Martin Tyler's stats and facts column is here!

Every week he will be here to offer you statistical gems to make your day, impress your mates and, on occasion, to settle the odd bet.

Sky Sports' voice of football and his back-up team of experts are here to answer your questions and queries on all things statistical and historical from the beautiful game.

Bent: bizarre penalty record

If you have spotted something from a game or have been stumped by a pub quiz question, simply email here and he will do his best to help.

Tyler's Starting Stat - Chelsea make their points

I was at Old Trafford on Saturday to see Chelsea extend their impressive Premier League record against Manchester United. They have now scored 46 goals against United in the Premier League (more than any other team), won 12 games against them (more than any other team) and picked up 50 points (again, more than any other team). They also have the most Premier League points at Old Trafford with 22. It was not the first time Chelsea have done the Premier League double over United (the previous occasion came in 2004/05 under Jose Mourinho).

Joe Cole scored his third goal against United in 27 appearances and all three came in victories; 3-1 away in 2005; 3-0 at home in 2006; and of course 2-1 last Saturday.

The game also produced a landmark goal for Didier Drogba, even if it was clearly offside. It was his first goal in 90 minutes against Manchester United and his first Premier League goal against them. His only other goal against them came in the 116th minute of the 2007 FA Cup Final.

I also have a fascinating stat regarding Federico Macheda. Saturday was only his second Premier League appearance at Old Trafford... and I'm sure everybody remembers when the first was. It was over a year ago against Aston Villa and so in his two substitute league appearances at home, he can boast two goals. It certainly doesn't take him long to leave an imprint on a game!

BEST OF THE BEST
Hi Martin, Love the column. With Chelsea having a 100% record against their 'Big Four' rivals this year, I was wondering what were the previous league champions' places in the 'Big Four' mini league? Kieran Murray (Chelsea)

MARTIN SAYS: Hi Kieran. Chelsea wrapped up their fifth win of the season against their so-called 'Big Four' rivals with a 2-1 win away to Manchester United on Saturday and will be hoping to complete the whitewash against Liverpool in their penultimate game of the season on May 1.

Their win at Old Trafford took Chelsea back to the top of the Premier League and the omens are good for Blues fans like yourself Kieran! Only twice in the past six seasons have teams won the Premier League without topping the 'Big Four' mini league.

Liverpool came out on top last season after taking 14 points off their rivals, while in 2006/07 Arsenal secured three wins and two draws to top the mini league. Of course, Manchester United won the title in those seasons, but they have only topped the 'Big Four' mini league on one occasion - 2007/08.

In contrast Chelsea stormed to their Premier League double in 2004/05 and 2005/06 on the back of their performances against their major rivals. Could they complete the clean sweep on the way to their third Premier League crown? Only time will tell....

2009/10

2008/09

2007/08

2006/07

2005/06

2004/05

2003/04

LATE GUNNERS
Hi Martin. As a Gooner I still reckon Arsenal have a chance of winning the Premier League this season - just! In recent weeks we've ridden our luck with late goals like the one against Wolves. Can you tell me how many points Arsenal have won after the 85th minute of games this season and how this compares with our rivals? Cheers. Paul (Arsenal fan)

MARTIN SAYS: Hi Paul. You're spot on when you say Arsenal's late goals have proved to be vital this season. In fact, as the table below shows, Arsenal, along with Bolton, have won more points in the Premier League than any other side with the goals they've scored inside the final five minutes.

Twelve times this season the Gunners have netted inside the final five minutes. Without the seven points those goals have earned them, Arsenal would be well off the title pace on 64 points.

Many teams have complained of 'Fergie time' at the end of matches when Manchester United need a result, but it is interesting to note the current champions have only gained one point from their eight late goals this season. (Please note: Michael Owen's late winner against Man City is not counted as earning them extra points because United were actually winning that game in the 85th minute).

