Stats boffins give Madrid something else to boast about

Lord only knows why it took them nine years to compile it, but today the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) released their list of the top 200 European clubs of the twentieth century.

By awarding a varying scale of points for victories and draws in the Champions League, UEFA Cup and all other European competitions that operated from 1901-2000, the winners were determined to be Real Madrid. They finished ahead of second-placed Juventus by nearly one hundred points, while the most successful English team were Liverpool down in eighth place.

Here’s the top twenty, according to the IFFHS:

1. Real Madrid
2. Juventus
3. FC Barcelona
4. AC Milan
5. Bayern Munich
6. Inter Milan
7. Ajax
8. Liverpool
9. Benfica

… revealed in the fascinating trends and statistics below

The bookmakers seem to agree on the 15 leading contenders to be next season’s Premier League top-scorer. they are:

Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Robinho, Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Dimitar Berbatov, Jermain Defoe, Carlos Tevez, Andrei Arshavin, Frank Lampard and Roque Santa Cruz.

Through a process of elimination, our stat-lovin’ friends at chickendinner have discovered that Nicolas Anelka will not successfully defend his top scorer award, and the eventual winner is quite surprising.

Here it comes…

Over the last decade Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (2000-01) is the only player to have won it in his first season with a new club.
That rules out: Michael Owen, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz

The last nine winners were all playing for a Big Four side.
That rules out: Robinho, Jermain Defoe

Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to have been Premier League top-scorer without always playing as an out-and-out striker.
That rules out: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrei Arshavin

The last British top-scorer was Kevin Phillips in 1999-00.
That rules out: Wayne Rooney

Still standing: Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Robin van

Germany/England, 7.45pm, Sky Sports 1, Betfair £25 Free Bet

Stuart Pearce is the 4/1 favourite with Sky Bet to succeed Fabio Capello as England manager and tonight he can prove his credentials by guiding the Young Lions to their first trophy since 1984. To do so Psycho will have to conquer Germany, who broke his heart twice as a player. Here are five stats about the game courtesy of our friends at chickendinner:

1. There have been three occasions under the current format where two teams from the same group have met in the final and on two of those, the side who came second - in this case Germany - triumphed.

2. Germany have never previously won the competition but have - either as East or West - lost in the final four times, including a 1974 defeat to Hungary when it was still an Under-23 competition.

USA/Brazil, Sunday 7.30pm, BBC Three, Betfair £25 Free Bet

The reaction of the American media to their national side ending Spain’s 35-game unbeaten streak may have been unbearable but it would have been just as bad - if not worse - over here if England had done it. The USA have made this pretty meaningless tournament worth watching and they will fancy their chances of winning it after seeing Brazil stumble past South Africa last night in the other semi-final. The bookies don’t though and some of the trends identified by our friends at chickendinner make it easy to see why:

1. Brazil have won 14 of their 15 matches against USA (one after extra-time). The USA’s one win over the holders came in the 1998 Gold Cup Final, with former Everton winger Predrag “Preki” Radosavljevic scoring the winner.

2. USA haven’t scored against Brazil in three previous Confederations Cup meetings, with Dunga’s side beating them 1-0 in 1999 and 2003 and winning 3-0 against them last Thursday.

Anyone game for some vital fixture list statistics?

Now that the Football League and the Premier League have completed the extraordinarily complicated process of compiling next season’s fixtures, it’s time for some fate-bating statistics. And who better to provide them than our trend-spotting chums at chickendinner:

1. The last five newly-promoted teams to kick their season off at home all avoided defeat, which is good news for Wolves who open against West Ham.

2. However, the last four to start away from home have all lost. That doesn’t bode well for Birmingham and Burnley, who start at Manchester Utd and Stoke.

3. Chelsea have won their opening game in each of the last seven seasons and this year they kick-off their campaign at home to Hull.

A chance to get excited months before anything actually happens

Tottenham have finally been granted their wish to kick-off a Premier League campaign at home but Liverpool will be the visitors for their first opener at White Hart Lane since 2004.

Spurs fans can take some comfort though from the fact Arsenal have been given a challenging away game on the opening weekend against Everton.

Wolves are the only promoted side who start at home - against West Ham - and the last five to have done so have avoided defeat. Every new arrival who has opened their campaign on the road over the last three seasons has lost and Birmingham and Burnley face tough trips to Man United and Stoke.

Barcelona/Manchester Utd, 7.45pm, ITV1, £25 no loss Bet

In celebration of tonight’s clash between the winners of the two best leagues in Europe, we’ve teamed up with Betfair to produce a Big Match Interactive Wizard. Check it out and you will discover no fewer than 68 vital statistics about the game, all of which can help you make an informed decision before betting.

Man Utd/Arsenal, Saturday 12.45pm, Sky Sports 1, £25 Free Bet

The fireworks, red ticker tape and novelty sized champagne bottles should be out in force at Old Trafford tomorrow, as Manchester Utd need just a point to claim their eleventh Premiership title. It’s up to opponents Arsenal to be party poopers, but they have won just two of their last seven games and one of their last six clashes with the Red Devils.

Once again, we’ve teamed up with the good folks at Betfair to produce a super fancy Interactive Match Wizard for the game. For all the statistics and betting information you could ever need, check it out.