Seven 'ever-present' clubs to reach 800 mark

This weekend will represent a landmark for seven clubs in the Barclays Premier League. For those that have been in the competition since its inaugural season in 1992/93 Matchweek 28 will mark the 800th Premier League match the “ever-presents” have played.

Not surprisingly the club with the best record is Manchester United, who have won 522 times, almost two-thirds of the 799 matches they have played, in gathering 12 titles across the 20 seasons. Sir Alex Ferguson, who is the only manager to have been in charge throughout, has seen his side score the most goals (1,605) and concede the fewest (691).

Next are Arsenal, who have won the title three times under present manager Arsene Wenger, then Chelsea, who have also lifted aloft the Barclays Premier League trophy three times.

Liverpool lie 78 points below Chelsea, then the gap to the remaining three of Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton is somewhat greater.

As the table below shows, if Aston Villa score against Manchester City on Monday night, it will be their 1,000th goal in the Barclays Premier League.

All-time record of seven "ever-present" clubs in Barclays Premier League

Sporting Intelligence’s Brian Sears has pulled together the records of the “ever-presents” against each other, and the order of clubs remains roughly the same, albeit with Aston Villa above Spurs. Manchester United's dominance of clubs with less history in the Barclays Premier League is shown by the fact that almost half of all their defeats have come against the ever-presents.

Record of 'ever-presents' against each other