Liverpool know better than most just how fine the margins are when it comes to Premier League success.

In missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City by one point last season, Jurgen Klopp's men were given a fairly brutal lesson in that regard.

A year on, it's Arsenal hoping to do what the Reds couldn't and beat City to the title, and whichever way their season ends, there is a huge possibility they will look back on Sunday's 2-2 draw at Liverpool as decisive.

You would have been forgiven for predicting an impressively comfortable away win, such were the two teams' respective performances in the first half.

Arsenal resembled the Liverpool of 12 months ago. They were furious in their pressing, electric and incisive on the ball.

Even if you'd seen Arsenal on a regular basis this season, the swagger with which they were playing at such a famously vociferous arena was outstanding, particularly when you also consider their dreadful record at Anfield.

Arsenal had lost each of their previous six away games against the Reds in the Premier League, while they had not won at Anfield since September 2012.

Liverpool, on the other hand, looked lost, confused, almost as if they were suffering from an identity crisis.

Of course, this certainly wasn't an isolated example of such a display, but this was the kind of occasion one expects to bring the best out of Anfield and the Reds.

Diogo Jota looked every inch a player without a goal in over a year as he failed to influence proceedings. Curtis Jones was similarly unconvincing, while Trent Alexander-Arnold was all over the place, struggling in his usual role and then taking up central positions that left gaping holes at the back.

The England right-back was left for dead by Gabriel Martinelli early on and then failed to track Gabriel Jesus at the back post as the striker failed to convert a Bukayo Saka cross.

Of course, by that point Arsenal were already ahead thanks to the lively Martinelli, who made the most of a kind ricochet to dart into the box and prod beyond Alisson in the eighth minute.

It was then 2-0 just before the half-hour mark. Jesus did apply the finish this time, heading in from Martinelli's cross as the Liverpool defence were out of sync once again.

But the contest seemed to flip in the 41st minute, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's fears of what he described as the Anfield "jungle" becoming reality.

Granit Xhaka was rather innocuously bundled over by Ibrahima Konate, but no free-kick followed, and he reacted with a forceful barge into the back of Alexander-Arnold, appearing to whack him with his forearm.

Alexander-Arnold retaliated with a shove of his own and the two went head-to-head. Referee Paul Tierney issued both a yellow card, but more significantly the incident appeared to get the home crowd engaged finally.

Suddenly there was also fire in the Liverpool ranks, and a minute later Salah nudged home from close range to breathe life into the contest, with Arsenal presumably delighted by the half-time whistle soon after.

That was followed by a downright bizarre incident that could have even helped Liverpool's siege mentality. Assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis appeared to elbow Andy Robertson in the face after being approached aggressively by the left-back, with the Reds left furious.

That fury was channelled well by Liverpool after the break, spending much of the second half in the ascendancy as they sought an equaliser.

Mohamed Salah failed to score it from the spot after a clumsy foul by Rob Holding on Jota, but there was unquestionably a hint of predictability above the leveller three minutes from time as Roberto Firmino headed in from Alexander-Arnold's excellent cross.

An incredible finale was ushered in.

Liverpool piled on the pressure. Aaron Ramsdale denied Darwin Nunez when one-on-one, and then the goalkeeper somehow saved Arsenal as Konate inexplicably failed to chest the ball over the line.

Had it not been for Ramsdale's heroics, Arsenal would have been on the end of a potentially crippling defeat. Not necessarily crippling in terms of a huge deficit, but rather in relation to their mentality and the pressure being applied by City.

Of course, it's easy to look at the result as two points dropped. Considering Arsenal were 2-0 up, many fans – and players – will believe that to be the most apt appraisal of the situation.

But in the end, with an optimist's spin on it, Arsenal should feel happy to get away from Anfield with a point. After all, that's more than they managed in any of their previous six Premier League visits.

To understand the potential value of that point, all they need to do is look at Liverpool.

Manchester City put pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal ahead of their trip to Liverpool on Sunday with an emphatic 4-1 victory at Southampton.

Erling Haaland's double took him to 30 Premier League goals in 27 games, just 70 shy of Son Heung-min's career total in his eighth season in England after the South Korea international made history on Saturday.

The race for the other top-four places behind Arsenal and City saw Manchester United and Newcastle United both win, while Tottenham remain three points back after riding their luck against Brighton and Hove Albion.

Stats Perform looks at some of the more notable Opta numbers to come out of the pick of Saturday's Premier League action.

Manchester United 2-0 Everton: Wasteful Red Devils still win comfortably

After goals from Scott McTominay and Anthony Martial either side of half-time, United have won 39 Premier League games against Everton, the joint-most one side have against another in the competition's history (also 39 wins for United against Spurs).

Erik ten Hag's men have won 23 of their 28 home games in all competitions this season (D3 L2), their highest total of wins in a single campaign at Old Trafford since 2010-11 (26).

As they continue to fight relegation, Everton have won just one of their last 17 away Premier League games (D7 L9) and remain winless on the road since a 2-1 victory at Southampton in October (11 games since).

McTominay's strike was his fifth in five games for club and country, as many as in his previous 106 appearances for United and Scotland combined.

Ten Hag bemoaned his side's wastefulness as United failed to convert seven big chances – six of which came in the first half – their joint-highest total on record (since 2010-11) in a league match (also seven vs Sunderland in December 2012).

 

Brentford 1-2 Newcastle United: Bees stung by Magpies

Brentford started well in this one but ultimately failed to win a Premier League game in which they had opened the scoring for the first time (P26 W19 D6 L1), while Newcastle have lost just one of their last five away league games in which they have conceded first (W2 D2), winning the last two.

Eddie Howe has won exactly 100 Premier League points as Newcastle boss (P56 W28 D16 L12), with only fan favourite Kevin Keegan needing fewer games (51) to reach that milestone.

Ivan Toney became just the fourth player to score home and away against Newcastle in a Premier League campaign having previously played for them in the competition, following Louis Saha (2001-02), Craig Bellamy (2008-09) and Abdoulaye Faye (2008-09).

Before netting from the spot, though, Toney failed to score a penalty for the first time since October 2018 for Peterborough United against Barnsley when he saw his first effort saved by Nick Pope, having scored 24 successive penalties before Saturday (excluding shoot-outs).

A David Raya own goal drew Newcastle level, then Alexander Isak scored his eighth Premier League goal to take the points. Seven of those have either drawn Newcastle level (two) or given them the lead (five).

Tottenham 2-1 Brighton and Hove Albion: Son reaches landmark while Seagulls are left to fume

Brighton suffered their first defeat in eight Premier League games on the road (W4 D3) since a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City in October, although they will be tempted to lay a lot of the blame at the door of the officials.

Seagulls boss Roberto Di Zerbi was furious with two goals being ruled out for alleged handballs, while Kaoru Mitoma was also denied what looked like a very good shout for a penalty. The Italian then became the first manager to be sent off twice in the Premier League this season. Cristian Stellini was also dismissed.

For Son, though, it was a landmark day as his terrific opener made him the first Asian player to score 100 Premier League goals, while he is just the 10th player in the league's history to score 100 goals and register 50 assists for one team – and the first to do so for Spurs.

Lewis Dunk equalised in his 200th Premier League appearance, with each of the last four players to mark that milestone in such a way now having been centre-backs  (also Kurt Zouma, Virgil van Dijk and Ben Mee).

But after the controversy at the other end, Harry Kane won it for Tottenham with his 10th goal in 12 appearances for the club against Brighton in all competitions. The Seagulls are the ninth team he has reached double-figures against in his career, along with Leicester City, Everton, Arsenal, Southampton, West Ham, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Stoke City.

