A QUIRK AROUND THE TOP SCORERS
Two of the top three goalscorers in the Premier League at this point in the season are English, but only one went to the World Cup. Erling Haaland looks well on course to break the top-flight goals record for a single season (34), with the Manchester City striker on 18 from just 13 appearances. However, Haaland was not in Qatar as Norway failed to qualify. Harry Kane, meanwhile, has netted 12 in 15 for Tottenham and guided England to the World Cup quarter-finals as captain, while Ivan Toney was not named in the Three Lions squad despite his 10 goals in 14 Premier League games so far this term. But it is tough to say what Toney’s involvement with Brentford will be like throughout the rest of the season; he has been charged by the FA over more than 250 alleged breaches of betting rules.
HAALAND’S SCARY STATISTIC
Haaland’s rate of 18 Premier League goals from 13 games means he has a goal every 57.8 minutes of top-flight play. If you factor in his Champions League efforts (five goals in four matches), the 22-year-old has scored once every 56.2 minutes. Will his absence from the World Cup mean he is less match-ready than some of his fellow strikers at other clubs? Or will Haaland be helped by the time he has had to rest? We’ll soon find out.
A CRAMMED SEASON WILL GET EVEN MORE CRAMMED
The World Cup and domestic cup fixtures have combined with the Premier League to make this a relentless season. And it will only get worse for fatigued footballers, with four matches having been postponed for various reasons before the World Cup, and an entire gameweek needing to be rescheduled followin the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September.
MIND THE GAP TO THE GUNNERS
The expectation is that Arsenal’s title charge will eventually run out of momentum, with defending champions Man City sitting second in the Premier League, but it is worth noting that the Gunners are five points clear at the top. Furthermore, they have a game in hand over third-placed Newcastle and Spurs in fourth. NEWCASTLE AMONG EUROPE’S ELITE Newcastle were on a five-match win streak when the World Cup interrupted their momentum, and only Juventus (6), Bayern Munich (6) and Napoli (11) have longer winning runs than the Magpies when you look at Europe’s top five leagues.
WHO NEEDS RONALDO WHEN YOU’VE GOT GARNACHO?
Cristiano Ronalo has left Manchester United, again, and we’ll see if the squad is more… well… united without the Portugal superstar. Who will step up in his absence? National side teammate Bruno Fernandes? Jadon Sancho? Or Alejandro Garnacho? The latter may be the best bet in the long term, with the 18-year-old Argentine having scored in United’s last Premier League game before the break, two weeks after netting in the Europa League.
LIVERPOOL’S SURPRISE TOP SCORER
Liverpool’s leading scorer this season is not star man Mohamed Salah, or even summer signing Darwin Nunez, but rather Roberto Firmino. Having been less of a fixture in the Reds’ frontline last season, and having been known to create more goals than he scores, Firmino was not expected to find the net more than any of his teammates this term. However, the Brazilian – who did not go to the World Cup, where his nation exited in the last eight – has netted seven times in 13 topflight matches.
CHELSEA’S RELEGATION FORM
Chelsea’s new coach Graham Potter got off to a decent start after joining from Brighton in September, but their form became very concerning ahead of the World Cup. The Blues are without a win in five Premier League games – the worst run in the division and one of the 10 worst across Europe’s top five leagues.
GABRIEL JESUS’ GOALLESS RUN
After such a promising start to the season, Gabriel Jesus began to lose his scoring touch, and it’s been missing altogether as of 1 October; the striker has not scored for Arsenal or Brazil since. Injury ruled him out of the World Cup during the group stage, and he is expected to be out for Arsenal until April. That means: If the Gunners are going to win the title, defying all pre-season expectations, they will seemingly have to do it without Jesus.
