Which team won a Premier League game without having a shot on target? Martin has some great stats!
Martin's back with some statistical gems...
Martin Tyler's stats and facts column is here!
Every week on skysports.com he answers your questions and offers you statistical gems from what he's seen as he tours the world commentating for Sky Sports.
Sky Sports' voice of football and his back-up team of experts want your queries on all things statistical and historical from the beautiful game.
So if you have spotted something from a match or have been stumped by a pub quiz question, simply email skysportsclub@bskyb.com and he will do his best to help.
Tyler's teaser
But as usual we'll kick off with a question for YOU. Click play to see this week's Tyler's Teaser.
Martin's Starting Stats
I was at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday, where Manchester United took their record in the Premier League against Stoke to P10 W9 D1. It was also Sir Alex Ferguson's 900th win as Manchester United manager, including penalty-shoot-out wins
Michael Carrick's goal was his first league goal of the season and Manchester United's 100th in all competitions this term. Meanwhile, Robin van Persie ended his barren spell of scoring no goals in his last 10 games for Manchester United. He also took his tally to nine goals in eight games against Stoke.
They kept another clean sheet and have only conceded one away goal in their last six away games, which was Clint Dempsey's last-minute equaliser at White Hart Lane.
Meanwhile, Stoke took their current Premier League record to one win in 14 games going back to the Boxing Day win over Liverpool. They have now scored only two goals and taken one point from their last seven matches in the Premier League. Asmir Begovic made his 150th career appearance in England and his 99th in the Premier league.
A SHOT, DESPITE NO SHOTS
Dear Martin. I was amazed to read that Fulham got a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday despite not having a shot on target in the whole game (as you know they scored through a Fabian Delph own goal). How many times has a team ever got a draw or a win before without having a shot on target? Kieron Andrews (Aston Villa fan)
MARTIN SAYS: The boffins at Opta have only been keeping data on shots on target since the 2005/06 season, but in that period we've seen this happen a surprising number of times! In fact, during that period we've seen 48 teams go through a Premier League game without a shot on target and yet not end up on the losing side. I won't list them all here, but 44 of those matches ended as 0-0 draws.
Of those 48 matches, three ended as 1-1 draws including Fulham's result at Aston Villa on Saturday.
Back in December 2010 we saw
West Ham record no shots on target in a Premier League home game against Everton but still end up drawing 1-1. Tony Hibbert gave them the lead that day before Seamus Coleman equalised for Everton, but the away side weren't able to go on and win the game despite Tim Howard being untroubled.
West Brom performed a similar trick against Bolton in March 2009 when they had no shots on target, but still drew 1-1 at home when Danny Shittu's own goal wiped out Matthew Taylor's opener.
But remarkably we have seen a team WIN a Premier League game without having a shot on target. That team was
Sunderland, who won 1-0 at West Brom in January 2006 when an Anthony Le Tallec shot that was heading off-target was deflected into his own net by West Brom's Steve Watson. They are the only team in the last eight years of the Premier League to win despite having no shots on target.
We have only seen five teams in the last eight seasons score a Premier League goal without having a shot on target in a game and incredibly two of those have come in the last two weeks. Fulham did it against Aston Villa on Saturday and the week before Sunderland lost 2-1 to Chelsea when Palo Di Canio's team recorded no shots on target, but did score through a Cesar Azpilicueta own goal.
Teams scoring in the Premier League since 2005/06, despite having no shots on target:
21/01/06: West Brom 0-1
Sunderland (Steve Watson own goal)
21/03/09:
West Brom 1-1 Bolton (Danny Shittu own goal)
28/12/10:
West Ham 1-1 Everton (Tony Hibbert own goal)
07/04/13: Chelsea 2-1
Sunderland (Cesar Azpilicueta own goal)
13/04/13: Aston Villa 1-1
Fulham (Fabian Delph own goal)
RUN AWAY
Dear Martin. Liverpool had scored in 10 consecutive away games before the 0-0 with Reading on Saturday. How close were we to breaking the Premier League record for scoring in consecutive away games? Gareth (Liverpool fan)
MARTIN SAYS: According to our friends at Opta, Liverpool's run of scoring in 10 consecutive away games was the longest run of its type in the Premier League this season but that came to an end on Saturday, largely thanks to the heroics of Reading goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.
However, they fell well short of matching the record for scoring in consecutive away games, as both Manchester United and Arsenal have enjoyed streaks of scoring away in more than 20 games.
