Premier League statistical preview: including West Brom vs Chelsea, Everton vs Manchester City and Arsenal vs Liverpool
WhoScored.com return to preview the Premier League's key matches this weekend
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Your support makes all the difference.West Bromwich Albion vs Chelsea
Both West Brom and Chelsea are locked on a single point going into Sunday's early kick-off and have had similar campaigns to date. Both sides would have targeted all three points in at least one of their first two matches, and both have suffered at the hands of Manchester City, each losing 3-0 to Manuel Pellegrini's men.
Some are already billing this as a must win game for the Blues, who could allow the likes of City, United and Liverpool to extend their advantage above them if they fail to win. A trip to the Hawthorns isn't a favourable game for the champions given their recent record against the Baggies either, with 2 wins for either side and 2 draws in their last 6 league meetings. Fail to win and Chelsea will have done so in the opening three league matches for the first time since the 1998/99 season.
It speaks volumes for their struggles at the start of the campaign that Chelsea's highest rated player according to WhoScored.com after two matches is second choice keeper Asmir Begovic (7.09), who is likely to lose his place to the returning Thiabut Courtois at the Hawthorns nonetheless. The fact that the hosts' reserve shot stopper Boaz Myhill - playing in the absence of the injured Ben Foster - is also his side's top rated player this season (7.18) owes much to the fact that Pulis' men are yet to register on the scoresheet this season. A scrappy and potentially feisty match-up could be in the offing, with a player sent off in each of the last two encounters between the sides.
Everton vs Manchester City
If Chelsea are facing something of a bogey team this weekend, the same could be said of Manchester City in Sunday's late kick-off as Pellegrini's men travel to Goodison Park. Last season's runners up have won just 1 of their last 6 away matches against Everton, so they will be expecting a sterner test than those put up by both West Brom and Chelsea this time out.
Both Everton and City romped to 3-0 wins last weekend and The Toffees' victory away at Southampton was perhaps even more shocking than the ease of their opponents' win over the champions. Plenty of players on display have began the season in fine form for either side, with Ross Barkley and David Silva certainly ones to watch. Only Riyad Mahrez has a better WhoScored.com rating from first two matches than the pairing, with Silva on 8.58 having scored once and registered 3 assists already, and Barkley garnering a score of 8.28, scoring in both of his league appearances to date.
Everton's home form was abnormally poor last season though, and they didn't get off to a great start at Goodison against Watford either, twice having to come from behind to secure a point. City, meanwhile, look to be in full swing already, with Aguero now returning to full fitness following an illness and the likes of Kompany and Toure playing as though they have something to prove this season.
Arsenal vs Liverpool
We should be in for an entertaining encounter to round off the action in gameweek 3 as Arsenal host Liverpool on Monday night. With 24 goals scored between the sides in their last 6 meetings in all competitions, both sides will be confident of building on their modest goal tallies of 2 thus far when they go toe-to-toe at the Emirates.
It could be a battle of the target men to see who comes out on top, with both Olivier Giroud and Christian Benteke opening their accounts for the season last weekend - the latter notching his first goal for his new club. The Frenchman scored in both matches between these two sides last season, while Benteke has previous of his own against Arsenal, scoring three times against them in 5 league appearances for Aston Villa.
Going into the weekend Arsenal have had more shots than any other side (42) for a return of just two goals, while Liverpool have been more shot shy, firing off just 26 in comparison. The Merseysiders have kept back-to-back clean sheets though, which is something of a surprise given their defensive struggles last season. Dejan Lovren has made a marked improvement to the start of this campaign, earning the second highest WhoScored rating for Rodgers' side (7.62) behind captain Jordan Henderson.
All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings. You can follow all the scores, statistics, live player and team ratings with their new free-to-download app
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