Premier League statistics preview: French and German Arsenal players like scoring against Fulham; Manchester United look to break Chelsea drought; Liverpool wary of Christian Benteke
Providers of the largest online database for detailed football statistics WhoScored.com preview all of the matches in gameweek 22 of the Premier League
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Your support makes all the difference.Sunderland are showing clear signs of improvement under Gus Poyet, losing just one of their last 9 matches in all competitions. Nevertheless they host a Southampton side that have only lost 2 of the 12 league games that they have played against sides that sit below them in the table, winning 7 of those.
There has not been a goal in the last 232 minutes of action between West Ham and Newcastle, with the suspended Kevin Nolan the last man to score in this fixture, against his former club. The Hammers are only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference despite no side in the Premier League having kept more clean sheets this season (9).
Between them, Norwich and Hull have won just 2 of their last 16 Premier League games (1 apiece) with Steve Bruce's side having been all but solely reliant on their home form thus far. Norwich will hope to move level on points with the Tigers this weekend then, having conceded just 31.4 per cent of their goals against tally at Carrow Road this season.
Manchester City will be looking to protect their 100 per cent league record at home when they host Cardiff this weekend, with no side scoring fewer goals on the road than the Welsh outfit this season (5). They'll be optimistic at either end, with Alvaro Negredo scoring 17 goals in 16 competitive matches at the Etihad Stadium this season.
The main talking point when Stoke travel to Selhurst Park to play Crystal Palace will be the fact that Tony Pulis will come up against his former employers. Mark Hughes has been credited with improving Stoke's style of play since his arrival in the summer but the Potters had more points at this stage last season (29) than they do in the current campaign (22).
Arsenal are back at the Emirates having not lost at home since the opening day of the season and will be confident of extending that run this weekend. Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski have each scored three goals in three appearances against Fulham and the Gunners’ last 8 goals against the Cottagers have all been scored by either Frenchmen or Germans.
Liverpool have won 7 home games on the bounce but face an Aston Villa side against whom they've struggled at Anfield of late. The Reds have won just one of the last 4 encounters between the two at on Merseyside, while Christian Benteke, who was back on the scoresheet last time out, has scored 3 in 3 against the Reds.
Tottenham have won each of their last 4 Premier League meetings with Swansea conceding just twice in the process, with one of those netted by Gylfi Sigurdsson who has since moved to White Hart Lane. Laudrup's side are on the longest current winless streak in the league (7 matches) despite boasting the best possession (59.7 per cent) and pass accuracy (86.5 per cent) figures in the division.
Manchester United have played against a Chelsea side led by Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge 4 times and failed to score a single goal in those matches. Danny Welbeck has scored 6 goals in 6 leagues matches in the absence of Robin van Persie but the Blues have dropped just two points at home all season and are unbeaten in 5 matches against United in all competitions.
Romelu Lukaku will return to face a West Brom side for whom he netted 17 league goals last season but the Belgian has scored just once in his last 8 appearances for Everton. The Baggies will be playing their first match under new manager Pepe Mel's tutelage, hoping to win back-to-back league matches at the Hawthorns for the first time this season.
@martinlaurence7
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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