Stats & Facts: Premier League match week 1

LIVERPOOL V BOURNEMOUTH 15 AUGUST 2025

● Liverpool have won 11 of their last 12 Premier League games against Bournemouth, with the exception being a 1-0 away loss in March 2023.

● Bournemouth have taken just one point from 24 available away against Liverpool in the Premier League (W0 D1 L7), losing their last six visits to Anfield by an aggregate score of 23-2.

● Liverpool haven’t lost their opening league game in any of the last 12 seasons (W9 D3), since a 3-0 loss at West Brom in 2012-13. It’s the longest current run without defeat on MD1 of any Premier League side.

● In 33 previous Premier League campaigns, the reigning champions have lost their opening match of the season on just three occasions (W26 D4). However, all three of these have come in the last nine campaigns (Leicester v Hull in 2016-17, Chelsea v Burnley in 2017-18 and Man City v Spurs in 2021-22).

● Bournemouth haven’t lost their opening league match in any of the last seven seasons (W3 D4) since a 1- 0 loss at West Bromwich Albion in 2017-18.

● After winning the league with a 5-1 win against Spurs in April, Liverpool failed to win any of their last four Premier League games in 2024-25 (D2 L2). The Reds haven’t gone five without a win since between December and January in 2020-21 (D3 L2).

● Bournemouth won 2-0 against Leicester in their final game of 2024-25, but haven’t won consecutive Premier League matches since January (vs Newcastle and Nottingham Forest).

● Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has scored more goals (9) and registered more goal involvements (14) on the opening weekend of a Premier League campaign than any other player. Indeed, only Paul Pogba (6) has more MD1 assists than the Egyptian (5).

● New Liverpool signing Florian Wirtz (10 goals, 12 assists) was one of only six players to register double figures for both goals and assists in the big-five European leagues last season. The Reds’ record signing could also become the third German player to score on his Premier League debut, after Jürgen Klinsmann in August 1994 and Ilkay Gündogan in September 2016.

● Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has scored 105 Premier League goals at Anfield, with only Sergio Agüero (106 at the Etihad) and Thierry Henry (114 at Highbury) netting more goals at a single venue in the competition’s history. He’s also scored more Premier League goals against Bournemouth than any other player (11).

ASTON VILLA – NEWCASTLE UNITED 16 AUGUST 2025

● Aston Villa beat Newcastle 4-1 in April, but haven’t won consecutive Premier League games against the Magpies since completing the double over them in 2004-05.

● Newcastle have lost five of their last six Premier League away games against Aston Villa, with the exception being a 3-1 victory in January 2024.

● This is the second time in the last three seasons Aston Villa and Newcastle have met in their opening league match of the season, with the Magpies winning 5-1 at St. James’ Park in 2023-24.

● Aston Villa won 2-1 at West Ham in their opening Premier League match last season, last winning on MD1 in consecutive campaigns between 2013-14 and 2015-16.

● Newcastle have won their opening league match in each of the last three seasons, more times than they had in the previous 14 campaigns combined (W2 D4 L8).

● Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last 21 home games in all competitions (W15 D6), winning the last eight in a row. It’s their longest run without defeat at Villa Park since a run of 24 between September 1976 and May 1977.

● Though they still secured a top-five finish to qualify for the Uefa Champions League, Newcastle lost their last two Premier League games of 2024-25 (0-1 v Arsenal, 0-1 v Everton). They last lost more consecutive games in December/January in 2023-24 (4), while they last did so without scoring in January 2021 (3).

Ollie Watkins – who became Aston Villa’s highest ever Premier League goalscorer last season – has scored in all four of his Premier League home games against Newcastle (5 goals). He also has two assists in these four games, only having a hand in more home league goals for the Villans against Brighton (8).

● From April until the end of the 2024-25 season, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers assisted more Premier League goals than any other player (6). Across the full season, Rogers assisted 10 goals in open play, with only Mohamed Salah (18) and Jacob Murphy (11) having more.