 

Southampton 1-4 Manchester City

Kevin De Bruyne was back to his sensational best at St Mary's, registering his 100th Premier League assist, making him the fifth player to reach that mark and doing so in fewer appearances (237) than any of the previous four.

Haaland's brace, including an outrageous bicycle kick, meant he has scored 44 goals in all competitions for City this season – the joint-most ever by a Premier League player in a single campaign, level with Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002-03) and Mohamed Salah (2017-18).

De Bruyne laid on the opener and has assisted seven Premier League goals for Haaland this season, the most one City player has ever assisted for another in a single campaign.

Jack Grealish teed up the other Haaland goal and also got on the scoresheet. He has now been involved in 10 goals in 15 league games since the World Cup (four goals, six assists). Only Haaland (14) has been involved in more for Pep Guardiola's team in that time, while it is three more than Grealish managed in his first 34 appearances for City (four goals, three assists).

Julian Alvarez replaced Haaland and dispatched a second-half penalty, becoming the fifth different City player to score as a substitute in the Premier League this season, with only United and Wolves (six) having more.

Arsenal face another major obstacle in their quest to land a first Premier League title in 19 years when they travel to Liverpool on Sunday.

The Gunners have historically struggled at Anfield, though Mikel Arteta's men have passed most tests this season en route to opening up a healthy lead over Manchester City.

While Arsenal will be looking to continue their good form, having won seven league games in a row, it is the start of another new chapter for Chelsea when they head to Wolves.

Frank Lampard was this week appointed as caretaker manager for the rest of the season following the sacking of Graham Potter, with Chelsea way down in 11th place.

There are plenty of other big games at the top and bottom of the division this weekend, not least at Old Trafford where Manchester United and Everton face off.

United got their top-four hopes back on track in midweek and will be seeking some momentum when they take on an Everton side sitting level on points with the bottom three.

Here, with the help of Opta data, Stats Perform has provided some key insights and predictions.


Manchester United v Everton

United have dominated this fixture down the years, with their 38 Premier League wins against Everton the second most one team has over another after the Red Devils themselves against Tottenham (39 wins).

Erik ten Hag's men have won both meetings with Everton in all competitions this term – 2-1 in the league at Goodison Park and 3-1 in the FA Cup on home soil – and could make it three wins in a single campaign against them for the third time (after 1993-94 and 2015-16 seasons).

Everton have improved since Sean Dyche took charge, picking up 12 points from their nine league games under him, with that seven more than they managed in their final 12 games under Lampard.

Best bet – Everton to score at Old Trafford: The Toffees' away form this season may be terrible, as is their overall record at United, but they have scored in each of their past nine Premier League games at Old Trafford, with that the Red Devils' longest run without a clean sheet against a single opponent in the competition.

Long shot – Everton to avoid defeat: Scoring away at United is one thing; holding on for a point or more is another. Everton have won just one of their past 29 away league meetings with United, but their past three visits to Old Trafford have finished all square.

Opta prediction: United failed to win any of their six matches in the early Saturday kick-off slot last season, but they have won all three such games this campaign, including a 2-1 win over Manchester City in January. Everton have won just two of their past 31 away league games, meanwhile, and Opta's model gives them only a 20.6 per cent chance of winning at Old Trafford. United are given a 52.7 per cent chance of success, meanwhile, and the draw is rated at 26.7 per cent.

 


Wolves v Chelsea

Chelsea have failed to win on their past two league visits to Molineux, but the good news is that their most recent victory there came in September 2019 under Lampard.

Wolves are unbeaten in their three Premier League games against opponents from London under the watch of Julen Lopetegui, having failed to win any of their previous 11 such matches prior to the Spaniard's arrival.

The Blues have picked up just 16 points from 14 away top-flight matches, which is their lowest return after 14 road games in a single campaign since 2000-01 (nine).

Best bet – Wolves to win without conceding: Given Chelsea's form, a Wolves win this weekend would hardly be the biggest of surprises – especially considering Lopetegui's men have won their past three league games against sides starting the day above them without letting in a goal (1-0 v West Ham, 3-0 v Liverpool and 1-0 v Tottenham).

Long shot – Raheem Sterling to score or assist: The Chelsea winger has been directly involved in just one goal in his past six matches, but since the start of the 2019-20 campaign, only Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne (nine) has been directly involved in more league goals at Molineux than Sterling among visiting players (three goals, two assists).

Opta prediction: Wolves are winless in their past four Premier League games against Chelsea since beating them 2-1 at Molineux in December 2020. The Blues will be hoping the new (well, returning) manager bounce pays off and the Opta model makes them favourites to win with a 42.3 per cent backing, compared to 27.9 per cent for Wolves and 29.8 per cent for the draw.

 


Liverpool v Arsenal

Arsenal are facing Liverpool as Premier League leaders for the ninth time, with the previous eight occasions producing a total of 33 goals at an average of over four per game.

Since briefly surrendering top spot to Man City following a 3-1 defeat in February, Arsenal have won their last seven Premier League games. They have scored at least three goals in six of these, including the last five in a row.

Liverpool have won five of their last six Premier League home games (D1), including each of the last three by an aggregate score 11-0. The Reds have not conceded in any of their past seven hours and 26 minutes of league football at Anfield, since Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's strike for Leicester City in December.

Best bet – Mohamed Salah to score or assist: The Egypt international is expected to be recalled by Jurgen Klopp and that could spell bad news for Arsenal. Salah has been involved in 105 league goals in 105 games at Anfield for Liverpool (74 goals, 31 assists) and has scored in three successive home league appearances for the Reds.

Long shot – Arsenal to lose without scoring: The Gunners have lost on their last six league visits to Anfield, conceding at least three goals each time. They have failed to score against the Reds on 20 occasions in the Premier League era, which is their worst record against any team in the division.

Opta prediction: Arsenal won the reverse fixture with Liverpool 3-2 in the first major sign they were the real deal this season, though not since the 2009-10 campaign have they pulled off the league double in this fixture. They have a 22.6 per cent chance of doing so this weekend, according to the Opta model, while Liverpool are rated at 51 per cent to pick up the three points. A draw is given a 26.4 per cent chance of happening.

It is over a decade since Arsenal won at Anfield in the Premier League, but they will be confident of moving a step closer to winning the title by beating Liverpool on Sunday.

The Gunners head to Merseyside riding on the crest of a wave following seven consecutive top-flight wins.

Manchester City can reduce Arsenal's lead at the top of the table to five points by beating bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Saturday and the champions will be hoping for a favour from the Reds.

Eighth-place Liverpool were held to a drab goalless draw at Chelsea after losing three games in a row and they are in desperate need of points to have any chance of securing a European spot.

The Reds have not lost at home to Arsenal in the top flight since a 2-0 defeat in September 2012 and have won their past six Premier League games against the London club in their own backyard.

Stats Perform use Opta data to preview another huge match for Mikel Arteta's side in the title race.

Reds in need of more home comforts

While this has been a season to forget for Liverpool, their struggles have not been due to their home form.

Jurgen Klopp's side have only been beaten once at Anfield in the top flight and won five of their past six Premier League home games.

They demolished Manchester United 7-0 in their last home match and have gone seven hours and 26 minutes without conceding a goal in the Premier League at Anfield since Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's strike for Leicester City in December.

Klopp is looking to win seven in a row against the same opponent in his top-flight managerial career for the first time since doing so against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund (2009-15).

The last manager to win seven consecutive home top-flight games against Arsenal was John Nicholson between 1921 and 1928 with Sheffield United.

 

Ramsdale can match Cech and Ederson

Arsenal have only conceded nine goals on their travels in the Premier League this season.

