As the Premier League starts the month of April, the month in which titles are won and clubs are relegated, gameweek 29 provided fascinating insights into where the teams could possibly end up.
Even though the week’s biggest games were at Anfield between Liverpool and Everton and at the Emirates Stadium where Arsenal faced off against Manchester City, perhaps the biggest indicator came from Old Trafford where Manchester United once again failed to beat lower-ranked opposition in the form of West Brom, settling for a dour 0-0 draw.
United’s top four hopes are fading fast and with games against Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton to follow, it seems highly unlikely that the Red Devils will finish in the Champions League spots.
Elsewhere, Liverpool’s 3-1 win in the Merseyside derby fuelled further belief that Jurgen Klopp has his team expertly setup for the big games whereas Arsenal came from a goal down twice to bag a share of the spoils with Manchester City.
Here are some interesting numbers from this weekend:
3
Burnley have three points from their last eight games, having drawn three and losing the rest. This is relegation stuff from the Clarets, who are now only five points clear of the drop zone. Sean Dyche will be hoping their home form holds up.
5
Shots on target by Riyad Mahrez versus Stoke City, highest of any Premier League player this weekend. Craig Shakespeare has managed to resuscitate last season’s PFA Player of the Year and what a turnaround it has been.
5
Five games, five victories for the new Leicester boss and the Foxes are increasingly looking like the team that stormed to the Premier League title last season. When Claudio Ranieri was sacked, the champions were sitting in 17th spot, three points above relegation. Win their next match and they could go as high as ninth. Uncle Claudio will not be happy watching on his Italian telly.
6
The number of goals that Divock Origi has scored coming on a substitute this season, only one fewer than Olivier Giroud. Daniel Sturridge will be glumly looking on from the treatment table at the Kop end.
8
Manchester United have drawn eight games at home, more than any other Premier League side this season. They have also drawn 11 games cumulatively, the highest in the division and equal to second-from-bottom Middlesbrough.
Under David Moyes, they recorded their lowest number of wins at home in the Premier League era, 9. Win their remaining four games (Everton, Chelsea, Swansea and Crystal Palace) and they will have ten. The Theatre of Dreams is slowly turning into the Theatre of Draws.
8
Kevin de Bruyne has an obsession with wood and not the good kind. The Belgian has hit the woodwork more times than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues this season. All that’s left for him is to shout “Timber!”
De Bruyne also has the highest number of assists in the league this season, joint-top on 11 with Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson.
13
Total number of shots it has taken for Leroy Sane to score his eight goals for Manchester City in all competitions. The English press may be going ga-ga over Raheem Sterling’s improvement under Pep Guardiola but it is the German on the other wing who is increasingly looking like the real deal.
14
Hull City have picked up more points under their ‘foreign’ manager Marco Silva in ten games than in the 20 before him. Sitting rock bottom under Mike Phelan, Hull are now astonishingly only one point away from escaping relegation. Out with all the foreigners, I say.
20
Middlesbrough have only scored 20 goals in 29 matches played so far this season. That is four fewer than bottom-placed Sunderland and comfortably the lowest in the league. The football, if that is what it can be called, on offer from Boro’ this season has been borderline dreadful at times.
28
Ross Barkley lost the ball 28 times, more than any other Premier League player this weekend. The 23-year old was axed from Gareth Southgate’s squad for England’s matches against Lithuania and Germany and he had a terrible afternoon, registering only a 65.2% passing accuracy, while giving away four fouls.
42
Douglas Adams’ favourite number and the number of games that Cesc Fabregas scored in without ending up on the losing side before Chelsea’s 2-1 surprise loss against Crystal Palace. Looks like it was 43rd time unlucky for the Spaniard. Jamie Milner’s ongoing record of 47 will have to wait.
50
The German has more assists in his time than any other Arsenal player during the same timeframe. Against City, his pinpoint corner met the head of Shokdran Mustafi who gladly buried it to give Arsenal a point.
50
Andy Carroll became the 44th Englishman to reach the 50-goal milestone in the Premier League. West Ham still managed to lose 2-1 though.
100
Number of goals that David Silva has been involved in since joining Manchester City, 37 of them goals and the rest assists. It is difficult to imagine Pep Guardiola or any City squad post-2010 without the Spanish wizard in the team.
115
The number of passes that Michael Carrick made against West Brom, highest in Europe of any player who took to the field in the top five leagues. At 35, Carrick refuses to go away quietly into the Old Trafford night.
327
The average number of minutes per Anthony Martial goal. The Frenchman has struggled this season and has scored only thrice, despite playing 982 minutes. In the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, this was Martial’s chance to convince Mourinho of his usefulness. Luke Shaw may not be the only one out the Old Trafford door this summer.
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