Related items

• Al-Ittihad 2-1 Al-Nassr: Bergwijn nets last-gasp winner for leaders

  Steven Bergwijn's last-gasp winner earned Al-Ittihad a huge victory in their quest for the Saudi Pro League title, beating Al-Nassr 2-1 at King Abdullah Sports City on Friday. 

  Karim Benzema had given the hosts a 55th-minute lead before Cristiano Ronaldo levelled two minutes later, but Bergwijn struck the decisive blow in second half stoppage time. 

  In a tepid opening 45 minutes, clear-cut chances were hard to come by, with Bergwijn and Benzema going closest for the hosts, but unable to trouble Bento. 

  However, Al-Ittihad got themselves in front shortly after the break when Muhannad Al Shanqiti picked out Benzema, with the Frenchman on hand to tuck the ball home.

  But the hosts' joy was short-lived after Angelo saw his effort cleared off the line by Danilo Pereira, before the Brazilian laid the ball back to Ronaldo to level the scoring. 

  With the game looking to end all square, Al-Ittihad stole the three points at the death as Bergwijn cut inside before curling a right-footed effort into the far-left corner. 

  The result moved Al-Ittihad three points clear at the summit, though Al-Hilal can go level with them with a win over Al-Raed on Saturday. Al-Nassr, meanwhile, stayed in fourth. 

  Data Debrief: Bergwijn bursts Ronaldo's bubble

  Al-Ittihad have often been second best in their encounters with Al-Nassr, but they earned an impressive victory against Ronaldo's side, though it may not have been deserved. 

  They managed an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.66 from their 11 shots compared to Al-Nassr's 1.2 from the same number of attempts. 

  Benzema also ended his goal drought against Al-Nassr, having failed to score against them in his previous game against them. The former Madrid striker ended the game with a team-high xG of 0.36, while also having more shots (seven) and touches in the opposition box (four) than any of his team-mates. 

  Al-Ittihad have now won their last nine league matches, their second-longest streak in the competition after 10 wins between October 2021 and February 2022, while also triumphing in their eighth-straight home match in the Pro League. 

• The Numbers Game: Can Tottenham get back on track against Chelsea?

  When Brennan Johnson tucked in Tottenham's fourth in their demolition of Manchester City a couple of weeks ago, few would have expected the pressure would soon be mounting on Ange Postecoglou.

  Yet after Thursday's tame performance in a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth, the Australian faced jeers from a section of the travelling Spurs fans at the Vitality Stadium.

  Spurs are now winless in their last three games in all competitions, having drawn against Roma in the Europa League and then Fulham in the Premier League. Before that stunning win at Man City, Tottenham also slipped to a 2-1 home loss to Ipswich Town.

  Tottenham are back at home on Sunday, but they will go up against one of the Premier League's form teams.

  Enzo Maresca declared that "Chelsea are back" after a 5-1 win at bottom-of-the-league Southampton moved the Blues into second on Wednesday, seven points behind leaders Liverpool.

  Will Chelsea make it four top-flight wins on the spin, or can Spurs get back on track?

  What's expected?

  Chelsea are made the favourites by the Opta supercomputer, though the model expects a hard-fought encounter.

  The Blues are given a win probability of 43.2%, while Tottenham came out on top in 32.7% of the data-led simulations. There is a 24.1% chance of a draw.

  Tottenham have won just one of their last 11 Premier League games against Chelsea (D2 L8), picking up a 2-0 home win in February 2023.

  After a run of just two wins in 13 Premier League away games against Tottenham between 2006 and 2018 (D5 L6), Chelsea have won four of their last five visits to Spurs (L1).

  Spurs were unbeaten in their first four Premier League London derbies under Postecoglou (W2 D2), but have lost seven of their last 13 (W4 D2). Five of their six London derby wins under the former Celtic boss have been at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, however.

  Chelsea have won 35 Premier League games and scored 116 Premier League goals against Tottenham, more than they have against any other opponent. It’s also the most goals Spurs have conceded against a side, while they have only lost more times to Manchester United (39).

  The Blues have also won five of their seven games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in all competitions (D1 L1), the most wins any visiting side has picked up at the ground since Spurs moved there in 2019.

  Hot and cold

  Spurs' inconsistency this season is why they are 10th heading into the weekend. Despite the unrest from some fans, Postecoglou will surely point to the fact that they are only three points off fifth-place Brighton.

  Postecoglou did perhaps not help himself by insisting he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club, but Spurs are still in the EFL Cup and are well placed in the Europa League. A top-four finish in the Premier League is unlikely but is far from out of sight.

