Premier League statistical preview, featuring West Ham vs Newcastle, Southampton vs Manchester City and Tottenham vs Everton
WhoScored.com return to rattle off the stats in the Premier League
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West Ham vs Newcastle
Remember when Alan Pardew was on the brink of the sack at Newcastle? Remember when onlookers suggested that they had read the words ‘Yep he’s gone – get him out’ come from owner Mike Ashley’s mouth after the dreadful 1-0 defeat to Stoke? Although Pardew still struggles to fully win over the Magpies faithful, he will surely have them coming round to his powers, with Newcastle looking for their seventh consecutive win this weekend.
They face a tough task at Upton Park against a West Ham side whose defeat at Everton last week – with thanks to a clearly offside opening goal – was their first loss in 6 matches. Few would have predicted prior to the season than this fixture, at the end of November, would be pitting sixth against fifth. Newcastle have a decent record at the Boleyn Ground, where they have won 4 and lost only 1 of their last 8 matches. Injuries could cost them though, with as many as 13 Newcastle players potentially missing out, and West Ham, with the most headed goals (8) and goals from outside the box (5) in the Premier League this season, could take advantage.
Southampton vs Manchester City
With every passing week it is hard to shake the inevitability that Southampton’s incredible start to the season will soon come to an end, and yet they continue to impress and continue to win. Now 12 games into the campaign after they spent the summer being torn apart, they remain second in the table and dreaming of European – or even Champions League – qualification.
What should be clarified of their start, however, is that the two games they have lost have been their only two against any of last season’s top 7. Both Liverpool and Tottenham overcame Ronald Koeman’s men, and Saints now face a run of games in which 4 of their next 5 opponents finished above them last season, starting with Manchester City on Sunday.
City themselves will be buoyed after a rousing 3-2 win over Bayern Munich that kept their own European hopes alive, but it was once again Sergio Agüero who they relied upon to bail them out. The Argentine has scored 17 of his team’s 31 goals (54.8%) in the Premier and Champions League this season, and having netted their goal in this fixture last season, he will pose a real threat to the hosts’ impeccable defensive record.
Tottenham vs Everton
Tottenham return this weekend to the ground that has seen suffer so much in recent weeks: White Hart Lane. As Emmanuel Adebayor pointed out, the Spurs players are finding it difficult playing in front of an increasingly frustrated home faithful in north London, and with more home losses (4) than any other team in the top flight, the problems are glaringly apparent.
This week Mauricio Pochettino’s team, languishing in 10 place, host Everton this weekend, with only goal difference separating the teams. Neither will be content with their early season endeavours thus far, and neither, given what has happened so far, would likely settle for a draw in this one.
Both teams come into the game after a Europa League clash on Thursday. Spurs have struggled terribly to deal with the schedule the tournament throws up for them, losing 4 of the 6 games they have played directly after continental action this season. Everton, meanwhile, have had difficulty adjusting, winning just 1 of their 4 Premier League matches immediately following Europa League games this season. The winner of this match could well be the side that copes better with the adversities of the Europa League.
All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings.
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