● Newcastle striker Alexander Isak has scored 11 goals in his last 13 Premier League away games. Since the first game in this run (October 27th), only Mohamed Salah has scored more on the road than the Swede (13).

BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION – FULHAM 16 AUGUST 2025

● Brighton beat Fulham 2-1 in March, ending a nine-game winless run against the Cottagers in the Premier League (D4 L5).

● Fulham have won just one of their last seven away league games against Brighton (D3 L3), beating them 1-0 in February 2023.

● Fulham have won 50 per cent of their 10 Premier League games against Brighton (W5 D4 L1) – of sides they’ve faced 10+ times in the competition, only against Leicester (58 per cent) and Bolton (55 per cent) do they have a higher win rate.

● Brighton have won their opening league match in each of the last four seasons. It’s the Seagulls’ longest such run in their league history, and the longest current run of any Premier League side.

● Fulham have won their opening league match in just one of the last eight campaigns (D3 L4), winning 1-0 at Everton in 2023-24.

● Since the matchday immediately following Brighton’s 7-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in February, the Seagulls have scored more Premier League goals than any other side (31), while only Manchester City (30) and Aston Villa (29) have picked up more points than Brighton in that time (27 – W8 D3 L3).

● None of Fulham’s last 18 Premier League games have been drawn (W8 L10). It’s their longest run without a draw in the top-flight since a run of 23 between December 2018 and October 2020 (W5 L18).

● Fulham have conceded 999 goals in 684 Premier League games. They would be the 13th different side to concede 1000 in the competition, with only Leicester (679) doing so in fewer than 700 games previously.

● Should he feature in this game, it will be Brighton veteran James Milner’s 17th appearance on MD1 in the Premier League, with only Frank Lampard (18) making more such appearances.

● Only against West Ham (8) has Fulham’s Alex Iwobi been involved in more Premier League goals than he has against Brighton (6), with the Seagulls the only side he’s both scored (3) and assisted (3) 3+ goals against.

SUNDERLAND – WEST HAM UNITED 16 AUGUST 2025

● Sunderland are winless in their last eight league games against West Ham (D4 L4), most recently a 2-2 draw in April 2017.

● West Ham have lost just one of their last 17 Premier League games against promoted sides (W13 D3), going down 3-1 at Leicester in December last season.

● This is the fourth time West Ham are starting a Premier League campaign against a promoted side, with the Hammers winning each of the previous three (v Barnsley in 1997-98, Wolves in 2009-10 and Cardiff in 2013-14).

● As a Premier League side, Sunderland haven’t won their opening match in any of the last seven seasons (D4 L3), most recently losing 2-1 to Pep Guardiola’s Man City in 2016-17.

● West Ham have lost their opening match of a Premier League season more times than any other side (16), with the Hammers also conceding more MD1 goals than anyone else (50).

● Sunderland won just one of their last 14 Premier League matches between February and May 2017 (D2 L11), failing to score 11 times in that run and netting just five goals in total.

● Sunderland lost their last three home league games in the 2024-25 Championship campaign (excluding play-offs), all by a 1-0 scoreline. They last lost four in a row at the Stadium of Light in September 2017, while they last lost four straight home league games without scoring in November 1976.

● West Ham won their last two Premier League away games in 2024-25, the only time they won consecutively on the road last term. They last won three in a row in October 2021.

● Sunderland’s Régis Le Bris will be the ninth Frenchman to manage a club in the Premier League. Just two of the previous eight have won their first ever match in the competition (D3 L3, excluding joint-tenures) - Arsène Wenger with Arsenal in October 1996 (2-0 v Blackburn) and Alain Perrin with Portsmouth in April 2005 (4-2 v Charlton).

● Jarrod Bowen scored in each of his last four Premier League appearances in 2024-25. The last West Ham player to score in five in a row was Jesse Lingard in April 2021.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR – BURNLEY 16 AUGUST 2025

● Tottenham Hotspur have won eight of their nine Premier League home games against Burnley (D1), only failing to take all three points in a 1-1 draw in August 2017, under Mauricio Pochettino.

