Premier League team news & stats

Jamie Vardy: Can he give the champions a winning start to the new season?

The Barclays Premier League season gets under way this weekend, with defending champions Leicester opening up with a trip to newly-promoted Hull on Saturday lunchtime.
There are five games at 1500 BST before title favourites Manchester City begin the Pep Guardiola era at home to Sunderland at 1730 while Arsenal v Liverpool is a mouthwatering clash to look forward to on Sunday.
Here, we have all the team news, kick-off times, details of which matches are on TV and a selection of opta statistics which are particularly useful when deciding upon your Fantasy Football transfers and captaincy for gameweek 1 - as well as your weekend football bets.

Hull v Leicester - 1230, Sky Sports 1

Caretaker manager Mike Phelan has just 13 fit senior players to choose from. Allan McGregor (back), Alex Bruce (Achilles), Moses Odubajo (knee) and Michael Dawson (knee) are all on the long-term injury list while Harry Maguire is a couple of weeks away from full fitness. Jake Livermore is set to be asked to step in alongside Curtis Davies in central defence while winger Shaun Maloney has been passed fit.

Champions Leicester start without the suspended Robert Huth. The defender is banned after his three-match sanction for tangling with Manchester United's Marouane Fellaini at the end of last season. Matty James is available after missing the whole of last season's title-winning campaign with a knee injury while record signing Ahmed Musa could make his debut after joining from CSKA Moscow for £16million. New boys Luis Hernandez, Bartosz Kapustka, Ron-Robert Zieler and Papy Mendy are also in the squad.
Opta Statistics

• Hull City are winless in their last five league meetings with Leicester City (D2 L3).
• Leicester City haven't conceded a goal in any of their last three league games against Hull City, including in both Premier League meetings in 2014-15.
• The reigning Premier League champions have never lost the opening game of their title defence in the competition's history (W19 D4).
• In fact, this is the first time that a Premier League champion will kick off the season in the history of the competition.
• A newly promoted side hasn't won on the opening weekend of a Premier League campaign since August 2012 when West Ham beat Aston Villa (1-0).
• Jamie Vardy has only failed to score against three of the 22 different opponents that he's faced in the Premier League and Hull City are one of these (alongside Man City & Swansea).
• No player scored the first goal of the game more often than Jamie Vardy (12 - level with Gonzalo Higuaín) in the big five Euro leagues in 2015-16.
• Abel Hernández scored 21 times for Hull in the Championship last season (including play-offs); more than twice as many any other player for the club (M.Diamé - 10 goals, the next most).
• Hull City failed to score in their final three games of the 2014-15 Premier League season and are currently without a goal in their last five hours and four minutes in the competition.
• Claudio Ranieri will be looking to secure his 100th Premier League win as a manager in this game - he will be only the fifth non-British/Irish manager to reach this landmark.
• Hull City have lost all five of their early Saturday kick-off games in the Premier League.

Burnley v Swansea

Jon Flanagan will not be able to make his Burnley debut after little game time this summer. One full-back who may feature is Republic of Ireland international Stephen Ward (hamstring) though striker Ashley Barnes, who is suffering from a similar problem, is unlikely to play. Johann Berg Gudmundsson may debut.
Record signing Borja Baston must wait for his Swansea debut. Borja completed a club record £15.5million move from Atletico Madrid on Thursday, but Swansea manager Francesco Guidolin will not integrate the 23-year-old Spaniard into his squad until next week. Gylfi Sigurdsson will be among the substitutes even though he has only just returned to training following Euro 2016.
Opta Statistics

• Burnley have found the back of the net in 17 of their last 18 opening day matches, failing to score against Stoke in the Premier League in 2009/10.
• Swansea have won four of their last five league meetings with Burnley (W4 D0 L1), including two 1-0 wins over Burnley in the 2014-15 Premier League season.
• This will be the ninth occasion in the last 10 seasons that Swansea have opened their league campaign away from home.
• There have been 21 goals scored in Swansea's five previous Premier League matches on the opening weekend, an average of 4.2 per game.
• Burnley striker Andre Gray was the Championship top goalscorer last season with 25 goals (23 for Burnley, two for Brentford).
• Burnley didn't manage to win a Premier League game until November 8th (11th match) in their last Premier League season back in 2014-15.
• Swansea are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League games played in the month of August (W5 D2 L0).
• Johann Berg Gudmundsson's six goals earned Charlton six points in the Championship last season, more than any other Addicks player.
• No Swansea player has scored more Premier League goals than Gylfi Sigurdsson (25, level with Wilfried Bony).
• Since 2007-08, 47 of Fernando Llorente's 104 league goals have been headers (45%) - only Cristiano Ronaldo (48) has scored more with his head in the big five Euro Leagues in this period.

