Last season’s top points scorer had a frustrating time in gameweek five failing to return points for a second consecutive week despite ranking joint-first amongst midfielders for shots inside the box (SiB) with four. No midfielder has had more 'big chances' than Salah's four over the last four gameweeks, but rather worryingly the Egyptian has missed all of them. Despite scoring just one goal over that period the 19 shots he has fired off is only behind Agüero across all positions with the Argentine taking 22 efforts. His 13 SiB ranks first amongst midfielders and can only be beaten by Lukaku and Agüero amongst all players, who have 14 each. We have seen the Liverpool midfielder increase his creative output in the opening weeks of the new season. 16 attempted assists ranks joint-first amongst all players, along with D. Silva. Southampton’s switch to a back four has seen them lose the defensive solidarity they found at the end of last season, with 13 ‘big chances’ conceded, only West Ham (14), Burnley (14) and Fulham (19) have allowed more. They have also allowed their opponents 28 shots on target (SoT), the sixth worst in the league. Liverpool on the other hand have fired in 35 SoT, second only to Man. City’s 45, and following their midweek win over PSG, will be in buoyant mood as they look to make it six wins in six. Our Fix Algorithm predicts the Egyptian to return to scoring ways, with a point score of 8.0.
D.Silva found his second goal of the season in gameweek five during Man. City’s 3-0 win over Fulham. The Spaniard has taken a total of nine goal attempts in four matches this season landing four SoT. Only five midfielders have taken more than Silva’s seven SiB over the last four gameweeks and that list includes Hazard with eight, Mané with 10 and Salah with 13. And it is those numbers that compare favourably against his Man. City teammate, Sterling. The England international has produced just one more SiB and SoT during the last four gameweeks. But Silva’s underlying numbers in terms of creativity are even more impressive than his goal threat. No player has produced more than his 16 attempted assists over the last four gameweeks beating Salah's 14 as well as Agüero and Hazard's 10. The champions will be looking to bounce back from their midweek Champions League loss and could have hardly asked for more obliging opponents. Cardiff have allowed 29 SoT, the fourth worst in the league and conceded nine goals, only four other teams have conceded more. With Man. City averaging nine SoT per game so far, this fixture has all the ingredients for a masterclass from the Spanish wizard, with a Fix Algorithm point score of 5.4.
Leicester’s Maddison was somewhat fortunate to benefit from the timing of Leicester's penalty after first choice taker Vardy had been subbed off. However, his underlying numbers were very positive throughout the defeat to Bournemouth. As the heatmap shows, the 21-year-old produced three attempted assists in gameweek five, which was on par with the likes of Salah and D. Silva and only Pereyra with four, in addition to Neves and B. Silva have created more chances amongst midfielders with five each. His four goal attempts was level with Salah and Hazard, while his three SoT was joint-first amongst all players in gameweek five along with the likes of Sterling, Mané, Pogba and Hazard. Over the last four gameweeks the Leicester City midfielder has scored two goals from a total of 10 shots, five of which have hit the target and he has provided one assist from a total of seven attempted assists. Huddersfield have conceded 11 goals so far, only Fulham have conceded more with 12. They have also allowed 12 ‘big chances’ the fifth worst in the league. Leicester will be looking to bounce back from their abysmal performance against Bournemouth in gameweek five, and our Fix Algorithm predicts a point score of 4.3 for the young Fox.
Four goals scored by Mitrovic this season is joint-first amongst forwards, matching Lukaku and Murray and only Hazard has scored more across all positions with his five. As the table shows, the Fulham striker has taken an impressive total of 20 goal attempts which only Salah and Agüero can topple across all players, with 23 and 25 respectively. His 10 SoT this season is top amongst all players beating Salah, Lukaku and Mané who have nine and Agüero's seven. The 24-year-old has been involved in five big chances in the last four gameweeks, a number that only Lukaku can beat with six during that time frame. 29 SoT by Fulham this season is level with Man. United and only the big hitters can rival that number with Chelsea, Arsenal, Man. City and Liverpool managing 31, 32, 34 and 35 SoT respectively. Watford’s perfect start of the season came to an end in gameweek five but their defensive stats are still impressive. They have conceded 29 SiB, the fifth best in the league, and only six ‘big chances’, an average of 1.2 per game. It is worth mentioning that four of their five matches were at home, and it remains to be seen whether Gracia’s side can sustain their defensive form on the road, something they struggled to do last season. Our Fix Algorithm predicts a point score of 4.1 for the in-form Serbian striker.
Nine attempted assists by Robertson over the last four Gameweeks is joint-first amongst defenders beating Trippier, Alonso and Mendy with seven, six and five respectively. The left-back has created three big chances this season which is equal to David Silva and only Fraser has provided more with six. Liverpool came close to their fourth clean sheet of the season last weekend, before conceding to Spurs in the 93rd minute. No team have kept more clean sheets (three), conceded fewer goals (two) or conceded fewer big chances (two) than Klopp’s side in the Premier League this season. It is worth mentioning that Saints’ top scorer Ings is ineligible for this game as per the terms of his loan deal, and will be a big loss to Southampton’s attacking threat, considering he has accounted for 15 of their 43 SiB thus far. Our Fix Algorithm predicts Liverpool to have the highest likelihood of a clean sheet in gameweek six, with a 62% probability and a point score of 5.6 for the marauding Scot.
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