After losing 2-0 to Liverpool in March 2001, Manchester United scored in their final three away games of that season before going through the whole of the 2001/02 season scoring in every away game. The run came to an end after 24 matches when they lost 1-0 at Leeds in September 2002.
However, that run was eclipsed by Arsenal who scored in a phenomenal 27 consecutive away games between May 2001 and December 2002, and like Manchester United they scored in every away game in the 2001/02 season. The run was book-ended by a 0-0 draw with Newcastle in May 2001 and a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford in December 2002.
Longest runs of scoring in consecutive away Premier League games:
| Team | Run (games) | Date of final game scored in |
| Arsenal | 27 | 23-Nov-02 |
| Man Utd | 24 | 31-Aug-02 |
| Chelsea | 19 | 23-Oct-05 |
| Chelsea | 18 | 06-Dec-08 |
| Man Utd | 18 | 08-Nov-08 |
| Chelsea | 17 | 24-Aug-04 |
| Arsenal | 16 | 14-May-00 |
| Man Utd | 15 | 10-Aug-97 |
| Blackburn | 14 | 04-Feb-12 |
| Southampton | 14 | 01-Mar-97 |
Arsene Wenger has always said to the media that he believes there is no difference between playing at home and away - and maybe he got his point across to his players at that time. This season Arsenal have failed to score in seven Premier League games with three away (at Stoke, Norwich and Villa) and four at home (Sunderland, Swansea, Man City and Everton on Tuesday night). They also didn't score at home against Schalke in the Champions League or Blackburn in FA Cup - so clearly they still don't treat away games differently.
SECONDS OUT
Dear Martin. Prior to the Manchester Derby many United fans were contemplating a potential double over City on their way toward winning the title. This made me think of the opposite situation. Has any team won the Premier League title having lost both league games to the team that finished second? If not, what is the lowest points tally a title winning side has recorded over their respective runner-up? Regards Ammani, (Arsenal Fan)
MARTIN SAYS: Apparently the Opta computers nearly exploded when trying to calculate the results of this question, but thanks to their good work I can tell you that there have only been six instances in the history of the English top-flight whereby the champions have lost both home and away to the eventual runners-up.
The most recent occasion was 2008/09 when Manchester United lost 2-1 to Liverpool at Anfield and, famously, 4-1 at Old Trafford but still went on to win the title by four points.
There is one other instance of this happening in the Premier League era. In the 1994/95 season Blackburn lost 4-2 to Manchester United at Ewood Park and 1-0 at Old Trafford, but still went on to finish ahead of their rivals on the final day.
There has only been one other example of this since the Second World War, which was the 1980/81 season when Aston Villa lost home and away to Ipswich Town, but still finished ahead of them in the final standings.
The three other examples came before the Second World War with champions Everton losing twice to second-placed Arsenal in 1931/32; champions Sunderland losing twice to runners-up Everton in 1901/02 and champions Everton losing home and away to Preston North End in 1890/91.
Eventual champions losing home and away to eventual runners-up:
1890/91: Everton lost home and away to Preston North End
1901/02: Sunderland lost home and away to Everton
1931/32: Everton lost home and away to Arsenal
1980/81: Aston Villa lost home and away to Ipswich Town
1994/95: Blackburn Rovers lost home and away to Manchester United
2008/09: Manchester United lost home and away to Liverpool
GOLDEN GOALSCORERS
Hello Martin, enormous fan of your spellbinding commentary and statistical gems. Was very amazed to learn that the Noisy Neighbours are yet to taste defeat when their Argentine marksman Aguero finds the back of the net. Having seen the number of games they have stayed unbeaten after he scores I would like to know the other Premier League players to have scored and not experienced a loss after playing 10 or more League games? Thank you. Mark Kawanga (Manchester United fan)
MARTIN SAYS: Sergio Aguero has now scored in 25 different Premier League games and, as you say, he has never been on the losing side when he has scored. In fact, City have lost only one of the 35 games he has scored in (all competitions), which was against Manchester United in the FA Cup last season. However, Opta have given us examples of five players who've scored in more Premier League games than Aguero without being on the losing side when they've scored.
Former Wimbledon, Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa midfielder Oyvind Leonhardsen never lost in any of the 28 games in which he scored, while James Milner has the best record of any current player. He has scored in 30 Premier League games for Leeds, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Manchester City and not lost any of them.
In joint second place are Cesc Fabregas and Salomon Kalou, who didn't lose any of the 32 games they scored in for Arsenal and Chelsea respectively.
