After a record-breaking round of fixtures in terms of goals, we dig a little deeper to see what else can be learned from the opening two weeks of the Premier League season.
To say the Premier League is back with a bang is some understatement.
The second round of fixtures saw all 20 teams involved after Manchester United and Manchester City were granted an extra week’s rest following their European exploits, handing Aston Villa and Burnley some additional holiday time too.
What unfolded certainly left the opening weekend, even with its stunning 4-3 clash between Liverpool and Leeds, feeling like little more than a high quality warm-up act.
We need to talk about goals (again)
I won’t waste too much time here as I covered this in Premier League: Talking Points 2 on Sunday.
Monday’s action then ensured it was a record-breaking round of fixtures, with 44 goals scored across 10 games – a goal more than the previous high set in February 2011.
What I urged in the Talking Points was to not all of sudden rush to back the overs, something that I believe bore fruit quickly on Monday night with just one goal in the first game at Villa Park - the four at Molineux came courtesy of perennial top scorers Man City.
A weekend such as this must surely act as a wake-up call for managers and perhaps more so, defenders.
Back in 2011 when 43 goals were netted across a weekend there did appear to be an attempt at correction among Premier League defences the following week as the net was found on just 23 occasions.
That drop-off was actually even more stark. A 3-3 draw skews the average goals hugely – in the nine other fixtures, an average of just 1.9 goals were scored. In an effort to address a freak of a weekend, teams were more cautious the next, with 15 of the Premier League’s 20 teams conceding one goal or fewer.
Arsenal’s late winner at the weekend hit the Hammers’ own strike-rate too, meaning they’re now little better than a 50/50 shot - six of their past 11 matches have seen under 2.5 goals.
But I still love that price at the London Stadium.
All or Nothing: Not just Tottenham Hotspur
Elsewhere, a game that sticks out is Sheffield United v Leeds.
Prior to their form tailing off in the final nine matches of the season, Chris Wilder’s team had drawn 11 of their opening 29 Premier League matches – by far the most in division. Ever the pragmatist, the Blades boss won’t want to make it a third straight magnanimous defeat to start the new season.
A pair of tight 1-0 away wins when these sides met during a close-run Sky Bet Championship promotion race in 2018/19 is a nice indicator of how this match may well play out. For the is galling in the extreme.
Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds may have been involved in two 4-3 thrillers so far, but both came within a whisker of finishing level.
The draw has to be the play here.
Penalty, penalty, penalty!
One from the boss
Things to carry over
Leeds did indeed prove they were the tackle kings again, making 23 against Fulham and rewarding backers at a return of 6/4. I anticipate an element of rope-a-dope from Sheffield United though, so I’d sit that one out this week. It's worth keeping an eye on for the future, however.
Southampton let us down in that same market. Hopefully that was an off week, but three defeats from three in all competitions doesn’t bode well for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
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