Everton the ‘dirtiest’ EPL club
LONDON: It would appear to be difficult for any team to find a more daunting examination in European football at present than a visit to the Etihad Stadium where Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have come into full bloom.
City’s kaleidoscopic movement and rare skill executed at breakneck speed have made Guardiola’s latest creation a familiar delight to behold but a nightmare to play against as Burnley may become the latest Premier League side to discover this weekend.
City’s 7-2 demolition of Stoke City last Saturday to move them two points clear of neighbours Manchester United was followed by Guardiola’s delight at seeing off “one of Europe’s best teams” Napoli in the Champions League in midweek.
That was City’s 10th successive win in all competitions and now to complete their perfect week at the Etihad tomorrow, they are out to add to the 22 goals they have scored there in six matches in all competitions this term.
Burnley themselves have progressed admirably under manager Sean Dyche, having gone six league matches unbeaten, but he recognises that visiting a stadium where City have won their last three league games by five-goal margins is the acid test.
Meanwhile, Everton have been handed the dubious distinction of being the ‘dirtiest’ Premier League team after a study on the all-time cards and fouls by www.dirtyteams.co.uk.
The website used a points system to rate clubs for transgressions on the pitch since the start of the Premier League in 1992. Teams collected 25 points for a red card, five for a yellow card and one for each foul.
The Merseyside club have accumulated 21 211 points in 962 games to top the list while Swindon Town are at the bottom with 486 points.
Everton are one of only six teams to have contested every season of the Premier League along with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. All six teams were in the top ten for total ‘dirty’ points.
Derby County are the dirtiest team on average with nearly 26 points per game.
Blackburn Rovers’ 1998-99 season was the dirtiest in Premier League history as they racked up eight red cards and 80 yellow cards with 725 fouls while Coventry City had the cleanest campaign in 1993-94 with only 12 yellow cards. - Reuters