2019-2020 EPL Discussion Thread

[K]

'“Following ongoing assessment by our medical staff over the past week, we can confirm that Harry Kane will undergo surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his left hamstring,” a Tottenham statement said on Thursday.

“The decision to undergo surgery is not expected to impact the time frame that the England captain will be sidelined, with the expectation that he will return to training in April.”'

[K]

Leicester City defeats Southampton 9-0 away from home

Leicester City equalled the 24-year-old record for the biggest ever Premier League victory as 10-man Southampton were dismantled at a rainswept St Mary's.
...

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50092694

Biggest wins in the PL era:

Manchester United 9-0 Ipswich Town (1994/1995) = March 4 1995
Southampton 0-9 Leicester City (2019/2020) = October 25 2019
Newcastle United 8-0 Sheffield Wednesday (1999/2000) = September 19 1999
Tottenham Hotspur 9-1 Wigan Athletic (2009/2010) = November 22 2009
Chelsea 8-0 Wigan Athletic (2009/2010) = May 8 2010
Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa (2012/2013) = December 23 2012
Southampton 8-0 Sunderland (2014/2015) = October 18 2014
Manchester City 8-0 Watford (2019/2020) = September 21 2019

"By gaining redemption for one of the darkest days in their history, Southampton succeeded in pushing Liverpool even closer to their first English league title in 30 years.

A 2-1 comeback win at Leicester on Saturday gave Southampton a measure of revenge for their humiliating 9-0 loss to the same opponents two months ago that left them in the drop zone."

(AAP)



[I'd like to compare the team-sheets for the two matches. How is it possible to have such a difference? And both victories away!]

[K]

"It was hardly surprising that Jose Mourinho set up his Spurs side to sit back and frustrate Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. He is famous for his spoiling tactics against top opposition and they don't come much better than Jurgen Klopp's side right now.

But there were times in the first half, as Liverpool pinned them back on the edge of their own box, that the home supporters were entitled to question the approach. Spurs didn't have Harry Kane, but there was still plenty of talent in the side. Could they not have shown a little more ambition?

At the break, as well as being a goal down to Roberto Firmino's strike, Spurs had attempted just 98 passes to Liverpool's 347 - their fewest in the first half of any Premier League game since a meeting with Arsenal in April 2010.

This was not the Spurs that Mauricio Pochettino built. Even by Mourinho's standards, it felt excessively negative.

And yet, by the time it was all over, Mourinho was smiling in front of the cameras and Spurs were ruing a missed opportunity to halt Liverpool's winning run.

That wouldn't have been possible at all, of course, had Liverpool taken some of their other chances in the first half - their best opportunity saw Virgil van Dijk direct a free header straight at Paulo Gazzaniga - but Spurs held on and they could easily have snatched at least a point in the closing stages. Heung-Min Son should have scored and so should Giovani Lo Celso."

(N. Wright, Sky Sports)

[K]

FiveThirtyEight's predictions (Jan 11, 2:23pm.) -- win EPL:

Liverpool 98%
Man. City 2%

The rest <1%.

[K]

"Liverpool has announced Nike will become its new kit manufacturer from the 2020-21 season in a deal worth a reported $39.5 million per year.

It replaces the English Premier League club's current deal with New Balance after the league leaders successfully won a High Court dispute with the manufacturer in October.

New Balance alleged the club was refusing to honor the terms of its reported $52.6 million-a-year deal, which expires in May.

Under the terms of the deal, New Balance said it was entitled to renew its deal with Liverpool if it was able to match offers made from rival kit suppliers.

However, Liverpool argued New Balance -- which has been its manufacturer since 2015 -- could not match Nike's potential marketing and distribution powers and the High Court in London ruled in the club's favor."

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/07/foot ... index.html

[K]

Ted Knutson claims:

"If the Premier League were like North American sports, there would be a monster analytics revolution in progress right now.

Teams would look at what Liverpool have done, follow the breadcrumbs of how they have done it, and hoover every smart analytical mind into the sky."

https://twitter.com/mixedknuts/status/1 ... 8176918529


[Predictably, much argument in the comments follows.]

[Jezza]

"By gaining redemption for one of the darkest days in their history, Southampton succeeded in pushing Liverpool even closer to their first English league title in 30 years.

A 2-1 comeback win at Leicester on Saturday gave Southampton a measure of revenge for their humiliating 9-0 loss to the same opponents two months ago that left them in the drop zone."

(AAP)



[I'd like to compare the team-sheets for the two matches. How is it possible to have such a difference? And both victories away!]

Southampton have been in good form recently. They've been the third best team in the last 10 PL games.

They've beaten Chelsea, Tottenham and Leicester City and also had a strong against Aston Villa away from home so they've improved since the 9-0 thrashing.

In terms of the line-ups, here is the comparison:

Southampton 0-9 Leicester City = October 25 2019

Southampton
- Gunn
- Bednarek
- Yoshida
- Vestergaard (Danso 45')
- Valery (Armstrong 70')
- Ward-Prowse
- Romeu
- Hojbjerg
- Bertrand
- Ings (Stephens 45')
- Redmond

Leicester City
- Schmeichel
- Ricardo Pereira
- Evans
- Soyuncu
- Chilwell
- Ndidi
- Perez (Gray 74')
- Tielemans
- Maddison
- Barnes (Albrighton 72')
- Vardy

Leicester City 1-2 Southampton = January 11 2020

Leicester City
- Schmeichel
- Ricardo Pereira
- Soyuncu
- Evans
- Chilwell
- Choudhury
- Perez (Grey 67')
- Praet (Tielemans 77')
- Maddison
- Barnes (Iheanacho 58')
- Vardy

Southampton
- McCarthy
- Cedric Soares
- Stephens
- Bednarek
- Bertrand
- Armstrong (Djenepo 78')
- Ward-Prowse
- Hojbjerg
- Redmond (Romeu 90')
- Long (Adams 78')
- Ings

[Jezza]

It should also be noted that Ipswich Town defeated Manchester United 3-2 in the same season as the 9-0 thrashing they endured later in the season.

