Premier League Opta Stats - 22nd May

Aston Villa v Liverpool

* Liverpool are unbeaten in their last seven final day games, last losing to Chelsea in 2003.
* Liverpool have conceded seven penalty goals this season, more than any other side.
* Villa have won only one of their last 18 Premier League games against Liverpool.
* The Villans have not won a Premier League home game against the Reds since February 1998, and have scored just three goals in their last 11 home clashes v Liverpool.
* Villa have thrown away 26 points from winning positions, more than any other side.
* Liverpool's last three Premier League away games have seen a total of 12 goals.

Bolton Wanderers v Manchester City

* Wanderers have won four and drawn one of their six home games on the final day of a Premier League season.
* City have won none of their last five league trips to the Reebok, failing to score in four of those games.
* Bolton have failed to score in four of their last six Premier League games against Man City.
* Bolton have scored just 35% of their goals before half-time, the lowest proportion in the league.
* Since he joined Manchester City at the start of last season, Carlos Tevez has scored more goals than any other player in the Premier League (43).
* Bolton have won fewer points in North-West derbies in the Premier League this season than any other side (11).

Everton v Chelsea

* Everton have won their last three final day games in a row after winning none of the previous 11.
* Chelsea defenders have scored 11 goals in the Premier League this season, more than any other club's backline.
* Chelsea are the only Premier League team this season to record five wins in a row. Last season five clubs achieved this.
* Everton are the only side not to record successive defeats in the Premier League this season.
* Six of the last eight Premier League meetings between Everton and Chelsea have ended level.
* Chelsea have claimed more points from losing positions away from home this season than any other side, 12.

Fulham v Arsenal

* Fulham have never drawn a Premier League game on the final day of the season, winning five and losing four.
* Arsenal have only ever drawn one of their 18 games on the final day of a Premier League season (0-0 v Portsmouth in 2007).
* None of Fulham's nine home Premier League games against Arsenal have ended as draws.
* The Whites have failed to score in six of their last eight Premier League home games v the Gunners.
* The Gunners have scored exactly four goals on the final day in three of the last five seasons.
* Robin Van Persie has scored as many Premier League goals in 2011 as the entire Blackburn Rovers team.

Manchester United v Blackpool

* Manchester United have only ever conceded nine goals in 18 final day games.
* Only two away players have scored at Old Trafford on the final day of a Premier League season (Carlos Tevez in 2007 and Les Ferdinand for Spurs in 1999).
* Charlie Adam has scored or assisted 12 goals in his last 14 Premier League appearances for the Seasiders.
* Blackpool are on the longest current run without defeat in the Premier League, four games.
* The Tangerines haven't won at Old Trafford since January 1962 (1-0).
* Javier Hernandez has scored more goals as a substitute than any other player this season, five.

Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion

* Newcastle have won only one of their last eight Premier League final day games.
* Newcastle are unbeaten in nine home meetings with the Baggies, who haven't won at St James Park in the league since September 1977 (3-0).
* In the last 13 meetings between these sides combined, eight different players have netted braces but no one has managed a hat-trick.
* The Baggies have won way 26 points from trailing positions this season, more than any other top-flight side.
* Only players from six different nationalities have scored for Newcastle this season, a joint-low.
* No team has conceded more goals in the opening 15 minutes of games this season than the Baggies, 11.

Stoke City v Wigan Athletic

* Charles N'Zogbia has scored five goals in his last five Premier League appearances for Wigan.
* Four of the five Premier League meetings between these sides have been draws, with the Potters winning the other.
* The Latics are the only Premier League side to score their first goal, on average, after the half-time break, netting it in the 48th minute.
* Stoke have won six and drawn two of their last eight home games in the Premier League.
* No away team has kept a clean sheet at the Britannia Stadium in 2011.
* Wigan have not kept a clean sheet away from home in 2011.

Tottenham Hotspur v Birmingham City

* Tottenham have conceded more goals on Premier League final days than any other side (35).
* Birmingham have never kept a clean sheet on the final day of the season.
* Birmingham have now gone 60 Premier League games without scoring more than two goals in a Premier League game, the fourth longest such run in the division's history.
* Jermain Defoe has scored five goals in 11 games against Birmingham.
* Five of the last seven Premier League meetings between these sides have seen a goal netted in second half stoppage time, with nine goals being scored in the final 15 minutes of these seven clashes combined.
* The Blues have only kept one clean sheet in 13 Premier League games against Spurs.

