Premier League weekend: Friday night goal trend and card expectations

This weekend in the Premier League, Everton face Coventry, Nottingham Forest face Manchester City, Brighton face Brentford, Crystal Palace face Liverpool, Ipswich face Bournemouth, Sunderland face Chelsea, and Manchester United face Aston Villa. All of these matches can be watched live on Sky Sports.

Friday night matches stand out for goals. In the last 17 Friday Night Football matches, an average of 3.76 goals per match has been scored. This means almost one goal above the league's usual average. In 12 of these 17 matches, the 2.5 goal line was passed.

Referee John Brooks is expected to stand out for cards in the match at Elland Road. Brooks is among the busiest referees in the Premier League when it comes to showing cards. Since last season, no referee has awarded more penalties or shown more red cards than him. Brooks averages 4.75 cards per match. In the last 17 Premier League matches kicking off at 12:30 on a Saturday, an average of 4.8 cards per match has been shown, and that line has been exceeded in six of the last seven matches.

Hull City's discipline record stands out. Sergej Jakirovic's team adopts a style of play that does not give opponents an easy time, and often tries to disrupt the rhythm of the match by giving up possession to the other side. This approach can come at a cost in terms of cards.