Aaron Ramsdale has kept nine clean sheets away from home in a brilliant campaign that could finish with the Gunners ending such a long wait to be crowned champions.

Petr Cech (11 in 2004-05, 10 in 2008-09) and Ederson (11 in 2018-19, 10 in 2021-22) are the only goalkeepers to have recorded at least 10 shutouts on the road in a Premier League season.

Ramsdale is just one away from joining a very exclusive club.

Salah back with a bang?

Mohamed Salah was restricted to a substitute appearance in the stalemate at Stamford Bridge this week, but the forward should be back in the side to take on the leaders.

Salah has been involved in 105 Premier League goals in 105 appearances at Anfield for the Reds (74 goals, 31 assists).

The Egypt star is looking to score in four consecutive home top-flight appearances for the first time since a six-game run between January and June 2020.

He also boasts a record that suggests he enjoys facing Arsenal, having had a hand in seven goals in five appearances against the Gunners at Anfield (5 goals, 2 assists).

Trossard to torment Reds again? 

Leandro Trossard scored a hat-trick for Brighton and Hove Albion in a 3-3 draw at Liverpool back in October.

Only two players have scored at Anfield for two different sides in the same Premier League season: Dean Saunders in 1992-93 (Liverpool, Aston Villa) and Robbie Keane in 2008-09 (Liverpool, Tottenham).

No player has found the back of the net at Liverpool's home for two different away sides in a single campaign.

Following the two-week international break and then a double gameweek, the Premier League fixture schedule returns to normal this weekend with 10 fixtures across two days.

That is not to say there are not still some huge selection decisions to make when it comes to picking your fantasy side in what is now very much the business end of the campaign.

Some players are quite simply undroppable at this stage, while others look good value for those willing to take a gamble and make up some points.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform has picked out four players – one for each position – that look good value to help your side this weekend.

Emi Martinez (Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest)

Villa conceded against Leicester City last time out, but they have kept six Premier League clean sheets in 2023, with that tally bettered only by – surprisingly – Liverpool (seven).

Martinez has been in goal for five of those games, the Argentina international bringing the form he showed at the World Cup with him back to Villa Park.

He has made 38 saves this calendar year and has prevented 2.02 goals – only three goalkeepers have fared better – and is up against a low-scoring Forest side this weekend.


Timothy Castagne (Leicester City v Bournemouth)

Leicester are enduring a poor campaign and have struggled badly to keep clean sheets, doing so just six times all season in the Premier League.

Right-back Castagne has masked defensive inadequacies with some solid attacking play, however, with only three other defenders being involved in more goals this term (four).

In fact, of the defenders to have created at least 15 chances, only Trent Alexander-Arnold (33 per cent) has a higher proportion that are big chances than Castagne (31 per cent).


Kaoru Mitoma (Tottenham v Brighton and Hove Albion)

Brighton attacker Mitoma is not quite the unknown figure he was a few months back, with more and more flocking to put him in their team as the weeks go by.

The Japan international is the first Brighton player to register a goal involvement in five successive Premier League games, with that the longest ongoing run in the competition.

All 11 of his goal involvements this season have come since his first start on October 29 – only four midfielders have been involved in more during that period.

 


Gabriel Jesus (Liverpool v Arsenal)

Having slowly built up his fitness since returning from a three-month lay-off, Jesus marked his first start in the win over Leeds United with two goals.

The Brazil international, whose most recent start at club level prior to that was against Wolves in November, now has seven goals and five assists in 17 league games this term.

Jesus tends to perform well against next opponents Liverpool, too, as only against three other sides has he been directly involved in more goals than he has versus the Reds (six).

Frank Lampard is back at Chelsea.

The club's record goalscorer and former boss has taken on an interim position in the dugout until the end of the season, when Chelsea will bring in their long-term choice.

Of course, should Lampard do well enough, he could put his own name into consideration, but either way he still has plenty to do over the next two months.

Graham Potter was hired to give the team an identity, but Lampard will have no such responsibility given his short-term deal and the fact that someone like Julian Nagelsmann or Luis Enrique would bring their own ideas should they ultimately be hired ahead of next season.

Lampard was sacked by Chelsea in January 2021, before suffering the same demise at Everton two years later, but his continued legendary status at Stamford Bridge has secured him another lucrative opportunity to lead them.

Stats Perform has taken a look at five areas where the former West Ham and Manchester City midfielder will need to thrive to improve the club, as well as his own chances of finding a long-term gig beyond this one.


Find a way to score goals again

To say that Chelsea have been goal-shy this season is somewhat of an understatement.

Following their 0-0 draw with Liverpool on Tuesday, the Blues have scored 29 goals in 29 Premier League games this season, only ever netting fewer at this stage of a league campaign twice before (23 in 1921-22 and 16 in 1923-24).

During his 57 Premier League games in charge of Chelsea between August 2019 and January 2021, Lampard's team scored 102 goals.

They also had a shot conversion rate of 11.5 per cent, compared to their remarkably profligate 7.9 per cent this season.

Potter's issue was that he generally played without a striker and his midfielder's didn't score enough. If there is anyone who can teach midfielders to score goals, you would think it's Lampard, who hit 211 of his own during his playing days at Chelsea.

Get the old Mount back

It appears to be a widely held belief that Mason Mount enjoyed the best spell of his Chelsea career under Lampard.

He actually produced more under Thomas Tuchel, with 38 goal involvements (19 goals, 19 assists) in 86 games, compared to his 21 (11 goals, 10 assists) in 80 games under Lampard.

Mount was given his initial opportunity by Lampard though, and certainly developed and learned impressively in the first season and a half of his time in the Chelsea first-team.

The England international has struggled this season though, with just three goals and three assists from 32 games, and he has even been strongly linked with a move to Liverpool or Manchester United with his contract situation still up in the air.

If he can get his groove back at Stamford Bridge under Lampard though, maybe it can lead to a renaissance for Mount at the club.

Qualify for Europe

With nine games remaining in the Premier League, Chelsea sit in 11th place, five points behind seventh place Aston Villa, and 14 off the top four, meaning they are closer to the relegation zone (12 points) than Champions League qualification.

The table has been a strange place this season, so it is not beyond the realms of possibility that a few wins can catapult a team up several places.

While a top four finish is almost certainly beyond them, Chelsea could still at least keep themselves in European competition with a few victories.

Europa League successes in 2013 and 2019 laid foundations for bigger achievements, and in a season that has seen so few positives on the pitch, it would be a notable tick in the box should Lampard secure a place in Europe.

Overcome a familiar face

While they probably won't be in the competition next season, Chelsea remain in this season's Champions League, though with a daunting quarter-final against defending champions Real Madrid on the horizon.

The first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu will be Lampard's second game in charge, and Chelsea gave Los Blancos quite a scare when they went 3-0 up there in last season's final eight second leg.

Madrid ultimately won on aggregate after extra-time, but really struggled to deal with the Blues' approach, albeit with the tactical acumen of Tuchel directing them.

Lampard played under Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, and so could perhaps have one or two insights into how to get the better of him.

He might not be feeling too confident after seeing what Madrid recently did to Liverpool and Barcelona, though.

Set the table for successor

It might not be what Lampard envisioned his role at Chelsea ultimately being when he was initially hired in 2019, but the opportunity to help the club in the interim also means preparing the team for the next boss, whoever that may be.

As mentioned, he could even fancy himself to convince Todd Boehly to give him a longer chance, but either way, he will be tasked with making sure the team goes into next season with more optimism than they have now.

