The Premier League is the most exciting league because in this league, any team can beat any team on a given day. There are certain things which defy logic and make it even more fascinating, like Luis Suarez ripping apart Norwich City, Sergio Aguero scoring for fun against Newcastle United, Diego Costa being unable to stop scoring past Swansea City. And this is not just limited to individual performances, there are certain teams which have traditionally been bogey teams (like West Ham United have been a bogey team for Chelsea in recent years) or some teams that just have the other teams’ number (like Liverpool being dominant in the Merseyside Derby, Arsenal’s extraordinary record versus Everton, and many more). These small things can be quite handy to us FPL managers regarding our transfer and captaincy decision, so in Part 1 of this article I will look at the Match Facts and Statistics of five of this Gameweek 8 fixtures to try to get some conclusions on what the Match Facts are saying for those fixtures.

 Brighton & Hove Albion vs West Ham United 

• Brighton won both Premier League matches against West Ham last season, scoring six goals, more than any against any other side in 2017-18.
• West Ham have lost all three of their top-flight visits to Brighton, losing in 1981-82, 1982-83 and 2017-18.
• Brighton have won four top-flight matches against West Ham, only winning more against Wolves (6).
• Brighton have lost just one of their last 16 league matches in October (W7 D8), a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal last season.
• Brighton have won two of their three Premier League games played on a Friday (L1), including a 3-0 win against West Ham last season.
• Brighton striker Glenn Murray has scored five goals in his last four league matches against West Ham, including three last season for the Seagulls.

Conclusion

• Match Facts suggest that there is strong chance of a Brighton win.
• Murray to score is a strong possibility.

Burnley vs Huddersfield Town 

• Both Premier League meetings between Burnley and Huddersfield ended 0-0 last season with just 27 shots attempted across the two games, a joint-low for a fixture in 2017-18 (also 27 shots in games between Everton and Huddersfield).
• Burnley are unbeaten in five league matches against Huddersfield (W3 D2 L0) since losing 2-1 in the Championship in November 2013.
• Should this game end goalless, Burnley v Huddersfield will be just the second fixture in Premier League history to see no goals in the first three meetings, along with Arsenal v QPR between 1992 and 1994.
• Burnley striker Chris Wood has scored eight goals in all competitions against Huddersfield during his time in English football, three more than against any other opponent.
• Burnley’s Matej Vydra has scored six goals in seven appearances against Huddersfield in all competitions, including a hat-trick in an FA Cup tie for Reading in January 2016.
• Huddersfield have lost their last four away league matches in October by an aggregate score of 1-13.

Conclusion

• Match Facts suggest Brighton to win or draw.
• Wood or Vydra to score is a strong possibility.

Crystal Palace vs Wolverhampton Wanderers 

• Crystal Palace have won their last three games against Wolves in all competitions, with this their first meeting since New Year’s Day 2013 in the Championship.
• If Crystal Palace fail to score, they will be the second team this season alone to fail to score in their opening four home Premier League games (after Huddersfield). This had only happened twice in the previous 119 English top-flight seasons combined before 2018-19 (West Brom in 1921-22 and Everton in 1998-99).
• Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha scored twice and assisted another in his two previous league appearances against Wolves, both in the Championship in 2012-13.

Conclusion

•  Match Facts suggest a Crystal Palace win (but these match facts data were before the Jorge Mendes effect at Wolverhampton Wanderers so they should be treated with caution).
• Zaha to get attacking returns as per the Match Facts.

Leicester City vs Everton 

• Leicester have lost just one of their last nine home Premier League matches against Everton (W3 D5), a 2-0 defeat on Boxing Day in 2016.
• Everton have won three of their last four Premier League games against Leicester (L1) having won just four of their first 20 between September 1994 and May 2016 (D13 L3).
• Leicester against Everton is the only fixture in Premier League history to have been played at least 20 times and seen more than 50% of those games end as draws (13 of 24, 54.2%), though none of the last six have been stalemates.
• In the Premier League, the team scoring first in this fixture has never gone on to lose the match, with Everton doing so 15 times (W7 D8) and Leicester seven times (W4 D3).
• Leicester striker Jamie Vardy has had a hand in six goals in six Premier League appearances against Everton (4 goals, 2 assists).
• Everton’s Theo Walcott has scored five Premier League goals against Leicester, only scoring more against West Ham (6).

Conclusion

• Overall Historical records indicate a Leicester win, but recent history suggests that an Everton win is also likely.
• Decent chances of Vardy or Walcott to get attacking returns.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Cardiff City

• This will be the third Premier League meeting between Spurs and Cardiff, with Spurs winning both matches 1-0 during the 2013-14 season.
• Cardiff are winless in seven matches against Spurs in all competitions (W0 D2 L5), scoring just once in those matches, a Paul Went goal in a 2-1 league defeat in January 1978.
• Spurs have won their last seven home matches in all competitions against Cardiff, scoring 19 goals and conceding just five.
• Spurs have won 13 of their last 15 home league matches against Welsh sides (D2) since Cardiff won 2-0 in a top-flight match in November 1954.
• Tottenham striker Harry Kane has scored against 26 of the 27 different sides he’s faced in the Premier League. The only side he’s yet to find the net against are Cardiff – he played just 16 minutes against them across two games in the 2013-14 campaign.

Conclusion

• High chances of a Spurs win according to Match Facts.

PS- Will Kane score vs Cardiff this weekend to complete his scoring record versus all 27 teams that he has faced in the Premier League?

What do you agree with, and what do you not agree with? How much do you think this kind of information can help us make useful predictions for our teams? What are your biggest takeaways?