West Ham United v Sunderland

* Sunderland have lost their last five Premier League final day games in succession.
* West Ham are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League final day fixtures.
* Since the close of the January transfer window, only six players have scored more goals than Demba Ba (7).
* West Ham have won their last six meetings with the Black Cats at Upton Park, keeping five clean sheets along the way.
* Sunderland have lost 27 of their last 37 Premier League games in London, winning only three of them.
* West Ham have won 14 of their last 19 Premier League home games against teams from the north east.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers

* Blackburn have kept a clean sheet on the final day of a Premier League season in six of the last nine campaigns.
* Steven Fletcher has scored in four of Wolves' last five Premier League games.
* Blackburn are the only Premier League side who are yet to win a game they've fallen behind in this campaign, claiming a league low two points from trailing situations this term.
* Wolves are yet to beat Rovers in the Premier League, although both their previous home meetings have ended in score draws.
* Wolves have won just eight points in their nine games against the five other sides in the bottom six of the Premier League table.
* Wolves have conceded eight goals in the 90th minute or later in the Premier League this season; more than any other side.

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League Two Opta Facts - Play-off Semis (Leg 2)

Shrewsbury v Torquay

* Torquay have appeared in the Playoffs at this level four times previously, winning promotion on just one occasion; they defeated Blackpool on penalties in 1991.
* This is the third successive odd year in which Shrewsbury have appeared in the League Two playoffs. The Shrews lost both the 2007 and 2009 finals.
* Since 1989, more than half (12 of 22) of the teams to have won the fourth division playoffs have finished the regular season in fourth place.
* The two previous years to have ended in one, however, have seen the seventh placed team in the league triumph in the playoffs (with Torquay doing so in 1991).
* Shrewsbury have won just one of their last 10 home games against Torquay.
* Jake Robinson, who is on loan from Shrewsbury to Torquay, attempted a third of Torquay's shots in the first leg (5/15).

Accrington Stanley v Stevenage

* Defender Phil Edwards has netted 11 penalties already this campaign for Accrington, and is his side's top scorer with 13 goals.
* Accrington's first leg defeat was their only loss in their last 14 games.
* Neither of these two sides have previously appeared in the Football League Playoffs, although Stevenage were twice defeated in the Conference Playoffs, in 2004/05 and 2008/09, before being automatically promoted last season.
* Stanley defeated Stevenage 1-0 at home in their league meeting earlier this season.
* Accrington managed just one shot on target and didn't have a corner in the first leg of this tie.
* Stanley's Jimmy Ryan attempted their only shot on target in the first leg and was responsible for four of their six shots overall.

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19.05. (Thu) 00:30 Libertad - Velez Sarsfield

DID YOU KNOW?

* Libertad are under pressure, but will be buoyed by their home form. In four Copa home games this year, they have won three and drawn one, scoring 12 goals and conceding just four.
* This includes a memorable victory in the last 16 against Fluminense, who they thrashed 3-0 to go through 4-3 on aggregate.
* An unlikely win against Velez would put them into the semi-finals for only the second time in their history.
* On that occasion, in 2006, they went out to eventual winners Internacional.
* The return of captain Sarabia (right) could be key. The 35-year-old veteran has lifted no less than 11 national championships with Libertad, Cerro Porteno and Argentina's River Plate, and picked up 47 caps in the Guarani Seleccion.

* Velez Sarsfield begin as red-hot favourites in the tie, and have won their last three games convincingly. Last week's 3-0 rout was preceded by a 5-0 aggregate victory over LDU Quito in the last 16.
* Top scorer Santiago Silva is also back, and hoping to add to the three he has notched so far in the competition.
* Velez have also only reached the semi-finals once previously, but went better than the Paraguayans in winning the 1994 edition under Carlos Bianchi's direction.
* A key part of that team was Paraguayan legend Jose Luis Chilavert, who played in the Fortin for 10 years. 'Chila' even scored a penalty in a 5-3 shootout win over Sao Paulo.
* The teams have met only once in the history of the Libertadores, which was Velez's 3-0 win a week ago.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Libertad (4-4-2):
Vargas; Bonet, Sarabia, Canuto, Samudio; Aquino, Caceres, Rojas, Gamarra; Maciel, Pavlovich

Libertad look set to make two changes from the side which lost 3-0 in the first-leg. Former River Plate player Rodrigo Rojas comes in for Victor Ayala, while Pedro Sarabia replaces Pedro Portocarrero in central defence.