● This is just the second time Burnley are starting a Premier League campaign with a game in London, previously beating reigning champions Chelsea 3-2 at Stamford Bridge in 2017-18.

● Tottenham Hotspur will open a Premier League campaign at home to a promoted team for the third time, with the previous two both ending in 3-1 victories – v Ipswich Town in 2000-01 and Aston Villa in 2019-20.

● Burnley have lost their opening match in each of their last three Premier League campaigns, with their last victory coming in 2019-20 against Southampton (3-0).

● Tottenham haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 13 Premier League games, last having a longer run between August and December 2010 (17).

● Tottenham lost each of their last three Premier League home games in 2024-25 – they last lost four in a row back in November 2004.

● Burnley didn’t concede more than one goal in any of their 46 league games last season. However, in the Premier League they’re without a clean sheet in 20 games since a 2-0 win at Fulham in December 2023.

● This will be Thomas Frank’s first Premier League match in charge of Tottenham. Including caretakers, none of Spurs’ last eight managers has lost their first league game (W5 D3), with André Villas-Boas in August 2012 the last to do so (1-2 v Newcastle).

● This will be the third time that Burnley manager Scott Parker has come up against his former side Tottenham Hotspur as a manager, having drawn 1-1 away and lost 1-0 at home against them in the 2020- 21 Premier League season (in charge of Fulham).

● João Palhinha could make his Tottenham Hotspur debut in this game – across his two seasons in the Premier League previously in 2022-23 and 2023-24 while at Fulham, Palhinha made 109 more tackles than any other player (300) and he picked up five more yellow cards than anyone else (27).

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS – MANCHESTER CITY 16 AUGUST 2025

● Wolves have lost nine of their last 10 Premier League meetings with Manchester City (W1), although their one victory in this period did come at Molineux early in the season, winning 2-1 in September 2023 under Gary O’Neil.

● Across the last five Premier League campaigns, Manchester City have won the joint-most games (4) and scored the most goals (14) of any side when facing Wolves at Molineux (W4 D0 L1 F14 A5).

● This will be the ninth consecutive Premier League campaign that Manchester City have started with an away game, while they’ve won seven of the previous eight (L1), scoring 19 goals and only conceding twice across those matches.

● Man City have won their opening league game in 13 of the last 14 seasons, with the exception being a 1-0 loss at Tottenham Hotspur in 2021-22.

● Having been unbeaten in their opening league match in eight consecutive campaigns between 2013-14 and 2020-21 (W4 D4), Wolves have lost on MD1 in each of the last four seasons.

● After a six-game winning run in March and April, Wolves failed to win any of their final four Premier League games of 2024-25 (D1 L3).

● Manchester City have lost just one of their last 31 Premier League games in August (W26 D4), going down 1-0 at Spurs in their opening game of the 2021-22 season. They’ve won their last eight August games by an aggregate score of 25-5.

● Wolves’ Vítor Pereira has won eight of his 10 MD1 matches in his top-flight managerial career across spells with six different clubs (D1 L1), although his only such opening day defeat came last season, his Al-Shabaab side going down 0-1 to Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League.

● New Man City signing Rayan Aït-Nouri made 135 league appearances for Wolves between 2020 and 2025. He could be the fourth player to make his Premier League debut for Man City against a side he previously played for in the competition, after Danny Granville (v Leeds in 2000), Tommy Wright (v Newcastle in 2000) and Craig Bellamy (v Newcastle in 2009).

● No player provided more assists in France’s Ligue 1 last season than new Man City signing Rayan Cherki (11). The Frenchman was also involved in 13 goals in his last 15 league appearances for Lyon (5 goals, 8 assists).

CHELSEA – CRYSTAL PALACE 17 AUGUST 2025

● Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 15 Premier League games against Crystal Palace (W13 D2), their longest active run against any of the 19 other sides involved in the 2025-26 season.

