London [UK], September 17 (ANI): Matchweek 5 of the 2026/27 Premier League season is set to deliver plenty of statistical intrigue, with Manchester City aiming to preserve their perfect start, Arsenal chasing a 10th successive league win and Liverpool looking to turn their early-season draws into victories, according to a release.
From Erling Haaland’s curious record against Sunderland to Bournemouth’s striking run of draws in 2026, here are some of the key Opta facts to watch out for ahead of this weekend’s action.
Brentford v Chelsea
Brentford will be looking for their first Premier League home victory over Chelsea, having failed to win any of their five previous meetings at the Gtech Community Stadium. The last four have all ended in draws.
The Bees have developed a particular fondness for stalemates, with 10 of their last 14 Premier League matches ending level. They are unbeaten in their last six league games, winning once and drawing five.
Chelsea have won just one of their last six Premier League away games, while their matches have produced more goals than those of any other side this season, with 19 across their opening five games.
There is also a set-piece battle to watch, with Brentford’s 2.34 set-piece xG excluding penalties the second-highest figure in the division, while Chelsea have conceded the seventh-highest amount of set-piece xG at 1.57.
João Pedro has six goal involvements this season, more than any other Premier League player, with three goals and three assists.
Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa
The last 22 Premier League meetings between Tottenham and Aston Villa have produced a winner, with Spurs winning 15 and Villa seven. The last draw in this fixture came before that 22-game sequence.
Villa have also won four of their last six Premier League away games against Spurs, despite winning just three of their previous 21 visits.
Tottenham have started the season with back-to-back 0-0 draws. They have recorded as many goalless draws in their last two matches as they had in their previous 181 Premier League games.
Villa, meanwhile, are still waiting for their first victory of the campaign. Their current opening five-game run without a win has only been matched on three previous occasions in their top-flight history: 1919/20, 1964/65 and 2025/26.
At the individual level, three Spurs players feature among the six Premier League players to have completed at least nine take-ons this season: Mathys Tel, Omar Marmoush and Sávio.
Sávio produced a particularly notable display against Everton last time out, becoming the first player this season to complete four take-ons and create four chances from open play in the same match.
Brighton v Arsenal
Arsenal arrive at the Amex on a nine-match Premier League winning streak, having conceded just twice during that run. A 10th consecutive league victory would match one of only a handful of extended winning runs in the club’s Premier League history.
Brighton, meanwhile, have scored 13 goals this season, more than any other team. Nine of those came in their two victories, 4-0 against Aston Villa and 5-0 against Coventry City, according to a release.
The Seagulls have also been aggressive without the ball, forcing 41 high turnovers this season, the most in the Premier League.
Arsenal’s defensive numbers have been equally striking. They have faced just 2.7 xG across their opening four league matches, the lowest figure in the division, with 0.8 of that total coming from Sunderland’s penalty in their most recent game.
Bukayo Saka has been involved in five goals across six Premier League away appearances against Brighton, scoring in each of his last three visits to the Amex.
There is also a creative battle between two of the league’s leading chance creators. Brighton’s Pascal Groß has created 13 chances this season, while Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard has created 12. Both have created 11 chances from open play, the joint-highest figures in the league.
Everton v Ipswich Town
Everton are unbeaten after four Premier League games, their best unbeaten start since 2021/22. They last enjoyed a longer unbeaten opening run in 2020/21, when they avoided defeat in their first five.
Ipswich have taken six points despite conceding 10 goals in their opening four games. They are only the third team in Premier League history to concede at least 10 goals in their first four matches while still collecting six points.
Everton have already kept two clean sheets this season, matching their total from their final 16 matches of 2025/26.
Jordan Pickford reached a major milestone in Everton’s 0-0 draw with Spurs, recording his 100th Premier League clean sheet. Only Ederson and Alisson have kept more since Pickford registered his first in November 2016.
Ipswich’s Zian Flemming has scored 12 Premier League goals in 31 appearances, and his rate of one goal every 152 minutes across the last two seasons is better than that of all but three players with 10 or more goals in that period.
Leeds United v Crystal Palace
Leeds have eight points from their first four Premier League games, their best opening to a campaign since 2001/02. A victory would give them their joint-best points tally after five games.
Crystal Palace arrive having conceded two or more goals in each of their last 10 Premier League matches. Only Fulham have endured a longer such run, with 13 consecutive games in 2019.
Palace have also faced the highest xG in the Premier League this season at 8.15, conceded the most goals at 11, faced the joint-most shots on target at 26 and allowed the most opposition touches in their own box at 164, the release said.