With so many new arrivals in the last two transfer windows, giving Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke more chances to shine will be key, while Joao Felix could learn plenty from him should he eventually make his loan move from Atletico Madrid permanent.

At the very least, it is likely having Lampard back at the helm will appease the fans, and having a better atmosphere will hopefully be a springboard for anyone to hit the ground running next season, when significant improvement will be an absolute must.

Sunday saw two more Premier League bosses dismissed from their roles.

Graham Potter's sacking by Chelsea followed on from Leicester City cutting ties with Brendan Rodgers.

That pair of dismissals took the total count of managerial departures for the season to 13 in England's top tier. Twelve of those have been sackings.

According to Opta, it is the most managerial sackings in a Premier League season by three.

The previous high mark of 10 (set in the 2013-14 season and equalled in 2017-18) was matched last season.

Yet this campaign has been even more extreme. Here, Stats Perform assesses the 13 managers to have departed.

 

Scott Parker - Bournemouth (August 30)

Just four league games had passed when Bournemouth became the first club to blink, sacking Parker on the back of a humiliating 9-0 defeat to Liverpool. Parker went on to join Club Brugge in Belgium, but lasted less than three months, winning just two of 12 matches. His replacement at Bournemouth, Gary O'Neil, has the Cherries in 16th, far from down and out.

Thomas Tuchel - Chelsea (September 7)

Arguably the biggest shock sacking of the season came early on, when Tuchel was shown the door by Chelsea's new owners. Not long over a year on from leading the Blues to Champions League success, Tuchel was out of work. He is now back in a job, having succeeded Julian Nagelsmann at Bayern Munich in March.

Graham Potter - Brighton and Hove Albion to Chelsea (September 8)

Potter will feature again in this list, of course, but he does count as two of the 13 departures on Opta's list, given he left Brighton to fill the Chelsea vacancy. The Seagulls had enjoyed a brilliant start to the season and Potter had earned his shot at a big club. It would not, of course, go according to plan.

Bruno Lage - Wolves (October 2)

A full month had not passed by the time a third coach was given the boot. Lage had a decent first season at Wolves, but their form had tailed off towards the back end of the 2021-22 campaign, going winless in seven games. That poor form carried into this term, and having won just one of their first eight league games, Wolves decided to make a change.

Steven Gerrard - Aston Villa (October 20)

Gerrard made a bright start at Villa in 2021, and had been given a large transfer budget across two windows, but the former Rangers boss was struggling to make matters click, either with his team or the fanbase. Villa made the call to end the project before the World Cup, and moved efficiently to bring in Unai Emery, who has got them well clear of any danger. Since his first game in charge, only Arsenal (13) and Manchester City (10) have more Premier League wins than Villa.

Ralph Hasenhuttl - Southampton (November 7)

Hasenhuttl had provided Southampton with fresh life when he was appointed in 2018, but since reaching a pinnacle of topping the table in November of the 2020-21 season, it had been a constant struggle. Saints managed to scrape 40 points last season but were firmly in the relegation scrap when they decided time was up for the Austrian. His replacement, however, did not fare well.

Frank Lampard - Everton (January 23)

That glut of changes prior to the World Cup break was followed by the halting of Lampard's Everton tenure in late January. Results had been terrible, with Lampard managing just three wins all season - a tally already matched by his successor Sean Dyche. However, the nature of dismissing a manager so late in the transfer window left Everton with little time to reinforce their squad, and they are still firmly in the mire. Losses to Wolves, Brighton, Southampton and West Ham marked the end of Lampard's time at Goodison Park.

 

Jess Marsch - Leeds United (February 6)

After one relegation candidate blinked, so did another. Marsch was ditched by Leeds following a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, with the Whites - like Everton - once again faced with a scrap for their lives. Marsch, like Lampard on Merseyside, had managed to garner enough spirit and resolve to keep Leeds in the division last season, but the American was not an entirely popular figure among Leeds' fanbase, and whatever system he was trying to implement was clearly not working.

Nathan Jones - Southampton (February 12)

To put it frankly, Jones' time at St Mary's Stadium was downright bizarre. Brought in from Luton Town, Jones clearly had no lack of self-belief, but he lost his first four league games at the helm. Southampton appeared to be clicking into gear under Jones when they beat Crystal Palace in the FA Cup, Manchester City in the EFL Cup and then Everton in the league, yet the Weslhman – who was not shy at reeling off his strengths despite the lack of results – received his marching orders following the EFL Cup semi-final loss to Newcastle United and a 3-0 top-flight defeat to Brentford, with Saints bottom of the pile, where they remain.

Patrick Vieira - Crystal Palace (March 17)

A run of 13 games in all competitions without a win led to Vieira getting the boot midway through March. Palace lost 4-1 to league leaders Arsenal under the interim charge of Paddy McCarthy, and turned to former, supposedly retired, boss Roy Hodgson to try and push them away from danger. Hodgson made a good start, with the Eagles coming from behind to beat Leicester 2-1 on Saturday.

Antonio Conte - Tottenham (March 26)

An unhappy marriage came to an end when Conte left Spurs by mutual consent, just over a week on from lambasting his "selfish" squad, along with the entire club's mentality, following a 3-3 draw at Southampton. Conte had never seemed content at Tottenham, and now Cristian Stellini will oversee the rest of the season. The international break was a turbulent one for Spurs, with director of football Fabio Paratici now on a leave of absence after his ban from Italian football was made a worldwide one by FIFA last week.

Brendan Rodgers - Leicester City (April 2)

Leicester played the April fools on Saturday in their defeat at Selhurst Park, a result that left them in the relegation zone. Rodgers had earned the Foxes' backing with his achievements since taking over in 2019, having won the FA Cup and led Leicester into Europe twice. However, Leicester had won just two league games since the season restarted, and a change felt overdue.

Graham Potter - Chelsea (April 2)

Not long after the dust had settled on Rodgers' departure, Chelsea confirmed the news that Potter was no more. Well, not literally, but the man who had managed so much magic with Brighton could not replicate those tricks at Stamford Bridge. A three-game winning streak in March seemed to suggest a turnaround was in the offing, but a home draw with Everton and Saturday's 2-0 loss to Villa marked the end for Potter, who will perhaps regret leaving Brighton. He leaves Chelsea with the joint-lowest points-per-game total of any of the Blues' Premier League coaches (1.27).

Chelsea are once again on the hunt for a new head coach after Graham Potter's brief tenure was brought to an abrupt end on Sunday.

While the news might have caught some by surprise given Chelsea's insistence about Potter being a long-term hire when initially appointed, many will feel the writing was on the wall.

Premier League management is a cut-throat business and Chelsea's actions are the case in point, with Potter reportedly costing them £21million in compensation just 206 days earlier.

Despite his excellent reputation, Potter was unable to meet the demands at Stamford Bridge and leaves with a record that does him few favours.

Plumbing new depths

Chelsea's confirmation of Potter's dismissal was very respectful and made clear how remorseful they were about such a decision, but not even he would claim things have gone well.

Potter's record of 1.27 points per game in the Premier League is the joint-worst among Chelsea bosses to take charge of at least 20 matches in the division.

Considering how high expectations have become at Chelsea over the best part of the past two decades, that was a particularly damning return.

Potter leaves with Chelsea languishing in the bottom half of the table – 11th to be exact – and requiring something of a miracle to close the 12-point gap between them and fourth.

The last time they were not in the top half after at least 28 games was in 1995-96.

Additionally, with a haul of 38 points from 28 games, Chelsea have their worst total at this stage of a season since 1994-95 when they had only 36.

Core of the issue

There have certainly been occasions when Potter's Chelsea have been praised for playing good football.

But at no point have they been good at scoring goals, which is quite important in football...

