Premier League statistical preview, including West Brom vs Aston Villa, Arsenal vs Newcastle United, Manchester United vs Liverpool

WhoScored.com, who offer the largest online database for detailed football statistics, preview the top matches the Premier League this weekend

West Brom vs Aston Villa

This Midlands derby is usually a heated and entertaining affair. West Brom welcome Aston Villa to the Hawthorns, aiming to improve their home form. The Baggies have the joint-worst home record in the Premier League this season having taken just 6 points from a possible 24. Rivals Villa, meanwhile, have improved significantly since their 2-1 home defeat to Tottenham at the beginning of November.

Paul Lambert’s side are currently on a 5-game unbeaten run and have won their last 2 on the trot, conceding only 3 goals in that period. Heading in to the weekend, only title challengers Manchester City (17) and Chelsea (15) have racked up more Premier League points away from home this season than Villa (11). The Villans have drawn each of their last 3 league meetings with West Brom at the Hawthorns, the previous 2 of which have ended 2-2. Villa’s star striker Christian Benteke is returning to his best and having netted in 2 of his last 3 league appearances against West Brom, the home side will need to be wary of the goalscoring threat he carries.

Arsenal vs Newcastle United

The last 6 league meetings between these two teams at the Emirates have yielded 23 goals, so expect plenty of action at either end. Arsenal have won 5 of their last 6 home encounters with Newcastle, including a memorable 7-3 win back in 2012, but have won only 3 of their 7 league matches at the Emirates this season and have just 2 wins to their name in their last 5.

Newcastle, meanwhile, come into the meeting brimming with confidence following a 2-1 win over table-toppers and title favourites Chelsea last weekend. The Magpies have lost only 1 of their last 8 league games and their recent upturn in form saw manager Alan Pardew named manager of the month for November. With Arsenal’s current injury woes, Newcastle will be confident of inflicting defeat on the Gunners, who must keep a watchful eye on the rejuvenated Papiss Demba Cissé. The Senegalese has netted each of the Magpies’ last 3 league goals and his return of 7 Premier League goals this season means he is Newcastle’s current top goalscorer.

Manchester United vs Liverpool

A Manchester United win over Liverpool would stretch their winning run to 6 games, which would be the longest of its kind in the Premier League this term. United will look to exact revenge over their fierce rivals after Liverpool did the double over them last season. Louis van Gaal’s side, though, look to have found their rhythm at long last, in part due to the return of Michael Carrick. Injury to Daley Blind gifted Carrick a way back into the starting XI and United boast a 100% win record in the 5 league games the England international has started.

Liverpool, though, come into the fixture on the back of a 3-game unbeaten run after failing to win any of their previous 4 and will look to bounce back following a disappointing Champions League exit in midweek. The Reds must look once more to captain Steven Gerrard when Liverpool make the trip to Old Trafford for Sunday’s early kick off. The England international has netted 6 goals in his last 8 league appearances against United and helped himself to a brace in this fixture last season. A similar performance from Gerrard would give Liverpool fans something to smile about after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Basel that condemned them to Europa League football in the New Year.

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings.