Premier League week 16: bullet point previews

Friday, Dec. 10

Brentford v Watford (1600)

* Brentford and Watford will meet in the top flight for the first time.

* Brentford are unbeaten in their last eight league games played on a Friday (W6 D2) since a 2-0 home loss to Fulham in Nov. 2016.

* Watford are the only team yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League this season and have conceded more league goals than any other side since Claudio Ranieri's first game in charge (19).

Saturday, Dec. 11

Manchester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers (0630)

* Manchester City have lost only one of their last nine home games against Wolves in all competitions (W6 D2), going down 2-0 in Oct. 2019.

* Excluding penalties, Wolves are the only side yet to concede a set-piece goal in the league this season, despite facing 39 shots from such situations.

* City's Raheem Sterling could become the 32nd player to reach 100 Premier League goals.

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Arsenal v Southampton (0900)

* Arsenal have lost only one of their last 11 Premier League games against Southampton (W6 D4) and are unbeaten in 26 home league games against them, since a 1-0 loss in Nov. 1987.

* Southampton have lost 14 away league games in 2021, their most away league defeats in a single year since 2004 (15).

* Since Ralph Hasenhuettl's first game in charge in Dec. 2018, Southampton have dropped more points from winning positions than any other Premier League side (71).

Chelsea v Leeds United (0900)

* Chelsea have conceded more goals in their last three Premier League games (5) than they had in their first 12 combined this season (4).

* Leeds have won only two of their last 32 away games in London in all competitions (D7 L23).

* Raphinha has scored six of Leeds 15 league goals this season, with no other player at the club netting more than twice.

Liverpool v Aston Villa (0900)

* Liverpool have won six of their last seven Premier League games against Aston Villa (L1).

* Aston Villa have won three of their four league games under Steven Gerrard (L1), as many as they had in 11 games under Dean Smith this season (D1 L7).

* Gerrard will take on former club Liverpool for the first time as a manager. Former players managing against Liverpool at Anfield in the league have lost 14 of their last 16 visits (W1 D1), with Kevin Keegan winning in 2003 with Manchester City.

Norwich City v Manchester United (1130)

* Manchester United are winless in their last four Premier League games against newly promoted teams (D3 L1), losing 4-1 to Watford this season.

* Norwich have kept two clean sheets in their last four home league games, as many as they managed in their previous 26 in the top flight.

* Norwich manager Dean Smith has already beaten United once in the league this season, winning 1-0 with Aston Villa in September.

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Sunday, Dec. 12

Brighton & Hove Albion v Tottenham Hotspur (0800)

* Despite Brighton being on the longest current winless run in the Premier League (10 games, D8 L2), only the current top three clubs have lost fewer league games this season (Manchester City 2, Liverpool 1, Chelsea 2).

* Tottenham have won five of their eight league meetings with Brighton (D1 L2), with both defeats coming at the Amex Stadium.

* Neal Maupay's six league goals this season have been worth seven points to Brighton, with only Leicester City's Jamie Vardy's goals proving more valuable this term (eight).

Burnley v West Ham United (0800)

* West Ham have never kept a clean sheet in seven away Premier League games against Burnley.

* Burnley striker Chris Wood has scored seven goals in eight Premier League games against West Ham, more than he has against any other team.

* Only Liverpool (23) have scored more second half goals in the Premier League than West Ham this season (19), while only Norwich (3) have netted fewer after half time than Burnley (5).

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Leicester City v Newcastle United (0800)

* Since their return to the Premier League in 2014, Leicester have won more games against Newcastle than they have against any team in the competition (eight).

* Newcastle have won three of their last four away league games against Leicester City (L1), as many as they had in their previous 17 visits (D7 L7).

* Leicester striker Jamie Vardy has been directly involved in 25 goals in his last 18 Premier League appearances against teams starting the day in the relegation zone (18 goals, seven assists).

Crystal Palace v Everton (1030)

* Crystal Palace are winless in their last 13 Premier League meetings with Everton (D7 L6) since a 3-2 away win in September 2014.

* Everton have won more points from losing positions (10) than any other side in the league this season.

* Everton manager Rafa Benitez has lost 12 of his last 17 away league games against London sides (W3 D2), with both draws in that run coming at Crystal Palace.

* all kick-off times in ET