Leeds forward Noah Okafor has been involved in eight goals across his last 11 Premier League appearances, scoring seven and assisting once. His goal or assist has come every 79 minutes across that period, the best rate among players with at least 500 minutes.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has scored in each of his last five Premier League home appearances for Leeds. A goal against Palace would make him only the second Leeds player to score in six consecutive home appearances, after Mark Viduka achieved the feat between March and August 2003.
Manchester City v Sunderland
Manchester City have won all four of their Premier League games this season and will be looking to start a top-flight campaign with five consecutive victories.
Their home record against Sunderland is formidable: City are unbeaten in all 14 of their previous Premier League home meetings with the Black Cats, winning 12 and drawing two.
Sunderland do have one trend in their favour. They have scored in each of their last eight Premier League away matches, their longest such run in the top flight since another eight-game sequence in 2015/16.
Erling Haaland comes into the fixture having scored nine goals in his last nine appearances, finding the net in eight of those matches.
Yet Sunderland remain the one Premier League team he has faced without scoring against. Haaland has had three shots worth 0.75 xG across two previous meetings with the Black Cats without finding the net.
For City, Enzo Maresca could become only the sixth manager to win his first five Premier League games in charge of a club.
Newcastle United v Hull City
Hull City have never lost a Premier League away game at Newcastle. Across their three previous visits to St James’ Park, they have won twice and drawn once.
Hull are also looking to become the first newly promoted Premier League side since Portsmouth in 2003/04 to remain unbeaten through their first five matches.
Newcastle have faced more shots than any other Premier League side this season, with 76, while only Crystal Palace have faced more xG.
Despite that defensive pressure, Newcastle have scored seven times from just 3.9 xG, meaning they have overperformed their expected goals by 3.1, the second-highest figure in the league.
Hull midfielder Mohamed Belloumi has two goals and an assist in his first four Premier League appearances for the club, the release said.
Newcastle’s Lewis Hall has also been busy defensively, winning possession 31 times, more than any other player in the Premier League this season. He has also completed more dribbles than any other defender, with six.
Nottingham Forest v Coventry City
Coventry City have endured a difficult return to the Premier League, losing all four of their matches without scoring.
Only Crystal Palace in 2017/18 have had a longer losing start in Premier League history without finding the net, losing their first seven games.
Nottingham Forest have their own goalscoring issue at home. They have failed to score in any of their Premier League matches at the City Ground this season and have never previously started a league campaign without scoring in their first three home games.
Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, however, has been among the most productive players in the Premier League calendar year. He has scored 13 goals and provided five assists in 2026, with only Bruno Fernandes involved in more Premier League goals during the year.
Coventry’s Jack Rudoni has recorded five shots and created eight chances this season without registering a goal or assist, putting him among the players with the most shot involvements without a goal contribution.
Bournemouth v Liverpool
Liverpool have won 14 of their 18 Premier League meetings with Bournemouth, with all three of Bournemouth’s victories coming at home.
Liverpool have scored in 17 of those 18 encounters and average three goals per game against the Cherries, their highest average against any side they have faced at least 10 times in the competition.
The Reds have made an unusual start to this campaign, drawing three of their first four league matches. It is the first time they have done so since 2005/06, when they also drew their fifth match.
Bournemouth have been even more draw-heavy in 2026. They have drawn 13 of their 23 Premier League matches this calendar year, meaning 56.5% of their league games have ended level, the highest draw ratio by a team in a single calendar year in English top-flight history.
The Cherries have also led in all four of their league games this season without winning any of them. Only Manchester City in January 2004 and Tottenham Hotspur in October 2007 and December 2023 have previously gone five consecutive Premier League matches leading without winning.
Marcus Tavernier has scored in four of his last five Premier League appearances for Bournemouth, matching his total from his previous 24 matches combined.
Fulham v Manchester United
Manchester United have dominated this fixture historically, losing just one of their last 21 Premier League meetings with Fulham. United have won 16 and drawn four during that run.
United have taken four points from their opening four games this season, matching their joint-lowest points total at this stage of a Premier League campaign.
Despite that, they have been prolific in terms of shot volume. United registered 84 shots across the first four matchdays, more than any other side, while their 8.3 xG was second only to Brighton.
Fulham, meanwhile, have failed to score in 10 Premier League matches in 2026, the most of any side.
Marcus Rashford has created nine chances for United this season, while his 14 completed dribbles and 23 touches in the opposition box are also team-high figures.
Bruno Fernandes has five assists in his last five Premier League appearances in London. (ANI)
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