Edwin, lose or draw

Martin Tyler on United's clean sheets, Sunderland's derby defeats, Liverpool's stalemates and more...

United's record compared to the rest, cup quirks and more...

Martin Tyler's stats and facts column is back 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. It could be on a side in the Premier League or Football League, international scene or European competitions - or it could be about an individual player or manager. Whatever you want to know, within reason, why not see if Martin can answer? If you have spotted something from a game or have been stumped by a pub quiz question, simply email here he will do his best to help. Or use the feedback form at the bottom of the page....

Tyler's starting stat - Travel slickness

I was at Fratton Park on Tuesday night to see Aston Villa chalk up a club record sixth successive away league win in a season. They have done it before back in 1897, but that was spread over two seasons. They beat Bury (2-0), Burnley (4-3), Nottingham Forest (4-2), Bolton (2-1) and Preston (2-1) at the tail-end of the 1896-97 campaign before they beat Notts County (3-2) in the first away game of the following season. That run came to an end with a 4-3 defeat at Blackburn Rovers and guess who Martin O'Neill's men take on in their next away game in the Premier League? That's right... Blackburn Rovers! The winner at Portsmouth of course came from Emile Heskey, who had failed to score on any of his previous debuts for Leicester City, Liverpool, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic or England. As for Pompey, that was the first defeat against Villa in six games, having done the double over them last season, 3-1 away and 2-0 at home. KNOCKING OUT UNITED
Hey Martin, I was wondering when was the last time the FA Cup was won by a team other than Manchester United nor a team that had knocked Manchester United out of the competition? Keep up the great work! Blake Irvine, California
MARTIN REPLIES: In recent years it is indeed fair to say that the FA Cup goes to Manchester United - or the team that beats Manchester United. In 2008 (Portsmouth), 2007 (Chelsea), 2006 (Liverpool), 2005 (Arsenal) and 2003 (Arsenal) the FA Cup winners have knocked United out of the cup, while United won it themselves in 2004. In fact you have to go all the way back to the 2002 competition when Middlesbrough beat United 2-0 at the Riverside Stadium in Round Four, but Arsenal went on to lift the trophy. As the following table shows - in the last 15 seasons, there have only been five occasions when Manchester United have not won the Cup or been knocked out by the eventual winners - and one of those occasions was in 2000 when United infamously did not even enter the competition. TOP DRAW
Hi Martin. Last weekend's round of FA Cup clashes has raised a debate between me and my Chelsea supporting mate. I believe Man U have drawn Premier League opposition on numerous occasions in recent years (excluding Southampton), where as Chelsea seem to draw easier lower league opposition almost all the time! My friend is having none of it! Please help settle this argument! Dave Rhodes (Manchester Utd fan)
MARTIN REPLIES: I have all of the stats you need Dave and I can confirm that you have won your argument. I have counted up all of the FA Cup fixtures that both sides have played since 2001 (when Manchester United entered the competition again after opting out to play in the 2000 World Club Championship). In those nine seasons Chelsea have played 36 ties (excluding replays) with 17 of them coming against teams who were in the top flight at the time. In fact, they have only played on top flight team in the third round in the last nine seasons (Middlesbrough in 2003). In the same period United have played 34 matches (excluding replays) and 26 of those have come against Premier League opposition. So even though United have played less ties they have played far more Premier League teams. In fact, this season's third round match with Southampton was the first time United had played a non-Premier League side in the FA Cup since January 2006 when they played Wolves in Round Four. That was an 11-game FA Cup run where they played only top-flight sides! To make things a little bit clearer, here are Chelsea and United's FA Cup opponents for the past nine seasons - I have placed an asterix next to the teams that were NOT in the top flight at the time. MAN UTD 2009: Southampton*, Tottenham, Forest or Derby*
2008: Aston Villa, Tottenham, Arsenal, Portsmouth
2007: Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Reading, Middlesbrough, Watford, Chelsea
2006: Burton Albion*, Wolves*, Liverpool
2005: Exeter City*, Middlesbrough, Everton, Southampton, Newcastle, Arsenal
2004: Aston Villa, Northampton*, Man City, Fulham, Arsenal, Millwall*
2003: Portsmouth*, West Ham, Arsenal
2002: Aston Villa, Middlesbrough
2001: Fulham*, West Ham CHELSEA 2009: Southend*, Ipswich*, Watford*
2008: QPR*, Wigan, Huddersfield*, Barnsley*
2007: Macclesfield*, Forest*, Norwich*, Tottenham, Blackburn, Man Utd
2006: Huddersfield*, Everton, Colchester*, Newcastle, Liverpool
2005: Scunthorpe*, Birmingham, Newcastle
2004: Watford*, Scarborough*, Arsenal
2003: Middlesbrough, Shrewsbury*, Stoke*, Arsenal
2002: Norwich*, West Ham, Preston*, Tottenham, Fulham, Arsenal
2001: Peterborough*, Gillingham*, ArsenalUP THEN DOWN
Martin, Has a team ever been relegated from the Premier League despite having beaten the eventual champion side that season? Ajit Lakshmikanthan (Tottenham fan)