  Only two teams - Chelsea (31) and Liverpool (29) - have scored more Premier League goals than Spurs this season, but their issues have come at the other end of the pitch, by and large.

  Tottenham have kept just one clean sheet in their last 22 Premier League home games (4-0 vs Everton this season), a run which started with a 4-1 loss against Chelsea last November. Indeed, since the start of November 2023, no side currently in England’s top four tiers have recorded fewer home league shutouts than Spurs.

  Spurs have lost seven of their last 11 Premier League away games (W3 D1), while they have not won on the road when conceding first in the competition since a 5-2 win at Burnley in September 2023 (D2 L8 since).

  Postecoglou will likely be glad to be back on home turf this time out. That being said, they have taken just one point from their last two top-flight matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

  But if the fans can get behind them, then Spurs have a great weapon in their arsenal: their pressing.

  Spurs have forced 142 high turnovers in the league this term, more than any other team. However, only two of those have resulted in a goal.

   

  Maresca's magic touch

  In all competitions, Chelsea have scored 57 goals in 22 games this season, which is already seven more than they scored in 2022-23 (50 in 50 games). Their current goals-per-game ratio of 2.6 is their best in a single season in their entire history.

  Goals have come from across their squad, too. The Blues have had 10 different goalscorers in the top tier.

  Cole Palmer leads the way with nine, while the in-form Nicolas Jackson has eight. Noni Madueke has netted five times and Enzo Fernandez, who has also proved a creative force, providing six assists in his last five league games, has scored twice.

  Meanwhile, only Erling Haaland (17) and Mohamed Salah (15) have scored more goals in all competitions among Premier League players this season than Christopher Nkunku (12) – the Frenchman has now found the net in eight of his last nine starts, scoring 11 times.

   

  Chelsea are not only the league's leading scorers, they have also created the highest expected goals (xG) total at 29.8.

  They have had 213 shots, the fifth-highest tally in the competition. Their xG per shot comes out at 0.13, which means that, on average, each of their attempts has a 13% chance of going in.

  Only Liverpool (57) have had more big chances than the Blues (51), meanwhile, and given they are going up against such a fragile defence, Maresca's attackers should be licking their lips.

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Tottenham - Brennan Johnson 

  Johnson has scored three goals across his last five home appearances in the Premier League, more than across his previous 24 outings at home in the competition for Spurs and Nottingham Forest (two goals).

  Chelsea - Nicolas Jackson

  Jackson has scored four goals in his two Premier League games against Spurs, netting a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture last season.

• Arteta wants Arsenal to be 'kings of everything' after Man Utd showing

  Mikel Arteta said he wants Arsenal to be the "kings of everything" after the Gunners were praised for their effectiveness on set-pieces in their win over Manchester United. 

  Arsenal handed Ruben Amorim his first defeat as United boss on Wednesday, with Jurrien Timber and William Saliba on target as both goals came from corners. 

  The Gunners have utilised this weapon well under Arteta, scoring more goals from corners (22) than any other team in the Premier League since the start of last season. 

  It was also the first time the Red Devils had conceded two goals in this manner since a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea in 2014 (two), with Samuel Eto'o scoring both. 

  After the match, former Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov labelled Arsenal as the "new Stoke City", though Arteta took those comments as a compliment towards his side. 

  "We want to be the kings of everything," Arteta said. 

  "On set pieces, the best in the world; on high press, the best in the world; attacking in open spaces, the best in the world. Best atmosphere and stadium - the best at everything.

  "Before, we didn't score enough, we didn't challenge, we didn't win big games for 20 years. We want to be the best at everything."

  For the ultimate comparison, Stoke's Premier League ratio under former manager Tony Pulis was 43.1%, with 81 set-piece goals from a total of 188 goals.

  Arsenal appointed Nicolas Jover as their set-piece coach in July 2021, with the Gunners scoring 26 goals from such routines in the Premier League in the 2023-24 season. 

  Along with that, 16 of those goals came from corners, matching the all-time top-flight record set by Oldham Athletic in 1992-93 and West Brom in 2016-17. 

  Arteta was asked when he realised the importance of set-pieces in the modern game, with the Arsenal boss citing his time at Everton as a player as to where that began. 

  "Probably when I was a player, because I understood at Everton how important they were and how difficult it was for the opposition," Arteta added. 

  When I came here as well, we had a period in some big matches where we suffered and were out. I went to City and immediately realised we had to do something about it.