● Crystal Palace’s last victory at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League came in April 2017 under Sam Allardyce (2-1) – since then, they’ve failed to win on any of their last eight trips in league action, losing seven of those matches (D1).

● This will be just the second time Chelsea and Crystal Palace have faced each other on MD1 of a league season, with the Blues having won 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the 2021-22 campaign.

● This is the fifth time Chelsea have begun a Premier League campaign with a London derby, winning each of the previous four (v West Ham in 2000, Charlton in 2002, West Ham in 2016 and Crystal Palace in 2021). They’ve also won the last two times their first league game has been against the previous season’s FA Cup winners, beating Portsmouth 4-0 in 2008 and Manchester United 1-0 in 2004.

● Chelsea lost 2-0 against Manchester City in their opening Premier League match last season, last losing on MD1 in consecutive campaigns in 1997-98/1998-99 (vs Coventry City both times).

● Crystal Palace have lost their opening league match in three of the last four seasons, with the exception being a 1-0 win at newly promoted Sheffield United in 2023-24.

● Chelsea won five of their final six Premier League games in 2024-25 (L1), as many as they had in their previous 16 (D5 L6).

● After winning their first four Premier League away games in 2025 by an aggregate score of 8-0, Crystal Palace won just one of their final six on the road last season (D3 L2).

● Cole Palmer has had a hand in four goals in his three Premier League starts for Chelsea against Crystal Palace (1 goal, 3 assists). However, he hasn’t scored from open play in any of his last 16 league games for the Blues, since netting against Bournemouth in January.

● Coming into MD1 of the 2025-26 Premier League season, no club has had more players score on their debut for them in the competition than Chelsea (27, level with Aston Villa). Forwards João Pedro, Liam Delap, and Jamie Gittens are among the players who could make their first league appearances for the Blues in this game.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST – BRENTFORD 17 AUGUST 2025

● Nottingham Forest have won just one of their last eight league games against Brentford (D3 L4), a 2-0 away win in December last season.

● Brentford have lost just two of their last 10 away league games against Nottingham Forest (W6 D2), and are unbeaten in their last four visits to the City Ground (W2 D2).

● Nottingham Forest haven’t won their opening league match in any of the last seven seasons (D2 L5), since a 1-0 win against Millwall in the 2017-18 Championship campaign.

● Brentford have never lost their opening game in any of their four previous Premier League campaigns (W2 D2), scoring exactly two goals in each match.

● Nottingham Forest lost three of their last four Premier League home games in 2024-25 (D1), having lost two of their first 15 at the City Ground last term (W9 D4).

● Brentford failed to win any of their nine Premier League away games between August and December last season (D2 L7). However, since the turn of the year the Bees have won more games (7) and points (23) on the road than any other side, with no side scoring more goals (20, level with Brighton).

● Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo is unbeaten in all five of his MD1 games in the Premier League (W2 D3), with only Jürgen Klopp (8) and Kenny Dalglish (6) managing more opening day matches without ever losing.

● This will be Keith Andrews’ first game in charge of Brentford, 13 years and 96 days after his final Premier League appearance as a player for West Brom against Arsenal in May 2012. Five of Brentford’s last eight managers (including caretakers) have won their first league game in charge of the club, although only one of the last four of those has done so (D1 L2).

● Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood has scored on MD1 in three Premier League seasons, each with a different club: Leicester in 2014-15, Burnley in 2020-21, and Nottingham Forest in 2024-25. The only player to score on the opening day of multiple Premier League seasons for the Tricky Trees is Bryan Roy (1994-95 and 1995-96).

● Jordan Henderson could make his Brentford debut in this match. Since his Premier League debut in November 2008, the midfielder ranks second in the competition for appearances (431) behind James Milner (461), while he has made the second-most successful passes (19 657) and won possession the outright most times (2 429) of any player in this time

MANCHESTER UNITED – ARSENAL 17 AUGUST 2025

● Manchester United have lost just two of their last 18 Premier League home games against Arsenal (W10 D6), though both defeats have been with Mikel Arteta in charge of the Gunners (1-0 in both November 2020 and May 2024).