At the other end of the table, Portsmouth would already be relegated without their goals in the last five minutes of games this season. Avram Grant's side would also be short of double figures, on nine points. Thanks to our friends at Opta for these stats:

BENT ON THE SPOT
Hi Martin. It was great to see Darren Bent score against his former club Tottenham on Saturday, but I couldn't believe he only managed to score one of his three penalties! I know he missed one against them earlier in the season and I was wondering what his goals to misses penalty ratio is like? Thanks. Ben (Sunderland fan)

MARTIN SAYS: Hi Ben. Darren Bent had an unblemished Premier League record from the 12-yard spot until this season - or, to be more accurate, Darren Bent still has an unblemished record from the 12-yard spot if you discount penalties taken against Tottenham's Huerelho Gomes! He also has an unblemished record for putting penalties on the target - as Gomes made saves from the three he has failed to convert.

The England striker scored his first nine penalties in the Premier League for Charlton, Tottenham and current side Sunderland.

However, that run came to an end when he faced Spurs for the first time since his transfer to the Black Cats, and former team mate Gomes saved his effort in November 2009 at White Hart Lane.

Bent quickly got back on track with successful spot-kicks against Portsmouth and Bolton (his fourth against Bolton no less) in February and March 2010, respectively, and looked to have got one over Gomes when he fired in Sunderland's second goal of the game from the penalty spot.

However, the Brazilian kept out his next two efforts to limit Spurs' losses and dent Bent's Premier League spot-kick stats, which now stand at taken 15, scored 12, failed to score three (all saved by Gomes).

Thanks to Opta, here is Darren Bent's complete Premier League penalty record:

A LOAD ON THE ROAD
Martin. As a Man City fan I'd be interested to know if a team has ever scored six goals away from home before in the Premier League. I know plenty of teams have scored six or seven goals but surely most of those were in home games? Ed (Man City fan)

MARTIN SAYS: You might be surprised to learn that Manchester City in fact became the 17th side to score six goals away from home in a Premier League match. According to Opta, the following teams have also matched the feat, with only Nottingham Forest's seven at Sheffield Wednesday in 1995 and Manchester United's eight at Nottingham Forest in 1999 beating that tally.

You may be interested to hear that this Man City team were much more fortunate than the Man City team of 28 Jan 1961 when an FA Cup tie away at Luton Town was abandoned after 69 minutes with City leading 6-2. All six were scored by Denis Law - but a waterlogged pitch meant they were struck from the record books! Four days later the match was restaged and Luton won 3-1 and it was of very little consolation to Law that he scored the one. In some countries when the game is abandoned they simply stop the clock and play the remaining time... but that has never been the case here. A few older City fans might have remembered that day when the heavens opened at Burnley in the second half!

Other points of note from Saturday's win include the fact that City's 5-0 half-time lead was the biggest by an away side in the history of the Premier League. Their first three goals were scored within 153 seconds of each other and City were also only the second Premier League side to score three goals within the first seven minutes. The other was Tottenham's three goals (scored by Jason Dozzell, Gordon Durie and Steve Sedgley) against Oldham in September 1993.

PLENTY TWENTY VISION
Hi Martin. I am Dennis M from Uganda and support Liverpool. This season is turning out nicely for strikers as many are hitting or about to hit the 20 goal mark in the EPL (Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Darren Bent, Carlos Tevez, Fernando Torres etc) , when was the last time we had so many strikers score more than 20 goals in a season? Regards, Dennis

MARTIN SAYS: Four players have already hit the 20-goal mark in the Premier League this season: Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Darren Bent and Carlos Tevez - and that has already matched the record for the most 20-goal hitmen in a 38-game season. As you can see from the list below, four men hit more than 20 goals in the three seasons between 2002 and 2004.

The likes of Fernando Torres (18 goals with five games left), Jermain Defoe (17 goals with six games left) and Frank Lampard (17 goals with five games left) will be hoping to add their names to the list and break the record.

If all three were to do so, then this season would break the overall Premier League record. In the 1993/94 and 1994/95 seasons, there were six men who scored more than 20 goals. But of course these were 42-game seasons.