Between November 6 and February 28, Chelsea scored just six goals in 15 games across all competitions, which was the fewest of any team from England's top four tiers.

While that spell was followed by a run of three successive wins, Sunday's 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa showed they were still suffering from the same issues.

They had 27 shots against Unai Emery's side, their most in a Premier League game without scoring since January 2014 against West Ham.

That feeds into a wider issue of wastefulness, with Chelsea underperforming their xG (expected goals) by 7.4 in the Premier League during Potter's reign, which is the worst differential of all 20 top-flight teams.

On top of that, Chelsea's 29 goals is their worst return at this stage of a league campaign since 1978-79, when they also only managed 29.

But was success without proper patience ever possible?

Chelsea's transfer activity was frankly ridiculous. Of the 32 players currently in their squad who have made at least one league appearance this term, 13 are new signings this season – and that does not include the likes of Armando Broja and Conor Gallagher, who returned from long-term loan spells.

His name may be Potter, but he cannot just wave a magic wand and guarantee cohesion – in reality, he was arguably always on a hiding to nothing.

Just 206 days after Chelsea owner Todd Boehly assured the world that incoming head coach Graham Potter would be given time at Chelsea, the American decided to terminate the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss' contract.

That is fewer days in charge than any permanent manager/head coach at Stamford Bridge during the Roman Abramovich era, but it was not a decision taken without reason.

Chelsea sit 11th in the Premier League, with 38 points from 28 games their worst total at this stage since the 1994-95 season (36), while the Blues are in the bottom half of the table after at least 28 games for the first time since 1995-96, when they finished 11th.

Potter won just 12 of his 31 games in charge after arriving from Brighton in September (D8 L11), ultimately paying the price after Chelsea's dismal 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.

So who will Boehly turn to next having given up on the Potter project? Stats Perform has taken a look at some of the early favourites.

Julian Nagelsmann

The German will probably have been the first name many thought of when news of Potter's sacking broke on Sunday, with Nagelsmann facing the same fate at Bayern Munich just a few days prior.

It would be somewhat of a coincidence given the 35-year-old was replaced at Bayern by former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, who had been replaced at Stamford Bridge by Potter.

Nagelsmann has been one of the most highly-rated young coaches in Europe since his work at Hoffenheim, where he boasted a record of 55 wins from 136 games (40 per cent), before upping that win percentage at RB Leipzig to 57 (54 wins from 95 games).

That was enough to convince Bayern he should replace Hansi Flick in July 2021, but despite winning the Bundesliga in what proved to be his only full season at the Allianz Arena, and reaching the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League, the club removed him.

Several of his former players at Bayern praised him in the days since, but you do wonder if someone who was not deemed a good fit at a similarly sized and demanding club would be a good fit for Chelsea.

 

Brendan Rodgers

The former Liverpool and Leicester City boss was sacked by the Foxes just hours before Potter got his marching orders, and on paper it doesn't sound like it would be much of an improvement.

Rodgers almost won the Premier League title with Liverpool in 2013-14 before his team regressed the following season after selling Luis Suarez, but he repaired his reputation at the King Power Stadium.

He won the FA Cup in 2020-21, beating Chelsea 1-0 in the final, and ended his time with the Foxes with a record of 92 wins from 204 games (D42 L70), a win percentage of 45.

Rodgers did learn the ropes as a youth coach at Chelsea though, and is arguably more of the same should Boehly still like the idea of a Potter-type of coach who favours a mix of pressing and possession.

It does feel like a job a bit beyond the 50-year-old, though it was not that long ago that some pundits were suggesting Arsenal should sack Mikel Arteta and hire Rodgers. Football, eh?

Mauricio Pochettino

The Argentinian was a very popular figure during his time at Tottenham, and he has been strongly linked with succeeding Antonio Conte at his former club.

Pochettino may not have won a trophy at Spurs, but he presided over two title challenges and the run to the 2019 Champions League final, which resulted in a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.

His five-year reign included 113 wins from 202 Premier League games, a points-per-game (PPG) average of 1.89, before he was eventually dismissed by chairman Daniel Levy after appearing to take the club as far as he could.

Pochettino landed at Paris Saint-Germain, where he won a Ligue 1 title as well as a Coupe de France and Trophee des Champions, but failures in the Champions League and losing out on the 2020-21 French title to Lille were low points, albeit he only took over halfway through that season.

He is therefore perhaps more suited to more of an underdog than one that operates in the way Chelsea does.

On the other hand, perhaps he could tempt Harry Kane across London.

Luis Enrique

The former Real Madrid and Barcelona player most recently won 27 of 48 games as Spain head coach, but international football can be a different world to the top-level club game.

Luis Enrique was very successful in his last club job at Barca, though it admittedly helped having a front three of Lionel Messi, Suarez and Neymar all at their peak.

He won two LaLiga titles, three Copa del Rey crowns, a Supercopa de Espana, a European Super Cup and a Club World Cup, as well as the 2014-15 Champions League as part of a historic treble.

Overall, Luis Enrique won 87 of his 114 LaLiga games (2.4 PPG), and has shown that he can take a team of superstars and get plenty out of them while managing egos.

However, the fact he has not had a club job since 2017 might be seen as problematic by some fans, while it could also be argued he underachieved with Spain.

Roberto De Zerbi

It would really be a kick in the teeth for Brighton to have Chelsea take another of their head coaches so soon after luring Potter away, but on paper, this could make all the sense in the world for the Blues.

Potter earned the Chelsea gig from the fantastic work he did on the south coast, with De Zerbi replacing him as Seagulls boss after his departure.

The Italian has taken Brighton to another level since his arrival, with the club remarkably still in with a reasonable chance of finishing in the European spots, and perhaps even the top four.

De Zerbi has averaged 1.50 points per game, winning eight of his 20 league games in charge, as well as guiding Brighton to the FA Cup semi-finals.

Having De Zerbi develop the foundations laid by Potter could work twice, though it would likely cost Chelsea a fortune to find out, not that that usually deters them.

Borussia Dortmund hoped there had been a sign of change. BVB were back on top of the Bundesliga ahead of Der Klassiker and going to rivals Bayern Munich as the league's in-form team, their hosts meanwhile were in self-inflicted turmoil.

Victory at Allianz Arena would be the real statement Dortmund desired in a quest to prove they could end Bayern's domination of not only German football's biggest game, but the Bundesliga in general.

And perhaps Dortmund will still go on to win the title, but Saturday's match suggested that no matter how good BVB are, Bayern's psychological hold over them will take years to overcome.

As Bayern cruised to a 4-2 win, the Bundesliga's title race took another turn.

There had been plenty of talk about confidence from the Dortmund camp coming into the game, with CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke managing to perfectly encapsulate Bayern's recent dominance of this fixture when saying they were travelling "to Munich with a lot of self-belief for the first time in a long time".

He was referring to the fact BVB hadn't won at Allianz Arena in the Bundesliga since 2014, when Jurgen Klopp was still in charge, and their run of eight – now nine – successive league losses away to Bayern was their second-worst streak against any club in their top-flight history.

They'd been on the end of some hammerings in that time, too, losing by three or more goals five times.

So, when Dortmund began with genuine promise and swagger on Saturday, there was at least a suggestion Bayern weren't going to have it all their own way.

 

Dortmund were aggressive in their pressing and incisive with their distribution. Marius Wolf's energy down the right looked a potential weapon; Jude Bellingham showed some classy touches; Marco Reus' off-the-ball runs caused Bayern issues.

In fact, had Reus got his shot off a fraction of a second earlier in the seventh minute after Wolf's clever release, he may well have given BVB an early lead – as it was, Matthijs de Ligt got across to make a vital block.