[Jezza]

Latest Results

Friday January 10 2020:
Sheffield United 1-0 West Ham United

Saturday January 11 2020:
Crystal Palace 1-1 Arsenal
Chelsea 3-0 Burnley
Everton 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Leicester City 1-2 Southampton
Manchester United 4-0 Norwich City
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Newcastle United
Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Liverpool

Sunday January 12 2020:
AFC Bournemouth 0-3 Watford
Aston Villa 1-6 Manchester City

The Ladder:
1. Liverpool 61 - Played 21
2. Man City 47 - Played 22
3. Leicester 45 - Played 22
4. Chelsea 39 - Played 22
----------------------
5. Man Utd 34 - Played 22
6. Sheffield Utd 32 - Played 22
7. Wolves 31 - Played 22
8. Tottenham 30 - Played 22
9. Crystal Palace 29 - Played 22
10. Arsenal 28 - Played 22
11. Everton 28 - Played 22
12. Southampton 28 - Played 22
13. Newcastle 26 - Played 22
14. Brighton 24 - Played 22
15. Burnley 24 - Played 22
16. West Ham 22 - Played 21
17. Watford 22 - Played 22
-----------------------
18. Aston Villa 21 - Played 22
19. Bournemouth 20 - Played 22
20. Norwich 14 - Played 22

[K]

...
In terms of the line-ups, here is the comparison:
<snip>

Thanks, Jezza. This is interesting.

[Jezza]

Weekend Matches:

Saturday January 18 2020:
Watford v Tottenham Hotspur - 12:30
Arsenal v Sheffield United - 15:00
Brighton & Hove Albion v Aston Villa - 15:00
Manchester City v Crystal Palace - 15:00
Norwich City v AFC Bournemouth - 15:00
Southampton v Wolverhampton Wanderers - 15:00
West Ham United v Everton - 15:00
Newcastle United v Chelsea - 17:30

Sunday January 19 2020:
Burnley v Leicester City - 14:00
Liverpool v Manchester United - 16:30

All local times.

[K]

"Liverpool peaking at the right time

Ten players have played 1000 Premier League minutes or more for Liverpool this season and captain Jordan Henderson is the oldest among them at 29. Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Scouser in the team, is the baby at just 21 but the next youngest is Andrew Robertson at 25.

As a result, 73 per cent of all the minutes played by Liverpool players this season have been played by players aged between 25 and 29. That is a huge number, much more than any of their rivals. At Arsenal, for example, the figure is as low as just 25 per cent. When Graeme Souness talks of a team full of men, it might seem old fashioned but it still matters.

Liverpool's squad building is no fluke. It is by design. A product of the recruitment strategy under Michael Edwards. The club has prioritised the need to sign players within the right age bracket. Liverpool have not spent their money on teenage punts or players on the wrong trajectory. By signing players who are about to peak, they are seeing their best years.

Consider the line-up that won the Champions League for Liverpool. With the exception of Alexander-Arnold, an academy graduate, and Henderson, the club's longest-serving player who was bought by the previous regime aged just 20, each of the other nine players were signed between the ages of 23 and 26. The perfect age to make an instant impact but improve too."


Percentage of peak age players
Premier League minutes for players aged between 25 and 29

Liverpool 73.3
Man City 57.4
Tottenham 49.6
Chelsea 47.1
Man Utd 40.5
Arsenal 26.0


https://www.skysports.com/football/news ... e-mistakes


[Leicester is missing from the table... This makes me wonder about Collingwood's age profile (again), but age profile is less relevant if it's swamped by injury profile.]

[K]

Man City (2-2 draw) stumbles further.

And Arsenal (draw) & Chelsea (loss) are still labouring.

[K]

And Leicester stumble too (loss to Burnley).

Liverpool continue on their merry way. They are now 16 points and a game clear of the field.


In other news...
"Marcus Rashford has sustained a double stress fracture in his back and is facing at least six weeks out, says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer."

[Jezza]

Latest Results:

Saturday January 18 2020:
Watford 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Arsenal 1-1 Sheffield United
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Aston Villa
Manchester City 2-2 Crystal Palace
Norwich City 1-0 AFC Bournemouth
Southampton 2-3 Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Ham United 1-1 Everton
Newcastle United 1-0 Chelsea

Sunday January 19 2020:
Burnley 2-1 Leicester City
Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United

The Ladder:
1. Liverpool 64 - Played 22
2. Man City 48 - Played 23
3. Leicester 45 - Played 23
4. Chelsea 39 - Played 23
----------------------
5. Man Utd 34 - Played 23
6. Wolves 34 - Played 23
7. Sheffield Utd 33 - Played 23
8. Tottenham 31 - Played 23
9. Crystal Palace 30 - Played 23
10. Arsenal 29 - Played 23
11. Everton 29 - Played 23
12. Newcastle 29 - Played 23
13. Southampton 28 - Played 23
14. Burnley 27 - Played 23
15. Brighton 25 - Played 23
16. West Ham 23 - Played 22
17. Watford 23 - Played 23
-----------------------
18. Aston Villa 22 - Played 23
19. Bournemouth 20 - Played 23
20. Norwich 17 - Played 23