20 goals in a 38-game Premier League season:2008/09: NONE
2007/08: THREE (Ronaldo, Adebayor, Torres)
2006/07: ONE (Drogba)
2005/06: TWO (Henry, Van Nistelrooy)
2004/05: TWO (Henry, Johnson)
2003/04: FOUR (Henry, Shearer, Saha, Van Nistelrooy)
2002/03: FOUR (Van Nistelrooy, Henry, Beattie, Viduka)
2001/02: FOUR (Henry, Hasselbaink, Shearer, Van Nistelrooy)
2000/01: ONE (Hasselbaink)
1999/00: THREE (Phillips, Shearer, Yorke)
1998/99: NONE
1997/98: NONE
1996/97 TWO (Shearer, Wright)
1995/96: THREE (Shearer, Fowler, Ferdinand)

20 goals in a 42-game Premier League season:
1994/95: SIX (Shearer, Fowler, Ferdinand, Collymore, Cole, Klinsmann)
1993/94: SIX (Cole, Shearer, Le Tissier, Sutton, Wright, Beardsley)
1992/93: TWO (Sheringham, Ferdinand)

PLENTY TWENTY DOUBLE VISION
Hi Martin, was looking at the stats for the leading Premier League goal scorers and noticed how both Drogba and Lampard could possibly end up with notching up over 20 league goals, with the latter just needing three more. So I was wondering when, if there was ever a time that any two players from the same team have scored at least 20 or more league goals. Thanks Martin, Scooby, from Slough.

MARTIN SAYS: The list I prepared for the previous question should help you with this answer, Scooby. The last time it officially happened was 2003/04 when Ruud van Nistelrooy and Louis Saha of Manchester United both scored exactly 20 goals. However, Saha only played half a season for United having joined from Fulham in January so I don't think that really counts. As a result, Chelsea would become the first club to benefit from two 20-goal men in a 38-game Premier League season - if Lampard can score three in his last five games.

The last time it happened in any season was1993/94 when Andy Cole of Newcastle hit 34 goals and his team-mate Peter Beardsley scored 21. But this was a 42-game season.

Thanks to both of you as these were questions I'd thought about and hadn't yet looked into. Thanks for pointing us in the right direction and I'll certainly have your questions in mind when I'm watching Lampard and the rest of the "nearly men" for the rest of the season.

SCORING TWO v BLUE LIKE ETO'O
Hello Martin. I never miss reading your column. I have two questions for you. First, who was the last player before Samuel Eto'o to score a winner twice at Stamford Bridge? My other question is which club has spent the highest number of season in the top-flight without winning the title? Could it be Bolton? Thanks. Milton from Nairobi, Kenya.

MARTIN SAYS: It took us some time to find the answer to your first question, Milton because Chelsea don't lose at home very often! To illustrate that fact, I can tell you that since the start of the 2004/05 season, only three opposition players have scored winners against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Those men were Robin Van Persie (for Arsenal in November 2008), Carlos Tevez (for Man City in February 2010) and Samuel Eto'o (for Barcelona in February 2006 and for Inter in March 2010). A Jose Bosingwa own goal proved to be the winner in Chelsea's only other home defeat in that period - to Liverpool in October 2008.

So to find the last player to score TWO winners against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge you have to go back to the nineties. The player in question is Dwight Yorke - and like Eto'o he did it for two different clubs. He scored the second in a 2-1 Premier League win for Aston Villa in April 1996 and he scored both goals for Manchester United in an FA Cup sixth-round replay in March 1999, a game I attended.

The answer to your second question is Bolton Wanderers, who have spent 71 seasons in the top flight without ever winning the league.

Here is a top 10 of teams who have played the most seasons in the English top flight without winning the title (including this season):

1. Bolton (71)
2. Middlesbrough (60)
3. Birmingham City (56)
4. West Ham (53)
5. Leicester (46)
6. Southampton (35)
7. Coventry City (34)
8. Notts County (30)
9. Blackpool (27)
10. Charlton Athletic (26)

Tyler's teaser

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