newcastle have never failed to score in their five away league games against Bournemouth (W2 D2 L1), winning their last visit 4-1 in July 2020.
● Bournemouth have won just one of their last 12 Premier League games (D2 L9), beating Everton 3-0 in November. The Cherries are winless since the competition resumed after the World Cup (D1 L5), netting just one goal in this run.
● Newcastle are unbeaten in their last 16 Premier League games (W9 D7), the longest current run without defeat in the competition. The Magpies haven’t conceded the first goal in any of their last 14 league games, with Bournemouth the last side to open the scoring against them back in September.
● Bournemouth have conceded more Premier League goals than any other side this season (43), while Newcastle have conceded the fewest in the division (12). Indeed, Bournemouth had conceded as many goals as the Magpies have all season in their first three-and-a-half games.
● Newcastle have drawn more Premier League games than any other side this season (10), with their 10 draws in 21 games as many as they had in the whole of last season. Indeed, four of the Magpies’ last five league games have finished level, with the other settled by an 89th minute strike.
● Bournemouth are the only side yet to have at least 200 shots in the Premier League this season, with their 179 in total at least 31 fewer than any other side. At the other end, the Cherries have also faced more shots than any other side this term (341).
● Newcastle striker Callum Wilson scored 41 goals in 126 Premier League games for Bournemouth. He could become the fourth player to score a Premier League goal both for and against the Cherries, along with Jermain Defoe, Glenn Murray and Matt Ritchie, with the latter also scoring against them for Newcastle.
● After winning just two of his first 10 matches against sides he’s formerly managed (D2 L6, all vs Burnley between 2013 and 2020), Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has won three of his last four against his former clubs (D1).
● With two goals against Southampton in the EFL Cup, and an assist against West Ham last time out, Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff has been involved in as many goals in his last two games as he had in his previous 38 in all competitions (1 goal, 2 assists).