But as predictable as some might have suggested a comfortable Bayern win was, there was nothing inevitable about the moment everything changed on Saturday.

Dayot Upamecano's pass from just inside his own half was seemingly routine for Gregor Kobel, but the goalkeeper took his eye off the ball as he raced out to clear, getting a slight nick on the ball to score arguably the most remarkable own goal of the season.

It's impossible to definitively say if things would've been different without that horror show, but Dortmund ceased to be much of a threat from that point in the 13th minute.

The following 10 minutes saw Bayern build a handsome lead. Thomas Muller was on hand to nudge home from De Ligt's headed flick-on to make it 2-0, and then punished another Kobel mistake with a tap-in when Leroy Sane's long-range strike was only parried.

It was effectively game over inside a quarter of the contest. Dortmund may have been the Bundesliga's form team coming into the weekend, but their first-half collapse had them reverting to type in Der Klassiker.

It wasn't over yet either.

Bayern looked especially potent in the opening half when attacking from the flanks, with Sane and – in particular – Kingsley Coman absolutely devastating at times.

 

Their deployment as inverted wingers was one of few significant alterations to the Bayern setup from Tuchel. It worked a treat almost throughout, and its success was tangible with the fourth goal early in the second half.

Sane cut in from the right, played a perfectly weighted pass towards the back post – through the legs of Muller – and Coman was there to stab home.

No one would have expected wholesale changes from Tuchel. After all, he's only had a couple of days to work with much of the squad following the international window.

But such a subtle yet demonstrably effective tweak perhaps highlights why Bayern were so keen to not miss out on the opportunity to finally hire Tuchel.

Similarly, Bayern were thrilling to watch, and we know just how important that is.

"We've come to the conclusion that the quality in our squad – despite the Bundesliga title last year – has come to the fore less and less often. After the World Cup we have played less successfully and less attractively. The big fluctuations in performance have cast doubt on our goals for this season, but also our goals for the future. That is why we have acted now."

Club CEO Oliver Kahn's comments after Julian Nagelsmann's sacking were pretty brutal but offered a lot of clarity to not only the man he'd just fired, but also the one he'd just hired.

 

Dortmund's late consolations via an Emre Can penalty and Donyell Malen's precise finish might be indicative of some of the issues with Bayern's mentality towards the end of Nagelsmann's reign. The 5-3 win over Augsburg comes to mind.

But 4-2 was a scoreline that flattered Dortmund. If anything, Bayern were a little wasteful, and had they checked their runs better, more goals certainly would've arrived.  

In some ways, this win was almost as close to the perfect start as Tuchel could have enjoyed when you consider the reservations Bayern started to have with Nagelsmann.

It will have likely dealt Dortmund a psychological blow, while Bayern find themselves back at the top of the table having produced an entertaining attacking spectacle.

But this wasn't where the title was won and lost – Bayern's shaky post-World Cup form proves Tuchel still has a lot of work to do.

Dietmar Hamann represented both Manchester City and Liverpool, Saturday's opponents, in his playing days. Now, working on German television, he is a dedicated contrarian.

The former midfielder's comments have irked Jurgen Klopp previously, while this week he was taking aim at Germany head coach Hansi Flick.

But when Erling Haaland was the subject of his criticism back in January, it was not Hamann's wildest take.

As City's superstar striker struggled in their derby defeat to Manchester United, Hamann posted on Twitter: "Man City was a better team without Haaland, even if he scores 40 goals this season."

It is easy to dismiss such a claim out of hand now, but there was at least debate at that stage in the season.

Almost three months on, that 40-goal mark has been passed in all competitions – Haaland is the only player in Europe's top five leagues to do so this term – and that conversation has quietly faded away.

If Hamann – or anyone else – was determined to revisit the discussion, however, Julian Alvarez's performance in a 4-1 win over Liverpool could be cited as evidence.

History-maker Haaland

Along with the sheer number of goals, Haaland's case until now has perhaps been helped by the increasing distance to the City of last season, a team without a traditional striker who won the Premier League title – something the class of 2022-23 may well not do.

Haaland has acknowledged he was signed to deliver glory in the Champions League, rather than merely another league success, but he has dominated domestically nonetheless.

In the Premier League, he has 28 goals, earning 20 points and making up 42 per cent of City's total prior to this weekend. All three numbers are club records.

So, news of Haaland failing to recover from a groin injury in time to feature on Saturday would have provided Liverpool some encouragement.

But as Pep Guardiola pointed out on the eve if the game: "In the past we also scored a lot of goals. Since we were here, and with Roberto Mancini and [Manuel] Pellegrini, always Man City was a team that scored a lot of goals in the season – with different players, different strikers."

And Alvarez has joined that group, a World Cup-winning striker eager to seize his opportunity in only his seventh league start of the season.

City's complete package

Alvarez might be considered a hybrid of Haaland and those who went before, as he illustrated against Liverpool.

The Argentina forward was on hand to equalise from close range when a flowing City move ended with Jack Grealish's low cross into the sort of position Haaland would usually occupy.

Another Alvarez shot led to the third goal, working space for an attempt that was deflected only as far as a grateful Ilkay Gundogan.

Alvarez had three shots, all from inside the box, worth a combined 0.82 expected goals. That could easily be a Haaland performance, the City number nine averaging 3.8 shots per 90, including 3.6 inside the box, worth 0.86 xG.

Yet the 23-year-old did more besides that, too. Only five of Alvarez's 32 touches were taken inside the box, his 15.6 per cent differing significantly from the 28.3 per cent of Haaland's touches that come inside the opposition's area.

As a result, Alvarez was far more involved in the build-up play than Haaland generally has been. He created two chances – Haaland averages 0.9 per 90 – but most importantly played a gorgeous pass out to Riyad Mahrez early in the second half, leading to Kevin De Bruyne's vital second goal.

Haaland surely would have hurt Liverpool, with Mahrez and Grealish piling forward on either side, but he would have done well to impact City's all-round performance as much as Alvarez did.

Liverpool lax at the back

Alvarez, Mahrez and Grealish undoubtedly benefited from another dismal defensive performance from Liverpool away from home.

"For one game, absolutely, they can beat everyone," Guardiola said of the Reds on Friday, and the data did not disagree. In a below-par campaign, they entered April having earned the most points in matches between this season's top six.

But they had still lost to Manchester United and Arsenal away from home, with their defeat of 10-man Newcastle United at St James' Park in February their sole success on the road in 2023.

Liverpool have lost at Brentford, Brighton and Hove Albion, Wolves and Bournemouth since the start of January, conceding 10 goals across those four matches.

A 4-1 defeat at City perhaps saw Liverpool get off lightly, as Klopp told BT Sport: "We were lucky they were not in the most greedy mood."

Mahrez and Grealish repeatedly exposed Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold; Robertson's failure to make a tackle on De Bruyne in the build-up to Alvarez's goal left Klopp with his head in his hands.

That can happen against City, but it can also happen against Chelsea and Arsenal – Liverpool's next two opponents.

Klopp's men must respond to have any hope of qualifying for the Champions League next season. Perhaps, in a one-off game against the Gunners, they could yet do City a favour.

Anthony Joshua's return to the ring on Saturday to face Jermaine Franklin is a bout where both have plenty to prove.

Back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk saw Joshua lose his heavyweight titles, while leaving him with three defeats from his last five bouts.

Franklin, meanwhile, was undefeated and on a meteoric trajectory with 21 victories in a row, including 14 knockouts, before his unbeaten run came to a close at the hands of Dillian Whyte in November at Wembley – his first test outside the United States.