● Arsenal have scored in each of their last 11 Premier League away games against Manchester United (14 goals), having only managed to score in 10 of their first 22 visits to Old Trafford in the competition (11 goals).

● Manchester United have won 99 of their 243 meetings with Arsenal in all competitions (D55 L89). They’ve only beaten Aston Villa (107) more often, while they would be the first ever team to beat the Gunners 100 times.

● This is just the second time in English league history Manchester United are hosting Arsenal in their first game of the season, previously beating the Gunners 4-1 in 1989-90.

● Manchester United are beginning a Premier League campaign with a home game for the ninth successive season, the longest run of any side in English top-flight history.

● Man Utd have won their opening match of a Premier League campaign more often than any other side (22), while also having the best win rate on MD1 of any side to play in more than one season (67 per cent).

● 2025-26 will be Arsenal’s 100th consecutive season in the English top-flight, the longest ongoing run (Everton next with 72). The Gunners have won their opening league game in five of the last six seasons (L1), including each of the last three. They last did so in more consecutive campaigns between 2001-02 and 2005-06 (5).

● Manchester United beat Aston Villa in their final game of 2024-25, but went the whole campaign without winning consecutive league matches. They last did so when beating Fulham 1-0 on MD1 last season, having won their final two games of 2023-24.

● Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 14 Premier League away games (W7 D7) since a 1-0 loss at Newcastle last November. It’s their longest run without defeat on the road since their own Premier League record of 27 between April 2003 and September 2004 (a run ended by Manchester United).

● New Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres has been the top scorer in Europe’s top 10 leagues over the last two seasons, scoring 68 goals in 66 Primeira Liga matches for Sporting CP across 2023-24 and 2024-25. A goal in this match would see him become only the third player to score against Manchester United at Old Trafford on his Premier League debut, after Mo Johnston for Everton in August 1992, and Paulo Wanchope for Derby County in April 1997.

LEEDS UNITED – EVERTON 18 AUGUST 2025

● Leeds United have only won one of their last 11 Premier League meetings with Everton (D4 L6), and are winless in each of the most recent five (D2 L3).

● Everton are unbeaten in their last five Premier League away games against Leeds United (W2 D3), which is their joint-longest active run away to any of the other 19 current top-flight teams (also five v Brighton and Nottingham Forest).

● This is the first time Leeds are starting a league campaign with a game on a Monday in their history. Meanwhile, it’s the first time Everton are starting with a Monday game since 2012-13, beating eventual champions Manchester United 1-0 under David Moyes.

● Leeds United’s last eight opening league games have produced a total of 39 goals (almost 5 per game), with the Whites scoring 20 and conceding 19.

● Everton have lost their opening league match in each of the last three seasons, having been unbeaten on MD1 in the 10 previous campaigns (W4 D6).

● Leeds have lost just one of their last 28 league games (W19 D8), winning the last six in a row. However, they failed to win any of their last nine as a Premier League side (D2 L7), conceding 29 goals in that run.

● Everton won their final three league games of 2024-25. They last won four in a row in December 2023 under Sean Dyche, while they last did so under David Moyes in March 2008.

● The only previous meeting between Leeds boss Daniel Farke and Everton’s David Moyes came in the 2019-20 Premier League season – Moyes’ West Ham won 4-0 away to Farke’s Norwich that day, which remains the Scotsman’s joint-biggest margin of victory in a top-flight away game.

● This will be Daniel Farke’s 50th Premier League match, and first in charge of current club Leeds. He’s won just six of his 49 so far, and even with a victory against Everton would have the lowest win rate of any manager to oversee 50+ games in the competition (currently 12.2 per cent).

● Everton boss David Moyes has won seven of his 10 Premier League games against Leeds (D2 L1). Of sides he’s faced at least 10