Live

Repeat: OTB Breakfast

12:00 AM-02:00 AM

Repeat: OTB Breakfast
Advertisement
Soccer

Weekend in Numbers: Arsenal's goalless run against Chelsea and Everton's love of leaving it late

The Premier League returns this weekend with a big clash on Sunday between Chelsea and Arsenal.&n...



Weekend in Numbers: Arsenal...
Soccer

Weekend in Numbers: Arsenal's goalless run against Chelsea and Everton's love of leaving it late

The Premier League returns this weekend with a big clash on Sunday between Chelsea and Arsenal. 

There are, however, a number of other fixtures going ahead too, with some interesting nuggets to be found among all the statistics.

Norwich a tougher test at home

Klopp has been having his struggles with fitting Christian Benteke into his system at Anfield, but despite that the striker still seems able to find the back of the net...provided it's not a one on one.

He missed another good chance right at the end against Exeter on Wednesday night, but despite that profligacy, he still has six goals in the league, making him their top scorer. 

Norwich's away record is nothing short of atrocious, having lost seven of their last eight and conceding 28 goals on the road, but at home they're much stronger, where they've conceded only ten and have kept two clean sheets on the bounce. With a misfiring frontline, Liverpool may not find the back of the net in this fixture with the same regularity that they did when Luis Suarez was at his lethal best up front for them. 

Everton leaving it (too) late

The new manager bounce has already given Swansea a bit of a lift, as Fracnesco Guidolin watched his side triumph 1-0 over Watford on Monday night thanks to an Ashley Williams header, despite the fact that the players weren't too sure who he was

Everton, on the other hand, have seen plenty of criticism after they once again displayed an inability to see out a game when leading. In the first half of the season, they have lost 14 points from winning positions, and much like their Merseyside neighbours, they're not great at defending set pieces. 

The worrying trend for Roberto Martinez will be the tendency to concede late goals, and the fact that they get involved in high scoring draws very regularly. 

On the flip side, they also find the back of the net late on, and since the start of the season, they have scored or conceded crucial goals after the 80th minute against Watford, Crystal Palace, Newcastle, West Brom, Stoke, Leicester, Bournemouth and Chelsea.

However, in those few games they have also conceded 18 goals, and with Swansea coming to town, who have kept four clean sheets in their last six games, the closing stages of this match could get very interesting indeed.

John Terry scored an injury-time equaliser for Chelsea against Everton last weekend. Picture by: Matt Dunham / AP/Press Association Images

The record books don't read kindly for Arsenal

The last time Arsenal beat Chelsea in the Premier League was back in 2011, when they came out on top in a 5-3 thriller, with a hat-trick from Robin Van Persie helping them on their way. 

While his record against Jose Mourinho is not great (just one win in 15 attempts) his record against Chelsea as a whole isn't very strong either, with his only league victory coming against Andre Villas-Boas. Not only that, but they haven't scored against their London rivals n the league since 2013, when Theo Walcott found the back of the net in a 2-1 loss. 

While Chelsea have been having a very poor season, the introduction of Guus Hiddink as manager has steadied the ship somewhat and they have gone on a run of two wins and four draws in their last six games. Hardly earth-shattering stuff, but it makes them the only undefeated team in that same period in the league. 

Don't be surprised by the odd red card either - Gibbs was sent off for Arsenal in 2014 in this fixture, while Gabriel also saw red earlier this season. Then of course, there was this...

Has the worm turned for Aston Villa?

Nemanja Vidic, who is now a free agent, may be joining Aston Villa from Inter if the gossip columns are to be believed, and while he looked off the pace when he was last in the Premier League, an experienced player could be a great help as Villa finally look to be putting some points together. 

Importantly for them, they've come away from their last two games with a win and a draw, and looked more like a team that can actually play football, as opposed to the disorganised rabble they were up to that point. 

That may be the effects of Remi Garde finally kicking in and this midlands derby would be a further boost if they can win, but standing in their way is Tony Pulis and West Bromwich Albion. 

While most people associate Pulis and his sides with being difficult to score against, they have kept just one clean sheet in their last 12 games, while Villa have scored in five of their last six. 

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Soccer