But the record is held by former Aston Villa and Manchester City forward Darius Vassell who scored in 46 Premier League games during his career and didn't lose a single one; a quite remarkable record.
Below we have included the players to have scored in 15 or more games and not lost any of those games. It's worth highlighting the record for Antonio Valencia who has scored 16 Premier League goals for Wigan and Manchester United and each of those games ended as VICTORIES for his team.
Players with 15+ Premier League goals who have never lost a Premier League game they scored in:
| Player | Games scored in | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| Darius Vassell | 46 | 36 | 10 | 0 |
| Salomon Kalou | 32 | 29 | 3 | 0 |
| Cesc Fabregas | 32 | 27 | 5 | 0 |
| James Milner | 30 | 24 | 6 | 0 |
| Oyvind Leonhardsen | 28 | 21 | 7 | 0 |
| Sergio Aguero | 25 | 23 | 2 | 0 |
| Aaron Lennon | 24 | 22 | 2 | 0 |
| Lee Sharpe | 19 | 17 | 2 | 0 |
| John Arne Riise | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 |
| Denis Irwin | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| Bryan Roy | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| Park Ji-Sung | 17 | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| Michael Bridges | 17 | 13 | 4 | 0 |
| Antonio Valencia | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray Parlour | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| Michael Ballack | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| Victor Anichebe | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| Arjen Robben | 15 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| Nemanja Vidic | 15 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| Michael Essien | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 |
PLAYING WITH 10
Hey Martin terrific column love reading it each week. After watching my team Arsenal claim a nervy 3 points holding on with only 10 men against West Brom, it got me thinking that a couple of times this season we have gone down to 10 we have claimed all 3 points. Just wondering what our record of points earned after receiving a red card is like in comparison to the other teams in the league? Lachlan Hennings (Arsenal fan)
MARTIN SAYS: As you can see from the table below, Arsenal have played more Premier League minutes with 10 men than any other side this season (150 in total) following red cards for four players (Per Mertesacker v West Brom, Laurent Koscielny v Man City, Jack Wilshere v Man Utd and Carl Jenkinson v Sunderland). That's 22 minutes more than the team with the next highest number of minutes played with 10 men following a red card, which is Manchester City.
Minutes played without 10 men in the Premier League (2012/13):
Arsenal (150)
Manchester City (128)
Wigan (121)
QPR (95)
West Brom (95)
Liverpool (83)
Tottenham (73)
Fulham (71)
Newcastle (71)
Aston Villa (70)
Norwich (60)
Everton (58)
Swansea City (51)
Reading (35)
Chelsea (27)
West Ham (23)
Stoke (21)
Manchester United (0)
Southampton (0)
Sunderland (0)
Arsenal have won two of their Premier League games this season after being reduced to 10 men. They held on to beat West Brom 2-1 when Per Mertesacker was sent off in the 70th minute and they beat Sunderland 1-0 even after Carl Jenkinson was sent off in the 62nd minute. However, they lost 2-0 to Man City after Koscielny was sent off in the 9th minute and 2-1 to Man Utd after Jack Wilshere was sent off in the 69th.
In contrast, Manchester City have had three players sent off this season and yet have won all three of those games. Vincent Kompany was sent off in the 75th minute of their home game with Arsenal, but they held on to win 2-0, Samir Nasri was sent off a minute before half-time against Norwich when they were 2-1 up, but they won 4-3 and James Milner saw red in the 23rd minute of their trip to West Brom with the score at 0-0 - but two late Edin Dzeko goals saw them win 2-1.
So City are the masters of playing with 10 men it seems, but Everton also have a good record. They've had three players red carded this season and they haven't lost any of those games. They beat West Ham 2-1 despite Darron Gibson's 90th-minute red card, they beat Man City 2-0 despite Steven Pienaar's 61st-minute dismissal and they drew 1-1 with QPR despite another 61st-minute red card for Pienaar.
Only one other team has won a Premier League game this season in which they have had a player sent off. That team is Fulham, who beat QPR 3-2 despite a red card for Steve Sidwell in the 79th minute.
Record in Premier League games with a man sent off (2012/13):
| Team | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points |
| Man City | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Everton | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Arsenal | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Fulham | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Stoke | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Newcastle | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Aston Villa | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Norwich | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| QPR | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Swansea | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Tottenham | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Chelsea | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tottenham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Reading | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| West Brom | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| West Ham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Wigan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
NB. If more than one player was sent-off, match is only counted once Teams yet to have a man sent-off this season not included
