How the Premier League stats compare to this time last season

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Have the Premier League teams been better or worse than at this stage last season?

With an international break once again bringing the domestic season to a halt, now seems a perfect time to assess how things are going in the Premier League.

Liverpool are top of the table, two points clear of second-placed Chelsea, while Arsenal and Manchester City make up the rest of the top four.

Tottenham Hotspur sit in in fifth and Manchester United are sixth, eight points behind the league leaders.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp

At the same stage, last season Arsenal and Manchester City were level at the top while it was Leicester City and Manchester United who made up the top four.

Tottenham were once again in fifth place with West Ham United just behind them in sixth.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino applauds their fans after the match

At the other end of the table this year, Sunderland are bottom with just one win to their name, while Swansea City and Hull City make up the rest of the bottom three.

Last year it was Aston Villa who propped up the division with Sunderland and Newcastle just ahead of them.

So how does this season compare with last when it comes to goals scored, big chances created and several other stats? We have taken a look.

Starting in defence, teams are winning fewer tackles per game, down from 29.9to 26.3 and fewer interceptions per game, down from 32.3 to 29.7.

Their number of ball recoveries per game has also fallen, this time from 122 to 120.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

Creatively they have been worse, posting fewer big chances per game and fewer shots on target per game than they were at this stage last year.

Interestingly, though, they have managed to score the exact same amount of goals, around 2.7 per game.

There have been some increases, however. Teams have played more accurate passes per game, 711 compared to 699 and are crossing the ball more accurately, 9.2 per game compared 8.8 last season.

They are stats that make for fascinating reading and it will be interesting to see how they compare when the next international break comes along.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola