EPL

Premier League data dive: Arsenal's set-piece setback, Tottenham hunted by Foxes

By Sports Desk February 11, 2023

Arsenal dropped points in the title race on a busy Saturday in the Premier League, denied by an Ivan Toney equaliser as Brentford drew 1-1 at Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta's had a better day of it than north London rivals Tottenham, though, as Spurs were thrashed 4-1 at Leicester City, despite taking an early lead.

Elsewhere, Chelsea were denied a win at West Ham after Emerson Palmieri equalised Joao Felix's first goal of his loan spell from Atletico Madrid.

Southampton's woes continued as they were beaten 2-1 at home against Wolves, despite taking the lead and having a man advantage for over an hour after Mario Lemina was sent off for the visitors.

Newcastle United's run of draws continued as they were held 1-1 at Bournemouth, while Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion also could not be separated, and Fulham beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Craven Cottage.

Here, Stats Perform looks at Saturday's biggest games, with the guidance of Opta data.

West Ham 1-1 Chelsea: Blues struggle to handle Hammers

Graham Potter's Chelsea were left frustrated after a late claim for handball was denied at London Stadium, and this draw was the first in nine Premier League encounters between West Ham and Chelsea since a 0-0 in September 2018.

The Blues have drawn three consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since February 2012, and remarkably, there were no shots on target in the second half from either side, being just the second Premier League match where that has occurred this season after Southampton v Nottingham Forest in January.

Emerson became the first former Chelsea player to score his first Premier League goal for a club against the Blues since Frank Lampard for Manchester City in September 2014.

On his return from suspension, Joao Felix became the 12th different player to score for Chelsea in the Premier League this season, with no side having had more in 2022-23 (excluding own goals), which perhaps is not a surprise when you consider the number of players they now have.

Arsenal 1-1 Brentford: Toney time dents Gunners' title push

It seemed like business as usual when Leandro Trossard gave the hosts the lead, but this ended up being the first time Arsenal had failed to win a Premier League home game in which they scored first since January 2022. They had won 10 in a row at Emirates Stadium when opening the scoring before this game.

Brentford showed great resilience and have now scored 15 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season, with no side netting more (including penalties).

That could also be something for Arsenal to work on, as each of the last three Premier League goals the league leaders have conceded have come from headers, despite not conceding any beforehand this season.

Only Harry Kane (nine) has found the net away from home more often in the Premier League this season than Brentford striker Toney (seven), whose equaliser broke Gunners hearts.

Leicester City 4-1 Tottenham: Lloris-less Spurs hammered by Foxes

A high-scoring game was hardly a shock at King Power Stadium. There have been 128 goals scored in 34 Premier League matches between Leicester and Tottenham, with the average of 3.8 per game the highest such ratio among fixtures to be played more than 20 times in the competition.

Spurs, who were without injured goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, have lost two of their last three away games in the Premier League (W1), conceding four goals in each defeat, having only lost two of their previous 14 such games beforehand (W7 D5). The other recent heavy loss was 4-2 at Manchester City.

Despite having a disappointing campaign so far, Leicester here became the first team in Premier League history to score three first-half goals in back-to-back matches when conceding first in each game, having also done so at Aston Villa last time out.

Leicester's James Maddison, who was linked with a move to Antonio Conte's Spurs this week, scored and had an assist. Maddison has been directly involved in 11 goals in his last 10 Premier League starts (seven goals, four assists), scoring in each of his last three league appearances against Spurs.

Southampton 1-2 Wolves: Jones under pressure as Saints lose to 10 men

Head coach Nathan Jones is not the first Jones to struggle at Southampton. Saints have lost five consecutive Premier League home games for the first time since April-August 1998, when they were under the leadership of Dave Jones.

Wolves fought from a goal and a man down to win against their favourite Premier League opposition, having won each of their last five meetings, the first time they have ever been victorious in five consecutive games against a specific opponent in the competition.

It is clear where a big problem lies for Saints, having only kept one clean sheet in their last 28 Premier League matches (1-0 v Bournemouth in October).

Jan Bednarek found his own net, again, and has now scored four own goals as a Southampton player in the Premier League; the joint-most of any player for the club in the competition, along with Jos Hooiveld.

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    A frustrated Gerardo Martino admitted Inter Miami fell "too short" after being knocked out in the first round of the MLS playoffs by Atlanta United.

    Miami won the first match in the best-of-three series at Chase Stadium, but subsequently lost the next two, being beaten 3-2 in the decider on Saturday.

    Bartosz Slisz netted the winner in the 76th minute, but the hosts struggled to find an equaliser that would have forced penalties, with Brad Guzen in inspired form as he thwarted their attack.

    It is arguably one of the biggest upsets in playoffs history, with Miami the favourites to lift the MLS Cup after a record-breaking regular season saw them claim 74 points in the Eastern Conference.

    "In this last part of the year, we get used to achieving the objectives that we set for ourselves, and we have not been able to achieve the most important one," Martino told reporters.

    "If you think about where we were in November last year, obviously there is progress as far as the club is concerned, not just the team.

    "If you think about the expectations we had for this playoff, obviously we have fallen too short."

    While the loss has come as an obvious shock, Atlanta have actually now won three matches against Miami this season.

    Jamal Thiare scored two goals in two minutes to give the Five Stripes the lead in the first half, having also hit the post moments before Miami had opened the scoring.

    They face another trip to Florida to face Orlando City in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, and the forward is excited to see what else Atlanta can do.

    "It took everyone's special amount of running and giving everything that they got," said Thiare. "Everyone's held each other accountable, fighting when we're basically backs against the wall.

    "We didn't want to finish the season like this, so it was a good effort in training, but it was really something that the group discovered along the lines of the last few games. And something great is igniting from all of this."

  • Postecoglou defends Spurs mentality after Lloris 'second best' comments Postecoglou defends Spurs mentality after Lloris 'second best' comments

    Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has defended the club following comments made by former goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in his new book regarding the Champions League final in 2019.

    Lloris, who made 447 appearances for Spurs between 2012 and 2024, suggested his former club were happy to be second best, claiming chairman Daniel Levy gifted the players watches with ‘Champions League finalists’ engraved on them before they faced Liverpool five years ago.

    They went on to lose the final in Madrid 2-0. However, Postecoglou, who has questioned the club’s mentality himself, insists the period Lloris referred to should be looked back upon with pride.

    "There could have been a very successful period for the club. They came very close. We're talking about finishing runners-up in the Premier League, runners-up in the Champions League,” Postecoglou said.

    “It could have been a very different era and maybe, in retrospect, you would be looking at those things. It's easier to focus on the negatives when the outcomes are not what you want, but there was obviously a lot right at the time which got them close to the ultimate.

    “From my perspective, you don't put a limit on what you can achieve because if you do, potentially you might miss something that comes along your way."

    Spurs are aiming to avenge their midweek defeat to Galatasaray in the Europa League against strugglers Ipswich Town, who, along with Wolves, are yet to win in the Premier League this term.

    But despite the Tractor Boys’ form, Postecoglou is expecting a difficult test, lauding Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna for the “unbelievable” job he has done at Portman Road.

    "Yeah, I think every weekend, every league game, has its potential to hurt you if you're not at your best. Ipswich will be no different,” Postecoglou said.

    "They got close last week, close the week before. I think Kieran McKenna has done an unbelievable job. We're expecting a tough one at the weekend, our form at home has been pretty strong."

    While Ipswich remain winless upon their return to the top-flight, McKenna believes there have been signs of progress at the club.

    "I don't think you can always set an exact expectation or definition of performances because every game is different. One of our first goals is to be competitive in every match, and we're not too far away from that,” McKenna said.

