Welcome to EPL matchday seven, another weekend that promises a lot of exciting football in England. This weekend, a lot of teams will be desperate to find their winning form. And as usual, DATAPHYTE reviewed what to watch out for as we approach that fixture packed period of the year.
Sheffield United saw under 3.5 goals scored in 100% of their six Premier League games this season;Burnley have yet to score a single Premier League goal at Turf Moor this season;Arsenal have lost three of their last four in the Premier League, with all defeats coming against teams that finished in the top five last season;Brighton scored in 100% of their Premier League fixtures this season;Leeds have scored 12 goals in the Premier League this season, the most by a newly promoted team since Middlesbrough (also 12) in the 1992-93 league home games.
Saturday 31 October 2020
Sheffield United VS Manchester City, 1:30 pm
Bramall Lane will host Saturday’s early start in the Premier League with Sheffield United welcoming Manchester City. This game is of the utmost importance for both teams.
The Blades have only picked up one point from their six league games this season to sit 19th in the table.
Meanwhile, City is yet to find its groove in this season of the Premier League. They have taken 8th points from 18, sitting 13th place in the table.
But regardless of Man City’s dismal performance, Sheffield United looks destined to lose their third straight meeting against Man City. Howbeit, the margin of victory is likely to be slim again. The reason for the low scoreline is not far-fetched. First, Sheffield United looks well-organised at the back. A strategy that has given them an average of not over two goal concessions per game. More so, the Manchester giants are averaging just 1.6 goals per 90 minutes in the league this term. With Man City’s strike duo Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero sidelined because of injuries, we do not expect a superfluity of goal-laden action.
Moreover, in the last five meetings between Sheffield United and Manchester City, Man City scored just three goals combined in two meetings with the Blades last term. Also, Man City won three five meetings with all the meetings ending in less than 2.5 goals. Considering these statistics, we predict a Man City to win and under 2.5 goals.
Burnley VS Chelsea, 4:00 pm
Burnley will aim to win their first Premier League game of the season at the sixth attempt when they welcome Chelsea at Turf Moor. Monday night’s 1-0 defeat against Tottenham means the Clarets have just one point from five matches. And they face another tough task here.
For Chelsea, the visit to out of form Burnley will be an opportunity to end a two-game winless run in the premier league. Despite Chelsea being winless in their last two games, positives are high owing to defensive strides. The Blues have kept three clean-sheets on the spin across all competitions: one in the premier league against arch-rivals Man United, and the other two in the UEFA champions league.
Notwithstanding Chelsea’s new found defensive nature, we expect a less conservative, at Turf Moor today.
Chelsea has won 4 and drawn 1 of their last meetings with Burnley, and each of these meetings has ended in over 2.5 goals. Based on this, we forecast Chelsea to win and over 2.5 goals.
Liverpool VS Westham, 6:30 pm
Liverpool will aspire to win their fourth game on the bounce in all competitions as they welcome West Ham United to Anfield for Saturday’s top-flight showdown.
The hosts enjoyed a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United last weekend, whereas West Ham’s most recent fixture saw them hold Manchester City to a 1-1 draw in the league. West Ham’s draw against Manchester City last weekend stretched their unbeaten run in the Premier League to four matches.
West Ham has also taken eight points from an unbeaten four-match stretch against Wolves (0-4), Leicester (0-3), Tottenham (3-3) and Man City (1-1).
On the flip side, Liverpool won six of their last seven Premier League meetings with West Ham. A victory should follow at Anfield, where the Reds have won 28 of their last 29 league assignments overall. But West Ham may feel a tad optimistic about their form and a chance of stopping the Reds in their tracks when they make the journey to Anfield this weekend.
Liverpool who have kept just one clean sheet in six Premier League fixtures this season could have a hard time keeping a dangerous West Ham team out at Anfield today. More so, West ham will look to test the defensive resolve of Liverpool without Virgil van Dijk’s and Fabinho-both absent from injuries sustained in the mid-week.
Hence, owing to Liverpool’s lackluster back line and West Ham’s scoring streak, we predict that both teams will score in this game.
Sunday 1 November 2020 Fixtures
Aston Villa VS Southampton, 1:00 pm
Aston Villa’s early season winning streak came to a shuddering halt last weekend, after suffering a 3-0 home defeat to Leeds United. Noteworthy, it was the first time Aston Villa failed to score a goal in a premier league match this season. However, we expect them to shake off the defeat to Leeds and rediscover their scoring form against an expansive Southampton team on Sunday.