Crystal Palace v West Brom

Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew has insisted Yannick Bolasie will be included in the squad, saying the forward is in condition to play despite reports linking him with a transfer to Everton. Of the south London club's new signings, only Andros Townsend is expected to start in Saturday's Premier League opener. James Tomkins has a hamstring problem, while Saturday may prove too soon for goalkeeper Steve Mandanda.
West Brom boss Tony Pulis still has Saido Berahino available despite bids from the Eagles and Stoke being on the table. James Morrison is still troubled by the hamstring injury he suffered in January which ruled him out for the end of last season while Chris Brunt is closing in on a recovery from a serious knee injury, having missed Euro 2016, but is not yet fit. Matty Phillips could make his West Brom debut after signing from QPR for £5.5million this summer but he remains the Baggies' only summer signing so far.
Opta Statistics

• Crystal Palace have won just three of their last 13 home matches in the league against West Bromwich Albion (W3 D6 L4).
• Of all current Premier League teams to have played three or more opening weekend matches, WBA have the lowest win rate, winning one of their 10 previous games (10%).
• Crystal Palace have won only one of their last eight season openers held at Selhurst Park (D4 L3) - 3-2 versus Leicester in 2010.
• Of clubs still in the Premier League in 2016-17, Crystal Palace have won the fewest points in 2016 so far (11).
• The Eagles have lost 12 of their 19 Premier League matches in 2016 so far (W2 D5 L12).
• Crystal Palace lost the 2016 FA Cup final to Manchester United - the previous two losing FA Cup finalists have been relegated from the Premier League in the following season (Hull City and Aston Villa).
• West Bromwich Albion have scored just 53 goals in 56 Premier League games under Tony Pulis.
• Tony Pulis (1.46) is the only permanent manager to have a better Premier League points per game as Crystal Palace coach than current boss Alan Pardew (1.30).
• West Bromwich Albion ended 2015-16 on a nine match winless streak in the Premier League (W0 D4 L5), with their last Premier League victory coming on March 6th.
• The Baggies scored just 20% of their Premier League penalties last season (1/5). The only team to score a lower % are Liverpool in 2011/12 (1/6 - minimum one successful penalty).

Everton v Tottenham

New signing Ashley Williams is set to sit out Ronald Koeman's first competitive game as Everton boss. Koeman has said that centre-back Williams, brought in from Swansea on Wednesday, will not be ready to make his debut for at least another week due to a late start to pre-season, and claims the Toffees in general are only on "70 per cent" of the fitness he wants. Full-back Seamus Coleman (ankle) and striker Romelu Lukaku (heel) are doubts, but skipper Phil Jagielka is available to start in central defence after overcoming a hamstring problem.
Victor Wanyama is set to make his Tottenham debut. Wanyama, who joined Spurs from Southampton this summer, is likely to start at Goodison Park as fellow midfielder Mousa Dembele remains suspended. Jan Vertonghen is also in contention. The central defender has recovered from an ankle injury sustained at Euro 2016.
Opta Statistics

• Everton are winless in their last seven Premier League meetings with Tottenham Hotspur (W0 D4 L3).
• No Premier League team has lost more games on the opening weekend than Spurs (9) - level with West Ham.
• Everton have drawn their last three opening day matches 2-2, with Ross Barkley scoring two of their six goals in this run.
• Ronald Koeman has won just one of his four Premier League games against Spurs (W1 D1 L2), but this was in their last meeting in May (Spurs 1-2 Southampton).
• Harry Kane's next Premier League goal will be his 50th - if he scores in this match, he'll have reached the landmark in 87 games. Only eight players have needed fewer apps to reach 50 PL goals, and Kane will be level with Ian Wright (87 apps).
• Kane is on the current longest run of consecutive appearances in the Premier League without missing a game for his team (68).
• This will be the 20th Premier League season that Gareth Barry has played in - only Ryan Giggs (22) has played in more, while only Rio Ferdinand & Frank Lampard (20) have played in as many.
• Vincent Janssen topped the Dutch Eredivisie goalscoring charts in 2015-16 with 27 goals.
• Everton's new signing Idrissa Gueye made 144 tackles and 141 interceptions in the Premier League last season - only N'Golo Kante made more.
• Tottenham ended the 2015-16 campaign with two successive losses - they've not lost three Premier League games in a row since November 2012.

