London: Following the international break, the English Premier League returns to action this weekend. We look ahead to the fourth round fixtures from September 11-13 with match-by-match facts and statistics.
Saturday, Sept. 11 Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur
Palace will become the first club to start a top-flight campaign with four consecutive London derbies. However, they are winless in their last 11 such Premier League games (D6 L5).
Tottenham captain Harry Kane has scored 38 goals in Premier League derbies, second only to Arsenal’s Thierry Henry (43).
Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, no player has scored more winning goals in the Premier League than Tottenham’s Son Heung-min (eight), with both of his strikes so far this season proving decisive.
Arsenal v Norwich City
Only once in their history have Arsenal lost each of their first four league games, doing so in 1923-24. They have never failed to score in any of their opening four league games before.
Since winning 4-2 at Highbury in their first-ever Premier League game in 1992, Norwich are winless in eight away league games against Arsenal (D2 L6) and have conceded 24 goals in that run.
Arsenal have scored at least three goals in six of their last seven home league games against Norwich, winning 4-0 in their last meeting in July 2020.
Brentford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Brentford and Brighton will meet in the top flight for the first time. The clubs have previously played each other in the second, third and fourth tiers of English football.
Brighton have won only three of their 22 away Premier League games in London (D8 L11) and are winless in their last nine since beating Arsenal 2-1 in December 2019.
Brentford are currently on a 15-game unbeaten run, the longest for any side in England’s top four tiers (W7 D8). They are unbeaten in nine home league games (W5 D4), winning each of the last three without conceding.
Leicester City v Manchester City
Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has eight goals in 10 Premier League games against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, more than any other player has netted against sides managed by the Spaniard.
Man City’s Gabriel Jesus has been involved in 13 goals in his last 16 starts in the Premier League, scoring eight and assisting five. Only against Everton (eight) has he scored more league goals than he has against Leicester (five).
None of the last 11 league meetings between the two clubs has finished level, with Leicester winning four and City seven.
Manchester United v Newcastle United
Cristiano Ronaldo’s last Premier League appearance was in May 2009 against Arsenal. If he plays for Manchester United in this game, it would set a record for the longest gap between appearances in the competition’s history (12 years and 118 days).
Newcastle have taken 10 points from their last 15 available away from home in the Premier League (W3 D2 L1) after earning only nine points from their previous 42 available on the road.
Manchester United have lost only one of their last 36 home league games against Newcastle (W26 D9), with that defeat coming in December 2013 under David Moyes.
Southampton v West Ham United
Southampton have kept only one clean sheet in their last 24 Premier League games -- their longest run in the competition since September 2016. They have also conceded in each of their last 14 games since a 2-0 win over Sheffield United in March.
Since David Moyes returned to West Ham in January last year, they are one of only four Premier League clubs to have scored 100 goals in the competition, alongside Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool.
West Ham have won more Premier League games against Southampton (19) than against any other opponent in the competition.
Watford v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Watford striker Joshua King is two goals away from becoming only the second Norwegian player to score 50 times in the Premier League, after current Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (91).
Wolves’ Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez have created eight chances for each other in the Premier League, more than any other duo in the competition.
Watford have won their last 10 Premier League home games, their longest-ever winning run at Vicarage Road. They have kept eight clean sheets and conceded three goals during this run.
Chelsea v Aston Villa
With a win on Saturday, Chelsea could become the second club to register 600 Premier League victories after Manchester United (689).
Striker Danny Ings has been involved in eight goals in his last nine Premier League starts (six goals, two assists) and registered a goal involvement in all three appearances for Aston Villa this season (two goals, one assist).
Since Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge in January, only Manchester City (51) have won more points than Chelsea, who also have the best defence of any team excluding the promoted sides during that run with 14 goals conceded.
Sunday, September 12 Leeds United v Liverpool
Leeds are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League games at Elland Road (W3 D4), their longest sequence without defeat in the competition since a run of 15 in 2001.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah could become the fifth-fastest player to register 100 Premier League goals -- after Alan Shearer (124), Harry Kane (141), Sergio Aguero (147) and Thierry Henry (160) -- if he nets on his 162nd appearance on Sunday.
Liverpool have lost only one of their last nine away league games against Leeds (W5 D3), going down 4-3 in November 2000.
Monday, September 13 Everton v Burnley
Only one of the last 15 meetings between Everton and Burnley has finished level, with each club winning seven each. Last season’s meeting at Turf Moor ended in a 1-1 draw.
Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin could become the first player to score in his team’s first four games in consecutive Premier League campaigns, having netted in their opening five games last season.
Dwight McNeil is set to become the youngest player to reach 100 Premier League appearances for Burnley (21 years and 296 days).