Velez Sarsfield (4-3-1-2):
Barovero; Cubero, Domínguez, Ortiz, Papa; Fernandez, Razzotti, Zapata; Moralez; Silva, Martínez

Uruguayan titan Santiago Silva has recovered from a muscle tear and is expected to start as the Fortin revert to a 4-3-1-2 setup. Young Ricky Alvarez drops to the bench in the only switch for the away team.

Prediction
  Libertad 1-1 Velez Sarsfield  

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Europa League Opta Facts - The Final

Europa League Opta Facts - FINAL

FC Porto v Sporting Braga

*This will be Porto's fifth appearance in a European final and their second in the Uefa Cup/Europa League.

*The Dragons beat Celtic 3-2 in 2003 in their only previous appearance in this final.

*Sporting Braga will be appearing in their first ever European final.

*FC Porto have just become only the second team in history to win the Portuguese top flight without losing a game.

*The Dragons finished a remarkable 21 points clear of Benfica, who came second, and 38 points ahead of Sporting Braga, who finished fourth.

*Porto striker Falcao has already broken Jurgen Klinsmann's record of most goals in a single European campaign by netting 16 goals in 13 Europa League games so far.

*The Colombian has scored five more goals than Braga have managed in Europe all season (11).

*Hulk has completed 47 dribbles in the Europa League this term, 20 more than any other player.

*This will be the eighth Uefa Cup/Europa League final to contain two teams from the same country, with Portugal becoming the fifth nation after England, Spain, Germany and Italy (four times) to produce both finalists.

*In all competitions Porto have lost four games all season, with two of their defeats coming against Spanish opposition in the Europa League.

*Villas Boas' side have netted 34 goals in the competition so far this term, nine more than any other side.

*Porto have, however, managed just one clean sheet in their last 12 European fixtures.

*Braga have only netted 11 goals in 14 European fixtures this season, including just six in eight in the Europa League.

*The Archbishops have kept four clean sheets in their last six Europa League games.

*If Porto win, they will become the first team to win their domestic league, domestic cup and the Uefa Cup/Europa League in the same season on two separate occasions, having achieved the treble under Jose Mourinho in 2003.

*Only nine of the 56 teams to have played in the Europa League this season have averaged fewer goals per game in the competition than Braga (0.75).

*Braga failed to win any of their last four Portuguese league games, failing even to score in each of the last three.

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18.05. (Wed) 20:45 Porto - Sporting Braga

DID YOU KNOW?

* Porto are currently riding a three-game winning streak against Braga, outscoring them 9-3 during that span.

* Andre Villas-Boas' men finished the season undefeated in the Portuguese Liga with 27 wins and three draws.

* The Portuguese rivals are separated by just 47 km, which is a Uefa tournament final record.

* Falcao set a new tournament record with his 16th goal of the campaign, surpassing legendary Bayern Munich striker Jurgen Klinsmann who scored 15 in 1995-96.

* Braga's last victory against Porto came on September 19, 2009.

* Artur and Silvio have played every minute of the Archbishops' Europa League campaign.

* The two sides have never faced each other in European competition before.

* Braga coach Domingos Paciencia was the Portuguese Liga's top scorer with Porto back in the 1995-96 season.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Porto (4-3-3)
Helton; Sapunaru, Rolando, Maicon, Alvaro Pereira; Guarin, Fernando, Moutinho; Hulk, Falcao, Varela

Andre Villas-Boas could become the youngest coach ever to win a Uefa club competition if Porto are able to defeat Braga on Wednesday. The 33-year-old will likely employ the attacking triumvirate of Varela, Hulk and Falcao.

Braga (4-4-2)
Artur; Garcia, Rodriguez, Paulao, Silvio; Alan, Vandinho, Custodio, Viana; Lima, Meyong

Coach Domingos Paciencia has announced he will leave the club after the clash in Dublin. With a win on Wednesday the 42-year-old would become the first manager to beat a team he previously featured for as a player in a Uefa Cup or Europa League final.

Prediction

Porto have an excellent track record against Braga and should once again put their Portuguese rivals to the sword and make Andre Villas-Boas the youngest ever coach to win a major Uefa club competition.

Porto 2-0 Braga

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