Arsenal will face another major hurdle on their way to their first Premier League title in 19 years when they travel to Liverpool on Sunday.
The Gunners have historically struggled at Anfield, although Mikel Arteta’s men have passed most of the tests this season on their way to opening a healthy lead over Manchester City.
While Arsenal will look to maintain their good form with seven straight wins, a new chapter is beginning for Chelsea as they travel to Wolverhampton.
This week, Frank Lampard was named interim manager for the remainder of the season following the sacking of Graham Potter, with Chelsea dropping to 11th.
There will be many other important games at the top and bottom of the division this weekend, not least at Old Trafford, where Manchester United and Everton will meet.
United returned their top four hopes midweek and will be looking for some momentum when they take on Everton, who are level with the bottom three.
Here, with the help of Opta data, Stats Perform provided some key insights and predictions.
Glad to see Frank Lampard back at the helm. @ChelseaFC fans? pic.twitter.com/jTd7FlDynW
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 7, 2023
Manchester United – Everton
United have dominated this match for many years, with their 38 Premier League wins over Everton the second most wins by one team over another behind the Red Devils themselves against Tottenham (39 wins).
Erik ten Hag’s side have won both meetings with Everton in all competitions this season – 2-1 in the league at Goodison Park and 3-1 in the FA Cup on home soil – and could win three in a single campaign against them for for the third time (after the 1993-94 and 2015-16 seasons).
Everton have improved since Sean Dyche took over, scoring 12 points in nine games under him, seven more than in Lampard’s last 12 games.
Best bet – Everton to score at Old Trafford: The Toffees’ away form this season may be terrible, as is their overall record at United, but they have scored in each of their last nine Premier League games at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils’ longest streak ever. no shutouts against the only opponent in the competition.
Long shot – Everton to avoid defeat: Scoring goals for United is one thing; holding a point or more is another. Everton have only won one of their last 29 away games against United, but their last three visits to Old Trafford have come to nothing.
Opta-prediction: United failed to win any of their six matches in Saturday’s opener last season, but they have won all three of them this campaign, including a 2-1 win over Manchester City in January. Everton, meanwhile, have only won two of their last 31 away league matches and the Opta model gives them a mere 20.6% chance of winning at Old Trafford. Meanwhile, United have a 52.7% chance of success, with a draw estimated at 26.7%.
Wolves vs Chelsea
Chelsea have failed to win their last two visits to Molyneux in the league, but the good news is that their last win came in September 2019 under Lampard.
Wolves are undefeated in their three Premier League games against rivals London under Julen Lopetegui’s eye, having failed to win any of their previous 11 such matches before the Spaniard’s arrival.
The Blues have amassed just 16 points in 14 top-flight away games, their lowest record after 14 away games in a single campaign since the 2000-01 season (nine).
Best bet – Wolves to win without conceding: Given Chelsea’s form, Wolves’ victory this weekend is unlikely to be the biggest surprise, especially when Lopetegui’s men have won their last three league matches against teams that started the day before , without conceding a single goal (1-0 with West Ham, 3-0 with Liverpool and 1-0 with Tottenham).
long shot – Rahim Sterling to score or assist: The Chelsea winger has only been directly involved in one goal in his last six matches, but since the start of the 2019/20 campaign, only Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne (nine) has been directly involved in more league goals for Molineux than at Sterling. among away players (three goals, two assists).
Opta-prediction: The Wolves have not won their last four Premier League games against Chelsea since beating them 2-1 at Molineux in December 2020. 42.3% support compared to 27.9% for Wolves and 29.8% for Draw.
Liverpool vs Arsenal
Arsenal face Liverpool as Premier League leaders for the ninth time, with a total of 33 goals scored in the previous eight matches, averaging over four per game.
Since Arsenal briefly lost top spot to Manchester City after a 3-1 defeat in February, Arsenal have won their last seven Premier League games. They have scored at least three goals in six of them, including the last five in a row.
Liverpool have won five of their last six Premier League (D1) home matches, including all three of the last with an 11-0 aggregate score. The Reds have not missed a single one of the last seven hours and 26 minutes of action at Anfield since December’s Kiernan Dewsbury Hall strike for Leicester City.
Best bet – Mohamed Salah to score or assist: The Egypt international is expected to be recalled by Jurgen Klopp and that could spell bad news for Arsenal. Salah scored 105 goals in 105 games at Anfield for Liverpool (74 goals, 31 assists) and scored in three consecutive home matches for the Reds.
Long shot – Arsenal lose without scoring: The Gunners have lost their last six visits to Anfield in the league, conceding at least three goals each time. They have failed to score 20 reds in the Premier League era, their worst record against any team in the division.
Opta-prediction: Arsenal won the return match against Liverpool 3–2, the first major sign that they were real players this season, although they have not achieved a double in this match since the 2009–2010 campaign. According to the Opta model, they have a 22.6 per cent chance of doing so this weekend, while Liverpool have a 51 per cent chance of scoring three points. The chance of a draw is 26.4%.