Desh Parthab highlights a few things you should keep in mind before taking your weekend Premier League bets! In this edition, we take a look at final round of Premier League fixtures, Brentford's brilliance, Man United's dismal season and more!
The final round of Premier League fixtures is upon us! Manchester City and Liverpool will find out who will claim the title come Sunday. This season, Liverpool became just the second team in Premier League history to have 3 players reach 15 league goals each in a single campaign (Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota), after Manchester City’s title-winning side of 2013/14 (Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko).
Chelsea’s midweek draw with Leicester was enough to guarantee their Champions League ticket, with the final place for the coveted European competition going to either Arsenal or Tottenham. That will also be decided upon the full time come Sunday, alongside the final relegated team (either Leeds or Burnley) following Norwich’s and Watford’s confirmation.
With that being said, here are a few footy notes to consider ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.
Brilliant Brentford
Brentford are only the fourth top-flight club to keep four straight home league clean sheets this season after Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, with the Bees doing so for the first time in their Premier League history.
Despite this exceptional defensive record, alarmingly 64.8% of Brentford’s goals conceded have come in away matches (35/54), with only Liverpool (68%) and Arsenal (65.96%) conceding a higher share on their travels this term.
Last away game of the season. Massive 3 points. Let finish on a high on Sunday 🐝 #bees pic.twitter.com/gxc7pAQuBN
— David Raya Martin (@daviidraya1) May 16, 2022
Chelsea stumble to third
Chelsea got out of the blocks really well but that form has fizzled out as the season dragged on. This, of course, wasn’t helped by a very obvious targeting of the cup competitions once Liverpool and Manchester City pulled clear. Despite this, the Blues have picked up 20 league victories, one more than their total of last season (19). Romelu Lukaku has had an underwhelming season but has found some form of late. Across his previous three league appearances, the forward has bagged three goals.
🥵 Stunning move
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) May 19, 2022
👌 Stunning finish
🤩 Stunning goal
Absolute class from Chelsea to draw level against Leicester 👏
📺 Stream #PL live: https://t.co/0BMWdeFwIB pic.twitter.com/J7Le6eiJVJ
Broja buzzing despite Saints’ troubles
Southampton have dropped 29 points from winning positions this season – a league-leading total. Since the start of March, only relegated Watford (28) have conceded more goals than Southampton (26) from all top-flight clubs. Armando Broja is one man trying to get things going for the Saints at the opposite of the pitch. The forward has bagged six league goals this season, hitting the woodwork twice this term.
Whilst he has not returned a goal across Southampton’s previous three league outings, he did register a team-high five shots during that period. Furthermore, only Kyle Walker-Peters was fouled more than Broja from all teammates in this spell.
The last time Southampton faced Brighton, Armando Broja did this 🤤⚽️ pic.twitter.com/EkDC1kKliV
— Chelsea Loan Army (@ChelseaLoanArmy) April 24, 2022
A season to forget for Manchester United
Manchester United come into the final round of fixtures with 58 points to their name – guaranteeing that the 2021/22 season will be their lowest points tally at the end of a campaign – staggering when you think about the investment that has gone into this squad over the last few years. The Red Devils have kept just a single league clean sheet since the start of March, conceding 22 league goals during that period (only Watford 28, Southampton 26 and Norwich 24 have conceded more in that spell). Of all top-flight shot-stoppers, only Illan Meslier (139) and Kasper Schmeichel (130) have registered more saves than David De Gea (126) in the 2021/22 Premier League season. Erik Ten Hag has some job on his hands.
Not long until Erik ten Hag is at Manchester United 👹 pic.twitter.com/HgMzJdRyXl
— Man United News (@ManUtdMEN) May 11, 2022
Joao Cancelo hits double figures for assists
Joao Cancelo (10) became the fourth Manchester City player to reach double figures for assists (across all competitions) in 2021/22 (after De Bruyne 13, Foden 11, Jesus 11).
The Cityzens are the only team in Europe’s five major leagues to have 4 or more different players to reach 10 or more assists (across all competitions) in the 2021/22 season. Despite notching up 35 league appearances (the most out of all outfield teammates), the wing-back has registered just a single league goal this term. Across the clubs previous three league outings, only Kevin De Bruyne (11) has attempted more shots than Cancelo (8).
Furthermore, only De Bruyne (19) has registered more crosses than Cancelo (13) during this period.
João Cancelo just gave us an assist of the season contender 🥵⤴️
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) November 21, 2021
Man City lead 1-0 against Everton at the break..
📺 Stream live: https://t.co/0BMWdeEYT3 pic.twitter.com/vm7oWsTbYf