With Joshua in need of a win to stop the rot and Franklin looking to show his worth at this level, their clash at the O2 Arena is one where defeat does not bear thinking about.

Contender or pretender?

Dominating the heavyweight scene for years, the AJ of old was completely lost in the two defeats to Usyk which, although both went the distance, were bouts where the British Olympian never truly looked capable of victory.

The 2019 defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr. was a shock, requiring Joshua to come back six months later to reclaim his belts, but the same cannot be said about Usyk, who was on top throughout almost every round across the pair's two meetings.

Now, the big question is whether the downward spiral will continue, or whether Joshua can force his way back into contention with the heavyweight elite in a period of great change, with the old guard not getting any younger and fresh blood creeping into contention.

For now, Joshua remains in the conversation. Discussions for a fiercely-anticipated all-British bout against Tyson Fury fell flat but Joshua has been touted for a meeting with Deontay Wilder later this year.

Defeat to Franklin, however, would hit hard and would see Joshua's recent record extend to four losses in six fights, not the sort of calibre required to remain at the top of the game, with some already suggesting that such a loss should result in AJ hanging up his gloves, including the man himself.

Franklin's rise

For many, facing Whyte is seen as an entry test into the heavyweight elite, with the Brit having faced the majority of the division's top fighters – including Fury, Joshua, Derek Chisora and Alexander Povetkin.

Defeat to Whyte in November was a blow for Franklin, a majority decision ending the 21-fight win streak, and he is now looking to prove his credentials outside the US by taking a significant scalp in the form of Joshua.

What Franklin lacks in experience, he certainly makes up for in confidence, declaring he will either secure a knockout win or "brutally" dominate the fight.

"If it's not a knockout then it will be a domination brutally. I'll go at him, see what he's going to do and see if I can make him make mistakes early," he said.

Coming out the blocks flying may be the best approach for Franklin, quickly putting the pressure on Joshua and silencing the home crowd, particularly with AJ unable to muster a response in similar circumstances against Usyk.

Pound for pound

Though Joshua boasts height and reach advantage over Franklin, that may not provide a significant indication on the match up given AJ had similar upper hands over Usyk, and a bout may well go the full distance.

Four of Joshua's last seven fights have gone 12 rounds, including three of the last four, and the knockout dominating AJ of old seems to have been lost in the latter years of his career.

Franklin is in a similar position, with just one knockout victory in his last six – having had 14 KO wins in his first 16 professional fights.

Prediction: Joshua wins on points

After an unwelcome international break the view of many, Premier League football returns this weekend with plenty to decide at both ends of the table.

A gruelling clash between title-chasing Manchester City and top-four hopefuls Liverpool kicks things off on Saturday, with league leaders Arsenal hosting Leeds United later in the day and potentially having the opportunity to extend their lead at the summit.

Bukayo Saka is once again one to watch at Emirates Stadium, having maintained his fine form over the international break on England duty, and it would be wise to draft him into your fantasy squad if he is not yet in the side.

Elsewhere, Kai Havertz's resurgence is one to keep an eye on, while Danny Ings and Jack Harrison are also worth a punt.

Using Opta data, we've highlighted exactly why that quartet should be on your hit list.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal v Leeds United)

The Hale End graduate is the only player in the Premier League to have hit double figures for both goals (12) and assists (10) this season, with Saka in particularly devastating form at Emirates Stadium.

Overall, 14 of his 22 goal involvements have come in north London, standing behind only Erling Haaland (23) for the most direct goal involvements at home in the Premier League.

Last time out against Crystal Palace, Saka scored twice and contributed an assist to help Arsenal maintain their title charge, then carrying that form into England duty and scoring against Ukraine at Wembley.

Kai Havertz (Chelsea v Aston Villa)

Linked with a move to Bayern Munich at the end of the season following Thomas Tuchel's appointment in Bavaria, Havertz has hit a fine vein of form at a crucial stage of the season in Chelsea's top-four bid.

Seven goals this season puts Havertz just one shy of his tally from last season, while he enters the clash against Aston Villa having scored in each of his last two Premier League appearances – meaning he could score in three consecutive games for the first time since March 2022.

No player has been involved in more goals under Graham Potter than Havertz (six goals, one assist), scoring twice the amount as Chelsea's next leading scorer under the Englishman (Mason Mount, three).

 

Danny Ings (West Ham v Southampton)

Ings has established a fine record of haunting his former employers in the Premier League, having been directly involved in 10 goals in his last 14 such matches (seven goals, three assists).

That includes involvement in three goals in his last two appearances against Southampton (one goal, two assists), who may wonder what might have been had he been in their ranks in the fight for Premier League survival.

Since January 21, no West Ham player has a higher goals-per-game ratio (0.55) or expected goals (0.56) return, while only Jarrod Bowen (6.43) and Said Benrahma (5.29) have more touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes than Ings (4.66).

Jack Harrison (Arsenal v Leeds United)

With six assists over the course of the season, Harrison ranks sixth across the entirety of the Premier League in that regard, with only Christian Eriksen (seven), Mohamed Salah (seven), Leandro Trossard (eight), Saka (10) and Kevin De Bruyne (12) having more.

In Leeds' bid for survival, Harrison has been the catalyst in pushing the club away from the bottom three and travels to Emirates Stadium having scored in consecutive Premier League matches.

Only Rodrigo (12) has been involved in more Leeds goals this term than Harrison (nine), while nobody has created more chances for the Yorkshire side than the midfielder (41).

Erling Haaland has done rather well for Manchester City since arriving.

Fine, that may be something of an understatement. The 22-year-old has filled his boots and then some since he moved to the Etihad Stadium from Borussia Dortmund last year.

Haaland has 42 goals in 37 games for City, with 28 of those coming in 26 Premier League appearances.

Pundits will say they had their tongues firmly embedded in their cheeks when some suggested the Norwegian might find English football trickier to conquer despite his domination of the Austrian and German top-flights, but few could have anticipated such a relentless flow of goals.

Those doubts appeared after Haaland's blank against Liverpool in the Community Shield defeat in his first official outing for the club, while he also failed to score in City's 1-0 loss at Anfield two and a half months later.

He did find the net against Liverpool in their EFL Cup fourth-round win in December though, and should he be fit to take the field against Jurgen Klopp's men on Saturday, Haaland will be hoping to get closer to a record that many thought would never be broken.

With 11 games remaining, Haaland is just seven short of claiming the record for the most goals in a single Premier League season, with Andrew Cole in 1993-94 for Newcastle United and Alan Shearer for Blackburn Rovers a year later both managing 34, albeit in campaigns that lasted 42 games.

Haaland is just four behind Mohamed Salah's record for a 38-game Premier League season, set in 2017-18.

So perhaps the question is not 'will he break the record?' but 'when?'

Haaland has missed just one league game so far, and the injury that caused him to pull out of Norway's Euro 2024 qualifiers did not sound particularly serious, so even if he does miss the visit of Liverpool, he still has plenty of time to find the necessary goals.

After all, he scored eight in his last two games before the international break, hitting five against RB Leipzig in the Champions League before another treble against Burnley in the FA Cup.

As they fight Arsenal for the league title, City's remaining fixtures see them face Liverpool (h), Southampton (a), Leicester City (h), Arsenal (h), Fulham (a), West Ham (h), Leeds United (h), Everton (a), Chelsea (h), Brentford (a) and Brighton and Hove Albion (a).

With the leaky defences of Liverpool, Saints and Leicester this season, it would not be a complete shock if he has already reached the magic number of 35 by the time he lines up against Arsenal for a crucial title clash.

