Defeats against Manchester City and Arsenal have left Bournemouth back at the bottom of the league table and they will be cursing the fixture list with their next opponents being a Liverpool side that have just beaten Manchester United 7-0.

The Merseyside outfit are beginning to find their rhythm again, that victory the fifth league game in a row that they have kept a clean sheet, earning four victories in that time and hitting the woodwork twice at Crystal Palace during a 0-0.

I’m backing Marco Senesi to be the man to commit a foul in this one. Bournemouth are likely to line up in the same 5-4-1 formation they have played in their last two matches, the same one that almost saw them earn a result at The Emirates.

Senesi is likely to play the left-centre-back role here and it’s notable that the left-back or left-centre-back has committed a foul in four of the last five matches against Liverpool, both committing a foul on three occasions. The only game a foul wasn’t committed was against Newcastle United, who committed three fouls all game with an eye on the League Cup final.

Mo Salah is a key reason for that. He has been fouled in four of his last five matches playing on the right-hand side and more than twice in two of those games. Senesi has committed a foul in seven of his last ten matches and will be asked to protect excitable young left-wing-back Jordan Zemura here.

Yet another huge match for Everton as they look to escape a relegation zone they have fallen back into after three losses and a draw in their last five. That won’t be an easy task against a Brentford side that are unbeaten in 12 league matches, including five away from home.

In order to start winning football matches, Everton are back-to-basics in their approach and trying to do the ugly stuff well, being combative all over the pitch, meaning this could be a feisty affair against a Brentford side who are big, strong and compete well.

When looking at Brentford, it appears that they are able to draw fouls from players playing in the centre of the pitch for the opposition, particularly those in defensive midfield and central defensive positions.

The latter makes sense. Ivan Toney commits fouls and takes the hits too, being fouled in each of his last eight league matches and at least three times in seven of those. Wingers, and occasional strikers, Yoann Wissa (fouled in five of last six league starts) and Bryan Mbeumo (fouled in four of last six league starts) also draw fouls.

Toney will be directly up against Michael Keane and James Tarkowski here and the latter isn’t afraid to give the referee a call to make, committing a foul in nine of his last ten league starts and at least two fouls in three of his last five.

A big game for two sides who could really do with three points.

The hosts come into this one just two points above the drop zone having lost each of their last three league matches and also been dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship side Blackburn Rovers on home turf. Chelsea, meanwhile, have won just two of their last ten league matches, albeit they did qualify for the next round of the Champions League in midweek after dispatching German outfit Borussia Dortmund.

Chelsea’s chopping and changing does little for selecting opponents likely to give away fouls but there is a theme down the left-hand side where the opposition left-back, left-winger and left-sided central midfielder have committed a foul in five of the last six matches and each of the last two in their new formation.

Leicester City have struggled for consistency at full-back and there is no guarantee about who will replace Harvey Barnes if he is injured. I’m therefore backing the left-footed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The midfielder has shown he isn’t afraid to put a foot in – he has committed a foul in six of his last eight league matches – and will be tasked with blocking Chelsea’s front three picking up possession in pockets between defence and midfield – Raheem Sterling was fouled three times by Leeds United in their last league game.

Another week, another Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg selection.

This is a big game for Tottenham Hotspur, who need to respond after being knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League, either side of a defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers in their last league outing, allowing Liverpool to close the gap on them to three points.

It won’t be an easy game, Nottingham Forest showing their mettle by coming from behind twice to pick up a point against Everton, Brennan Johnson the star of the show. Johnson will have a key role to play here too.

In recent Nottingham Forest games, the left-side has been an area where opposition players have felt compelled to make fouls, understandable given it’s the area of the pitch Johnson does his work, dropping into pockets or stretching the pitch. In four of their last five matches, the left-sided central midfielder has committed a foul.

That’s the role Hojbjerg plays for Spurs. Their 3-2-5 structure in possession means the two central midfielders are tasked with protecting the backline and snuffing out danger, a role they take seriously given the number of fouls they commit. Hojbjerg has committed a foul in ten of his last 11 matches and each of his last eight, committing two or more fouls in five of those. And he will have his hands full here.

Crystal Palace are up towards the top of the table for both fouls won and fouls conceded. I’m backing them to make fouls here. They play a Manchester City side looking to continue their tilt towards the title having won six of their last eight in the league and naturally, they will take some stopping.

It’s notable how regularly fouls are committed by opposition midfielders against Manchester City and that was heightened in their recent game against Newcastle United when they finally reverted back to their more familiar 4-3-3 set-up, four of Newcastle’s five midfielder’s committing fouls during the game.

It’s a game that will be familiar to a Crystal Palace side who aren’t afraid to step onto teams and make challenges to break the game up. I would have fancied Cheick Doucoure here but for his sending off last week so instead, I’m going to back Jordan Ayew again.

Ayew tends to be shifted around the front line to suit the needs of the team and he’s likely to be given a role of a similar nature here against a side that will have a large majority of possession. The Ghanaian has committed fouled in each of his last eight league starts and committed two or more in five of those.