    “Across the 10 games we have certainly been in the large majority of games. We would have liked to have won a couple by now but, also, we've only lost five out of 10 with what we have been through and the challenges we have faced over the early part of the season.

    "To pick up five results - certainly could have been one or two more - and to be as competitive as we have been, I think there are a lot of positives in there. We know there is another step to take to win games consistently in the Premier League.”

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Tottenham – Dominic Solanke

    After scoring three goals in his last two games for Spurs across all competitions, Solanke will be hoping to get his season up and running against Ipswich this weekend.

    But his work rate at the top end of the pitch has gone under the radar this term. He has applied more pressures in the final third than any other player in the Premier League this season (212).

    Ipswich – Leif Davis

    Davis has been a bright spark in a disappointing season for Ipswich thus far, creating more chances than any other defender in the Premier League so far this campaign (25).

    But he has not neglected his defensive responsibilities either. Only Sam Morsy (17) has won more tackles than Davis (12) for the Tractor Boys in the top-flight.

    MATCH PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM WIN

    Despite being heavily favoured by Opta’s data-led simulations, Tottenham have won just three of their 10 Premier League games against Ipswich (D3 L4). Excluding ever-present sides, it’s their lowest win rate against any opponent they’ve faced 10 or more times in the competition.

    And Spurs have also struggled after competing in the Europa League in midweek. They have lost their last two Premier League games at the weekend immediately following a European match, losing to Brighton and Crystal Palace. Only twice have they lost three consecutive such matches, doing so from December 2012 to March 2013 and from September to October 2019.

    They have also conceded the first goal in each of their last four top-flight home games but have come back to win the last three. No team has ever conceded first but gone on to win four consecutive home games in the competition before.

    However, Spurs have won 32 of their last 36 Premier League home games against promoted sides (D2 L2) and haven’t failed to score in any of their last 42 such games since a 1-0 loss to Wolves in December 2009.

    Ipswich remain winless in their 10 Premier League games this season (D5 L5), their longest run without a win from the start of a top-flight season. They have lost their last two away games 4-1 at West Ham and 4-3 at Brentford, last conceding four or more goals in three consecutive away league games in March 1964.

    The Tractor Boys have also struggled in recent visits to the capital. They have lost their last five Premier League away games against London sides, conceding at least two goals each time (16 in total). However, 33% of their Premier League wins in London have come against Spurs (2/6), including their last such victory in December 2001.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Tottenham – 71.2%

    Draw – 16.2%

  • Angers 2-4 Paris Saint-Germain: Lee and Barcola bag braces as Enrique's side restore six-point lead Angers 2-4 Paris Saint-Germain: Lee and Barcola bag braces as Enrique's side restore six-point lead

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    Luis Enrique's side did the damage in the first half at Stade Raymond Kopa, with Lee Kang-In and Bradley Barcola both scoring twice to extend their unbeaten start to the season.

    PSG broke through in the 17th minute through Lee, who doubled his and the visitors' tally when he turned in Marco Asensio's low cross three minutes later.

    Asensio was the provider again as the Ligue 1 leaders made it 3-0 just after the hour mark, with his centre diverted in by Barcola.

    The latter grabbed his second just before half-time when he headed in from Lee's cross.

    Angers made the scoreline more respectable in stoppage time, with Esteban Lepaul and Emmanuel Biumla halving the deficit for the hosts.

    Data Debrief: PSG make it 30 unbeaten on the road

    Now unbeaten in 30 away Ligue 1 matches, PSG are the first team in the top five European leagues to reach that mark since Napoli in 2018.

    Lee scored his first brace for the club, while Asensio assisted two goals in the same league match for the first time since doing so for Espanyol against Real Betis in October 2015 (three).

    Although, it was not all plain sailing for PSG, who conceded two goals in second-half stoppage time for only the second time in their history (also against Barcelona in the 2016-17 Champions League).

    As for Angers, they have become the first team in Ligue 1 history to lose 15 successive matches against the same opponent.

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