In the corresponding fixtures against those 11 opponents, Haaland scored 10 goals (two against West Ham, Leeds and Brighton, one against Southampton, Fulham, Arsenal and Everton, zero against Liverpool, Chelsea and Brentford and he did not play at Leicester), so even repeating his efforts against them will be more than enough.

 

With 28 goals in 26 league games, Haaland is averaging 1.1 goals per game. That means if he can play in each of City's remaining games, he should reach 40 by the season's end.

That could be asking a bit too much from him, especially considering City also have a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich coming up, and head coach Pep Guardiola has been known to rest his stars for league games once that competition gets to the latter stages.

Continuing the rate though – assuming he continues to play and the re-arranged game at Brighton is not scheduled beforehand – would see him break the record against Leeds on May 7, appropriately a former club of his father.

While reaching 40 might be beyond him – emphasis on "might" – finding the seven required to overtake Cole and Shearer actually seems borderline routine for a player who has produced the numbers he has.

In just the Premier League, Haaland has four hat-tricks, as many as the rest of the league combined (Phil Foden, Son Heung-min, Leandro Trossard and Ivan Toney all on one).

He also doesn't have to worry about opportunities being created for him by his immensely talented City team-mates, having had 43 Opta-defined "big chances" – a chance from which a player would be expected to score – 15 more than the player with the next most (Toney).

Haaland's shot conversion rate of 31.1 per cent is also well above any other player to score at least six goals in the Premier League this season, ahead of Brighton duo Kaoru Mitoma and Pascal Gross (both 26.1 per cent).

 

He averages a goal every 75.6 minutes, comfortably ahead of Newcastle's Alexander Isak (103.8), Tottenham's Harry Kane (119.3), Leeds' Rodrigo Moreno (123.1) and Liverpool's Roberto Firmino (129).

Former Newcastle and Manchester United striker Cole recently told Stats Perform it "doesn't bother" him if Haaland breaks his record.

"I've said to people it doesn't bother me in the slightest, I don't care. If someone deserved to break that record, go ahead and do it," he said.

"I don't care if he does it. I'll be the first one to congratulate him. Records are there to be broken."

It looks like a record that will indeed go soon, and it may be the first of many that the irrepressible striker shatters.

Coming off arguably the most entertaining World Baseball Classic ever, the 2023 Major League Baseball season promises to deliver yet again as 30 teams battle it out for two World Series spots.

Reigning champions the Houston Astros wrote themselves into the record books last season by reaching the American League Championship Series for the sixth consecutive year, and while they may have lost their Cy Young Award winner, they have re-tooled and will expect strong development from their cast of young stars.

While they are the deserved favourites, the San Diego Padres and New York Mets have pushed all their chips into the middle and are in World Series-or-bust mode, joining the New York Yankees as the league's three most expensive payrolls.

The World Baseball Classic showed its not only the United States where the talent lies, but Japanese fans in particular will be keeping an extra close eye on proceedings as superstar Shohei Ohtani looks to take home his second AL MVP and Masataka Yoshida and Kodai Senga enter the rookie ranks.

With plenty of interesting storylines to choose from, it only makes sense to start with the kings of the castle.

Astros remain the team to beat

On their way to the 2022 World Series title, the Astros advanced to the final four teams for the sixth consecutive season. 

It is the second-longest streak in MLB history, only bettered by the Atlanta Braves in the 1990s as they did it on eight consecutive tries, although there was a one-year gap in the middle due to the 1994 playoffs being cancelled in the strike season.

This sustained period of excellence has been led by future Hall-of-Famer Jose Altuve and a strong supporting case of Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, as well as former star Carlos Correa and the future of the franchise Yordan Alvarez, while their starting pitching has been almost unmatched.

In 2022, Houston had two pitchers finish top-five in AL Cy Young Award voting with winner Justin Verlander and fifth-placed Framber Valdez, and while the former has left, they also unearthed high-upside rotation pieces Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia.

Add in their dominant bullpen, led by Ryne Stanek and Ryan Pressly, as well as the best rookie in the last season's playoffs – Jeremy Pena – and the free agent signing of former MVP Jose Abreu, and this Astros team does not figure to be going anywhere.

Will the Padres or Mets be able to spend their way to a title?

The Mets boast the most expensive team in the sport this season, with a combined payroll of $357million – $75m more than their cross-town rivals, the second-placed Yankees ($272m).

They have taken some significant risk by committing a combined $86.6m to their two ageing aces as 38-year-old Max Scherzer and 40-year-old Verlander take home $43.3m each, but with six Cy Young Awards between them, it is likely to be money well-spent.

The Mets will be hurt by losing star closer Edwin Diaz for the season after tearing up his knee celebrating a WBC win with Puerto Rico, but they have 28-year-old slugger Pete Alonso on a bargain deal as he enters his final years of arbitration before an inevitable monstrous extension.

Meanwhile, the Padres come in at the third-most expensive team at $249m, and while they do not have the Hall of Fame-level talent leading their pitching rotation like the Mets, they may have the best batting line-up in the game.

Their four All-Stars leading the way – Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis, Juan Soto and Manny Machado – could all have MVP-calibre seasons, and they give the Padres a real chance at being this season's highest-scoring team.

Can anybody deny Ohtani his second MVP?

If he was not already the biggest star in the sport, Ohtani's brilliant performance in guiding Japan to their third World Baseball Classic cemented his status as the top dog.

An All-Star designated hitter with 80 home runs across the past two seasons – a total that has only been exceeded by Aaron Judge (101) and tied by Vladimir Guerrero Jr (80) – Ohtani also emerged as one of the sport's most dominant pitchers in 2022.

His 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings was just 0.1 behind league-leader Carlos Rodon (12.0), while also posting the sixth-best ERA (2.33) among qualifying starters.

It is the kind of two-way dominance not seen at this level since Babe Ruth, and it took a historic season from Aaron Judge to deny Ohtani his second consecutive MVP.

Judge finished with 16 more home runs than any other player, breaking the American League and New York Yankees single-season record while also posting a gaudy batting average of .311 as he flirted with a Triple Crown.

If he can replicate that kind of season, he will prove he really is one of the greatest hitters of his generation and will likely earn the recognition again, but the overwhelming likelihood is some regression from the Bronx bomber.

Even with Judge's fine campaign, voters still viewed it as a neck-and-neck race with Ohtani as his combined value as essentially two All-Stars in one roster spot makes his argument almost infallible – especially if his Los Angeles Angels finally make the playoffs.

As long as he can remain healthy, expect Ohtani to lift his second AL MVP as he heads into perhaps the most anticipated free agency in American sports since LeBron James' move to Miami.

Will new Red Sox signing and WBC star Yoshida be the top rookie?

A bevy of super-talented American prospects including Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson and Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll are expected to emerge as top talents this season – but no rookie should have higher expectations than Boston Red Sox signing Yoshida.

Yoshida, 29, is a four-time All-Star in Japan's top professional league, and boasts a career batting average of .327 with 133 home runs in his six seasons with the Orix Buffaloes.

The Red Sox ended up the highest bidder for his services, forking out a five-year contract worth $90million, on top of a $15.4m posting fee to the Buffaloes, and they were given a sneak peek at the World Baseball Classic.

En route to Japan's third title – while no other country has more than one – Yoshida earned a spot on the All-Classic team by breaking the RBI record with 13 in seven games, while slashing .409/.531/.727 and hitting a pair of home runs.

He is not the only Japanese veteran trying to make his mark as a rookie this season, as 30-year-old New York Mets starting pitcher Senga will have every opportunity to become a star after signing a five-year, $75m deal with one of the most-watched teams in baseball.

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