Notebook - Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Tom Carnduff's Notebook: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dominik Szoboszlai, Jean-Philippe Mateta


It was a very good weekend for away sides in the Premier League.

Remarkably, all nine who played across Saturday and Sunday scored at least two goals with six of them securing victory. Spare a thought for Southampton and Tottenham who both hit the previously mentioned criteria and left empty-handed.

It's becoming an interesting trend of teams scoring on the road. Across the 218 games played in the top-flight, home teams are averaging 1.50 goals per match while away teams sit on 1.52.

Why? I'm not entirely sure to be honest. It may well just be the way the fixtures have fallen.

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Liverpool have played the bottom four away on three occasions but at home just once. But then, Arsenal have played the bottom five all at home and are yet to visit them away.

It's something I'll be keeping an eye on because it's not been the case in recent seasons. The last time the numbers were similar takes us back to the Covid-impacted, and crucially (mostly) behind closed doors, 2020/21 season.

We're continuing the trend of seeing both teams finding the net at least, with the 61% of this season consistent with the 62% of last.

Some of those goalscorers from the weekend's action feature in the latest edition of the Notebook alongside a couple of others points raised from elsewhere.


A return to form

David Moyes secured his first three points following his Everton return with a 3-2 win over Tottenham on Sunday.

It was a much-needed victory and one which extended their gap to the the relegation zone to four points. While it isn't much, it is still some breathing space.

Not only was it a largely solid performance but it was Dominic Calvert-Lewin's best showing of the season so far.

"Everyone will know we’ve used Dominic as an example," Moyes told the media after the game.

"He had three chances in midweek and today he’s got a goal and probably could have had more"

The striker's six shots was the most he's had all campaign, as was the 11 aerial duels he ended up winning. He was playing with confidence and deserved to end his four-month wait for a league goal.

We have to be cautious not to get too carried away on the basis of one showing but it doesn't feel like a coincidence that a new manager has arrived and this is what we've seen across his 90 or so minutes of involvement.

There may be some solid prices available on Calvert-Lewin finding the net as they're big-priced outsiders against Brighton at the weekend.


Shot-happy Szoboszlai

Liverpool had to be patient and, like the cliché of buses, two late goals arrived in a 2-0 away victory over Brentford.

Darwin Nunez grabbed both in the space of a minute and it was a game which delivered plenty of taking points. Perhaps the most notable being the staggering amount of shots Liverpool attempted.

The total of 37 was their joint-most in a Premier League game on Opta's record (which begins in the 2003/04 season) and the first 35 failed to deliver anything.

The player who finished with the most shots was actually Dominik Szoboszlai, who appears to have been encouraged to shoot more now compared with the start of the season.

Dominik Szoboszlai shot map

Szoboszlai's first five league starts in the attacking midfield role delivered eight shots. His last five in that position have seen a huge 24 - six coming against Tottenham and seven at Brentford at mentioned above.

They're not always necessarily the 'best' scoring chances in terms of the expected goals (xG) data but the volume increase is drastic enough to consider when it comes to the markets.

Liverpool's next Premier League contest sees Ipswich visit Anfield so he's definitely a name to look towards then, as will be the case if he's involved from the off in Tuesday's Champions League encounter against Lille.


Boom, boom, boom, boom...

Crystal Palace fans have a lot to answer for.

I've spent the last week or so randomly singing 'there ain't no striker better than Jean-Philippe Mateta' to myself at random points so thanks for that.

And thanks to Mateta too, I guess, because his form is the reason why.

The French striker has four goals across his last three Premier League appearances with a brace coming in their win away at West Ham last time out.

What we've seen from Mateta, particularly in the second-half of last season, is how he's a player who does go in and out of form and when he's on it, it definitely becomes the time to back him.

Jean-Philippe Mateta shot map

Mateta scored in eight of his final 11 league outings in 23/24, bagging two braces and a hat-trick across that period. I don't know if 'streaky' is the right word but he clearly thrives on momentum.

That is a particularly good thing as they welcome a Brentford side next who have won just one of their ten away league games this season - that being at Southampton in their first game of 2025.

It's then a trip to a struggling Manchester United outfit so Mateta has every chance of continuing his scoring run in the weeks to come.


The Championship's form team

QPR could perhaps consider themselves somewhat unfortunate to have only scored once in victory over Plymouth at the weekend.

The most important thing was the win - one which has pushed them up to 12th in the Sky Bet Championship table.

It continues a fine run of form for Martí Cifuentes' outfit, who have seen seven of their eight league wins this season come across their last 11.

A 2-0 defeat to Leeds just before the November international break left them bottom of the table with just ten points from a possible 45, five points adrift of safety.

Now, they are nine points clear of the drop zone and will be keeping an eye on the situation in the race for the top six - only six points separates themselves and West Brom.

QPR recent form

No Championship team has picked up more points across than last ten than QPR (21), who are level with league leaders Leeds across that period.

The fixture list gives them a great chance of continuing this run of form as well. They go to Hull in midweek before hosting Sheffield Wednesday. A trip to Millwall sees out the month and then they welcome Blackburn.

Most bookmakers offer 25/1 on QPR finishing in the top six - quite the difference from the 250/1 on offer a couple of months ago.


Feel the Roth!

Leeds returned to the top of the Championship standings with a 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, although it wasn't as convincing as the scoreline suggested.

They were far from their best and yet still managed to get the job done with Illan Meslier largely untested in the Leeds goal.

It was another solid performance from Joe Rothwell though. The midfielder finished the contest with three chances created.

That continued the season-long trend of creating plenty in games at Elland Road. He should have more than the two assists on his tally here.

Joe Rothwell chances created

Rothwell - on-loan from Bournemouth - has created at least two chances for teammates in eight of his ten home league starts. Three or more has come in half of them.

Compare that to the away games, where 2+ chances have only come in three of eight - three or more in just one which was the 0-0 draw with Bristol City.

It helps that he takes set-pieces, which is a significant part of the chances, but he's certainly a player to target when Leeds feature in front of their own fans. That includes Wednesday's visit of Norwich.


Odds correct at 1145 GMT (20/01/25)

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