Middlesbrough v Stoke

Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka has no fresh injury problems as he prepares to send out his team for the first time in the Premier League. Defenders Dani Ayala, who has recovered from a troublesome ankle injury, and Bernardo Espinosa have returned to training after minor knocks and are available. That leaves only midfielder Grant Leadbitter (hernia surgery) and full-back James Husband (dislocated shoulder) missing for promoted Boro.
Stoke's former England right-back Glen Johnson is doubtful with a quadriceps injury. Wales midfielder Joe Allen, the £13million summer signing from Liverpool, is in contention to make his debut while striker Marko Arnautovic (hamstring) and midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri (leg) have been passed fit. Forward Jon Walters is available after being eased through pre-season.
Opta Statistics

• Middlesbrough have won just four of their last 15 league meetings with Stoke City (W4 D3 L8).
• Of the teams to be in the 2016-17 Premier League season, Stoke City have conceded the most Premier League goals in 2016 so far (36).
• Middlesbrough have won just two of their 14 previous season openers in the Premier League, including in their last campaign in the top-flight vs Tottenham in 2008/09 (2-1).
• Indeed, they've never won on the opening weekend of a Premier League season as a newly-promoted team (D2 L1).
• Stoke's only previous win on the opening day of a Premier League season came against Burnley in 2009.
• The Potters are winless in their last six Premier League opening weekend matches, losing four (D2).
• New Middlesbrough midfielder Marten de Roon made the most tackles (122) & the second most interceptions (132) in Serie A while at Atalanta last season.
• Álvaro Negredo scored eight goals in his first 17 Premier League appearances, but netted just once in his subsequent 15 apps in the competition for Manchester City in 2013-14.
• Mark Hughes has lost just one of his last eight Premier League meetings with Middlesbrough as manager, winning six (D1).
• Stoke haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last 10 away Premier League games. They haven't conceded in 11 consecutive away games since a run of 12 ending in August 2014.

Southampton v Watford

Southampton boss Claude Puel will be without Ryan Bertrand for his first Premier League game. The 27-year-old left-back picked up a knee injury in training following his return from Euro 2016 with England. Jose Fonte and Cedric Soares are doubts despite rejoining training but Virgil van Dijk has recovered from a knock.
Watford will be without new signings Isaac Success and Brice Dja Djedje. Djedje, a defender from Marseille, and striker Success, a record signing from Granada, are struggling with foot and leg injuries respectively. Valon Behrami and Adlene Guedioura are also doubts as they recover from recent injuries, but Craig Cathcart is expected to play despite a back issue.
Opta Statistics

• Southampton are unbeaten in their last five league meetings with Watford (W3 D2 L0).
• Watford haven't scored in any of their last four league games versus Southampton.
• The Hornets managed just one shot on target in 180 minutes of Premier League action against Saints in 2015-16.
• Only Leicester City (42) have won more Premier League points in 2016 than Southampton (39).
• Watford haven't won any of their three previous season openers in the Premier League (D1 L2), but they are unbeaten in their last nine league matches on opening day (W5 D4 L0).
• Claude Puel will become the seventh different French manager in Premier League history - just three of the previous six have managed over 20 matches in the competition.
• Odion Ighalo has scored just two goals in 18 Premier League appearances in 2016 so far; this after netting 13 goals in 19 PL apps for Watford in 2015.
• The top two goalscorers for Southampton in the Premier League last season have both left the club this summer - Graziano Pellè and Sadio Mané (11 goals each).
• This will be the first time two opposing managers have faced each other in their first ever Premier League games since the opening day of the 2004-05 season (Iain Dowie v Nigel Worthington and Jacques Santini v Rafael Benitez).
• The last Southampton manager to win their opening Premier League game in charge was Paul Sturrock back in March 2004 (2-0 vs Liverpool).