Following a three win streak in four matches, Southampton travels to the Midlands in high spirits. The high-energy Saints followed up wins to nil against West Brom (2-0) and Burnley (0-1) with a well-earned point at Chelsea. Next on the list was an impressive 2-0 win performance against early pace-setters Everton.
With the preceding in mind, one can look forward to an open, entertaining clash at Villa Park as both teams view this fixture as a game they can win. While both teams have averaged 3.1 goals per game this season, Southampton has won four of their last five meetings with Aston Villa. Based on these reviewed statistics, we surmise Southampton to win and over 2.5 goals.
Newcastle VS Everton 3:00 pm
Early pace-setters Everton will hope to return to winning ways when they travel to St James Park on Sunday. Everton remain top of the table despite losing 2-0 to Southampton. The defeat to Southampton was their first in any competition this season.
In Newcastle, Everton will face an opponent yet to find any consistency but can grind out results when required. Newcastle churned out 2 points from 2 draws this season. One was a 1-1 draw against Wolves last week and the other a 1-1 draw with Tottenham on matchday 3.
Despite their defensive leanings, Newcastle has scored in all but one of their six Premier League assignments so far this season. More so, they haven’t been all that successful in keeping things tight at the back this season. And this is clear from their return of just one clean sheet from six games.
Meanwhile, Everton has scored at least once in eight of the nine competitive matches they’ve played in since the summer. Thus, one can expect that Everton should find a space or two to exploit between Newcastle Defensive ranks. With these considerations and the fact that both teams have scored in their last four meetings, we predict both teams to score in this encounter too.
Manchester United VS Arsenal 5:30 pm
This will be the 233rd competitive meeting between Manchester United and Arsenal. United are unbeaten in their previous 13 home games against the Gunners in the Premier League. Although, the north London outfit has won two of their last three league contests with United.
But the Gunners offensive prowess is lacking at the moment. Still, they only failed to score in two of their six league games. And thus should be able to trouble a Red Devils back line that has conceded 12 goals in five top flight assignments.
Nonetheless, with four wins, one draw and just one defeat from their last six matches in all competitions, United are the form favourites. In contrast, Arsenal has won two, lost three and drawn one of their last six matches. Not to mention the Gunners lost all three games against the top five finishing teams last season. Counting on form record, United, who won six of their last eight fixtures in all competitions, are likely to continue their excellent streak by taking all three against Arsenal.
Tottenham VS Brighton 8:15 pm
In a race to end the four-game winless streak, Brighton heads to White Hart Lane. Brighton has been unlucky this season. And to be honest, their recent results don’t reciprocate the spells of quality they have shown.
By contrast, Tottenham have had a decent start to the season and come into the game losing just one game, 1-0 to Everton in their opening match. Aside from the 5-2 win over Southampton and their 6-1 victory over Manchester United, Spurs haven’t been their dominating selves.
Still, although the Spurs are yet to find their fangs, a defeat to Brighton seems like a stretch. Tottenham’s fearsome combination of Kane and Son should have more than enough firepower to secure the points on Sunday.
However, Tottenham have kept just one clean sheet in six Premier League games and just two in 12 matches in all competitions this season. And their habit of leaving gaps to exploit at the back should allow Brighton to create opportunities this weekend.
Brighton has scored in every game so far this season, so a Spurs win and both teams to score could be a possibility.
Monday 2 November 2020
Fulham VS West Brom 6:30 pm
Fulham and West Brom will be desperate to pick up their first win of the Premier League season when they play against each other at Craven Cottage on Monday night. This game will be a crucial game for the Premier League survival hopes of both teams. Fulham has taken just one point from six games. The one point came in their draw against struggling Sheffield.
Contrariwise, West Brom has had a better start to the season with three points from six games; this should be enough to keep them out of the drop zone for now.
And seeing as both teams drew 1-1 in two meetings last season, we expect a similar scoreline for this game.
Leeds United VS Leicester City 9:00 pm
The game between Leeds and Leicester will arguably be a tough one to predict, as both teams look to continue their promising starts to the season.
Both teams are coming off impressive results last weekend, with Leeds cruising to a 3-0 win at Aston Villa and Leicester enjoying a 1-0 victory at Arsenal.
For Leeds, they are the first promoted team to score at least three goals in half of their first six Premier League matches. Leeds have scored 12 goals in the Premier League this season, the most by a newly promoted team since Middlesbrough in 1992-93. So, an entertaining game looks likely.
Eight of their 12 goals have come in the second half, while Leicester have the best second-half record in the league, scoring 11 goals after the break. Considering the scoring form of both teams, we settle for both teams to score.