MARTIN SAYS: That is an interesting question Ali, and while it is an extremely rare occurrence it has in fact happened twice in the history of the Premier League. The last time it happened was all the way back in the 1996-97 season when Sunderland beat Manchester United 2-1 at Roker Park. Goals from Michael Gray and John Mullin earned Sunderland a win on March 8,1997, but their team would end up relegated while Manchester United went on to claim their fourth Premier League crown. The only other time that feat has been achieved was in the 1994-95 season when eventual champions Blackburn Rovers lost away at Norwich, who were themselves relegated at the end of the season. The Canaries enjoyed a 2-1 win on that occasion thanks to goals from Mark Bowen and John Newsome. BEST OF THE REST
Dear Martin, I think Edwin van der Sar and Manchester United deserve a huge pat on the back for going 11 Premier League games without letting in a goal. I would be interested to know how many goals the other teams have let in during the same period. Could you provide a list of how many goals the other teams have conceded in the last 11 games so we can see who has the next best record. I bet West Brom have let in the most after the 5-0 drubbing on Tuesday. Thanks, Michael Turner
MARTIN SAYS: Manchester United's record is indeed impressive when you consider that the other 19 Premier League clubs have conceded a total of 263 goals in the their last 11 games combined - that's an average of 13.84 goals per team. I should point out now that the new record, held by Edwin van der Sar and his defence, now stands at 1,032 minutes and counting. The teams currently with the next best record are Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton who have conceded seven goals each in their last 11 games - although it is worth bearing in mind that Everton conceded three goals in a single game against Aston Villa. Wigan also boast an impressive defensive record in that, having conceded fewer goals than Chelsea - even though they have had tough games against Arsenal, Manchester United and Arsenal in their last 11 fixtures. The team with the worst defensive record in their last 11 games is not as you guessed Michael. In fact, Hull City have the worst record with 25 goals conceded in that time. Your namesake, the Tigers' centre-back Michael Turner, will not be pleased to hear that stat. Here is the list of how many goals each team has conceded in their last 11 games:
Man Utd - 0
Everton - 7
Liverpool - 7
Aston Villa - 8
Wigan - 8
Chelsea - 9
Fulham - 9
West Ham - 9
Tottenham - 10
Arsenal - 12
Man City - 13
Sunderland - 14
Blackburn - 18
Middlesbrough - 18
Portsmouth - 18
Bolton - 19
Newcastle - 19
Stoke City - 19
West Brom - 21
Hull City - 25 DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS
Dear Martin, I am getting increasigly worried about the amount of games Liverpool are drawing. That's nine out of 23 following the Wigan game and that looks like it might cost us any chance of the title. What I wanted to know was what is the most amount of draws a side had had but still gone on to win the league? Jill Andrews
MARTIN SAYS: Well I've got to say Jill, I do think its claptrap that people are already writing off Liverpool and before I get to answering your question on draws, we should really point out that Liverpool have actually only lost one game in 23 Premier League games this season. They have also drawn nine, but that is still some way short of the best or indeed worst, total in a season. That is 13 which was recorded by the Manchester United team that won the Premier League title as part of the treble in 1999, which represents more than a third of their league games. In fact, that 13 is a record even taking the 42-game season, because the most draws from a side back then was only 12 again recorded by United in 1993 and 1997. TYNE AND WEAR OR WHINE AND TEARS?
Hello Martin I am a die-hard sunderland fan and Iam still dazed about the derby win, and seeing how the next derby is coming up I was wondering if you could tell me out off all the derbies recorded, who has won the most, Sunderland or Newcastle? Matty Scott
MARTIN SAYS: Well Matty, as a die-hard Sunderland fan I think you may have an inkling that the answer might not be what you want to hear. I can in fact give you three head-to-head figures, one for the Premier League, one for the overall League record and one for Sunderland-Newcastle games in all competitions - and none of them do the Wearsiders any favours. In the Premier League, although Sunderland did win the last derby as you point out, of the 15 Premier League meetings Newcastle have won seven, Sunderland three and five have been draws. Overall in the league they have met 129 times and Newcastle shade it again with 49 wins to Sunderland's 41, with 39 draws. In all competitions and 140 games in all it is close though, with the Magpies claiming 51 victories, Sunderland 44 and 45 derbies ending with honours even.

Tyler's teaser

Someone told me that one club in the English and Scottish leagues contains none of the letters that are in the word football. Can you help me out? Matthew Cowell (Newcastle Utd fan)
MARTIN SAYS: I certainly can. The only club in the professional English and Scottish leagues without one of the letters F, O, T, B, A or L in their name is Dundee. Please do keep sending these teasers in because we do love a challenge, here and in the skysports.com office - but be warned, we do get better in the second half of the season!