Manchester City v Sunderland, 1730 BT Sport

New signing John Stones is likely to go straight into the Manchester City side. Fellow centre-back Nicolas Otamendi requires a fitness test after a tendon problem while captain Vincent Kompany (thigh) is sidelined and Eliaquim Mangala has lacked match fitness after his late return to training following Euro 2016. Two other summer signings in Ilkay Gundogan (knee) and Leroy Sane (hamstring) are injured but striker Nolito and midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko could make debuts.
New signings Adnan Januzaj, Paddy McNair and Donald Love will go straight into the Sunderland squad. Midfielder Januzaj, who completed a season-long loan move on Friday, will be joined in the travelling party by permanent signings McNair and Love, who are both defenders. The Scot will definitely be without Seb Larsson, who is facing up to six months on the sidelines following knee ligament surgery, while fellow midfielders Lee Cattermole (groin) and Jan Kirchhoff (hamstring) and full-back Billy Jones (hip) are also out.
Opta Statistics

• Manchester City have won their last four Premier League meetings with Sunderland.
• Sunderland have never won away at Manchester City in the Premier League (W0 D2 L10).
• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League opening weekend fixtures (W6 D1), including winning each of the last five. The Citizens have yet to lose a Premier League season opener played on home soil (W3 D5).
• Pep Guardiola has won the opening league game of the season as a manager in each of his last six seasons (three for Barcelona, three for Bayern) - he lost his first league game as Barcelona boss (0-1at Numancia), however.
• Sergio Aguero is the top scoring player in the Premier League so far in 2016 (17 goals in 18 games).
• Aguero has scored three goals and assisted two more in his last three Premier League appearances against Sunderland.
• Jermain Defoe has scored in 15 different Premier League seasons and will be looking to become only the eighth different player to net in 16+ seasons in 2016/17.
• David Moyes is 5th in the all-time Premier League standings for most games managed (P461 W190 D129 L142).
• Moyes has met Guardiola previously, with his Manchester United team being eliminated in the 2013/14 Champions League quarter-final by Guardiola's Bayern Munich.
• The newly appointed Sunderland boss has won five times at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League - the only visiting manager with more wins is Arsene Wenger (6).

SUNDAY APRIL 24

• Click on the fixture for full Sky Bet odds
• All kick-off times BST

Bournemouth v Manchester United - 1330, Sky Sports 1

Eddie Howe will be without winger Junior Stanislas due to a hernia problem. Tyrone Mings, who was ruled out of last season in his debut due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, is back in training and Howe is hopeful he could make an appearance in September. The Cherries boss hinted that there are a "couple of niggles" in the squad but he believes they will not be a worry on Sunday.
Manchester United will be without suspended duo Paul Pogba and Chris Smalling. The Red Devils only found out on Wednesday that their £89million world record signing Pogba would be carrying a one-game ban over from the Coppa Italia final with Juventus. Smalling is also banned following his sending-off in the FA Cup final, but debuts are expected for Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Opta Statistics

• Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last four home meetings with Manchester United in all competitions (W2 D2 L0), including a 2-1 Premier League win in 2015-16.
• Four of Manchester United's five opening day defeats in the Premier League have come away from home.
• These two teams faced each other in the final match of the 2015-16 Premier League season (3-1 to Man Utd) - there are only 89 days between that match and this fixture.
• Wayne Rooney has scored more goals on the opening weekend than any other player currently playing in the Premier League (6).
• Jose Mourinho has won six and drawn one of his previous seven Premier League opening matchday fixtures.
• Bournemouth lost all five of the Premier League games that they played on a Sunday in 2015-16.
• Henrikh Mkhitaryan assisted the most goals (15) & created the third highest amount of chances (83) in the German Bundesliga last season.
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored 38 goals in 31 league games for Paris Saint Germain in French Ligue 1 last season - the only player in the big five Euro leagues to score more was Luis Suarez (40 for Barcelona).
• Ibrahimovic scored in 23 different league games last season for PSG - the only player in the big five Euro leagues to score in more was Gonzalo Higuaín (25).
• No player provided more assists in Serie A last season than Paul Pogba (12).

Arsenal v Liverpool - 1600, Sky Sports 1

Arsene Wenger faces a defensive shortage at Arsenal. Per Mertesacker (knee) and Gabriel (ankle) are missing while Laurent Koscielny has not played in pre-season after reaching the final of Euro 2016 with France. Fellow Frenchman Olivier Giroud is also likely to be missing while Danny Welbeck and Carl Jenkinson (both knee) are also sidelined.
Daniel Sturridge and James Milner are both doubtful for the trip to north London. Sturridge has a hip problem and is considered further behind in his pre-season fitness regime while boss Jurgen Klopp has said it is "possible" Milner, who was on crutches after last weekend's friendly win over Barcelona, will overcome a bruised heel. Dejan Lovren and Marko Grujic have both overcome knocks, but goalkeeper Loris Karius is unable to make his debut yet having broken his right hand recently and Mamadou Sakho (Achilles) will also miss the start of the campaign.
Opta Statistics

• Arsenal have lost just one of their last nine Premier League meetings with Liverpool (W4 D4 L1).
• Liverpool have only won one of their last 20 away trips to Arsenal in all competitions (W1 D8 L11) and have collected just eight points in 10 Premier League games at the Emirates Stadium.
• The Gunners have lost just two of their last 15 home games on opening day (W10 D3), although those defeats have come in the last three attempts.
• Liverpool v Arsenal has seen more hat-tricks than any other fixture in Premier League history (5).
• Liverpool have scored more Premier League goals than any other team in 2016 so far (41).
• Roberto Firmino has had a hand in 13 goals (nine goals, four assists) in 15 Premier League appearances in 2016 so far, including two goals versus Arsenal in January.
• Olivier Giroud has scored four goals in his last four Premier League meetings with Liverpool.
• Liverpool played the most Premier League games on a Sunday in 2015-16 (18), while Arsenal played the third most (15).
• This will be Arsene Wenger's 21st season in charge of Arsenal since taking the job in September 1996 - no other current Premier League manager has been in charge of their current club for more than five consecutive seasons.
• Games between these sides have seen 16 goals in the 90th minute or later, more than any other Premier League fixture (Liverpool 9, Arsenal 7).

MONDAY AUGUST 15

• Click on the fixture for full Sky Bet odds
• All kick-off times BST

Chelsea v West Ham - 2000, Sky Sports 1

Michy Batshuayi and N'Golo Kante are standing by for their Premier League debuts. Marseille recruit Batshuayi and Leicester signing Kante are expected to be among the stars on show as new boss Antonio Conte leads the Blues into the new campaign at Stamford Bridge. Kurt Zouma continues to be sidelined with long-term knee trouble, but Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns elsewhere.
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has a number of decisions to make. He has already confirmed Dimitri Payet will not be fit to play the whole game after Euro 2016, while new signings Andre Ayew and Arthur Masuaku also need to prove their fitness if they are to make their debuts. Aaron Cresswell and Manuel Lanzini (both knee) are definitely out but former Chelsea youngster Gokhan Tore (knee) is back in training.
Opta Statistics

• Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League meetings with West Ham United at Stamford Bridge (W7 D3) and have not lost at home to them in the league since September 2002 (2-3).
• West Ham were unbeaten against Chelsea in the Premier League last season (W1 D1); the first time that they have achieved this since 2002-03.
• Chelsea have won more points than any other Premier League side on the opening weekend of action (51 points).
• Chelsea are unbeaten in each of their last 13 season opening fixtures played at Stamford Bridge (W10 D3).
• Antonio Conte has lost just one of his last 30 league games as a club manager (W27 D2 L1).
• Conte is currently unbeaten in 28 successive league home matches as a club manager (W26 D2 L0), last suffering a home defeat in January 2013 (Juventus 1-2 Sampdoria).
• Diego Costa has scored five goals in seven Premier League appearances for Chelsea in the month of August.
• Dimitri Payet had a hand in 11 goals in his last 12 Premier League appearances of 2015-16 (three goals, eight assists).
• Chelsea haven't won any of their last four Premier League games on a Monday (W0 D2 L2).
• Avram Grant is the only Chelsea manager to lose his opening Premier League game in the Roman Abramovich era (0-2 vs Man Utd, September 2007).