Want to be the pub/terrace know-all this weekend? Want to know who has committed the most fouls? Or who has covered the most ground? Which player has provided the most crosses and who last week put in a true captain’s performance? Then read on and let the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index arm you with enough stats to impress everyone but girly girls.
Saturday 3rd November 2012
Man Utd v Arsenal 12:45
Man Utd were part of one of the season’s most dramatic games in their 3-2 win over Chelsea in their last game. Robin van Persie was again at the centre of United’s most dangerous, forcing a David Luiz own goal and scoring from an Antonio Valencia cross before substitute Javier Hernandez continued his goal scoring form with a late winner
Van Persie remains joint top scorer with Newcastle’s Demba Ba having netted seven goals in nine appearance this season, from 23 shots at goal with 48% on target. That means just over 30% of van Persie’s shots have resulted in goals this season, an impressive return.
Hernandez’s return from limited opportunities is equally impressive. Chicarito has two goals in the Premier League so far this season having had just seven shots at goal with four of those on target.
A largely uneventful fixture against QPR in Arsenal’s last league game was lifted by a Mikel Arteta goal and the return of Jack Wilshere
Arteta’s goal was his first in the Premier League this season, as the Spaniard has concentrated on supplying team mates over going for goal himself. Arteta has had just eight shots at goal with four on target so far this season
In contrast no other midfielder in the league has had more shots on goal than Santi Carzola. Carzola has had 33 shots at goal with 58% on target and two goals in return
Another of Arsenal’s talented midfielders Aaron Ramsey, put in a shift of 6.86 miles against QPR, the second highest distance covered by an Arsenal player in a single game this season (after Ramsey’s 7.01 miles against Man City)
Arsenal have the most frugal defence in the league, having conceded just six goals in nine games. Per Mertesacker has been at the heart of that and has lost out on just one of the 13 tackles he has attempted, the best return of any player to attempt ten or more tackles
Fulham v Everton 15:00
Fulham played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Reading in their last league game with goals from Bryan Ruiz, a second goal in two games from Chris Baird, and a late goal from Dimitar Berbatov
Ruiz’s first goal of the Premier League season was just rewards having had 13 shots at goal with 10 on target, an impressive 77% on target.
Berbatov had one of the best minutes per goal ratings in the Premier League last season, and is looking on good form again this season having scored three goals from 18 shots with 61% on target
John Arne Riise now has four assists so far this season, more than any other defender this season
Aaron Hughes made 23 interceptions in the game to contribute to a seesaw encounter, the second highest by a player in an individual game this season. Meanwhile Brede Hangeland made 19 interceptions, enough to go in at 8th for interceptions in a single game.
Everton took part in an entertaining and eventful Merseyside derby in their last fixture
Leon Osman and Steven Naismith were on target in the 2-2 draw, which clearly fired up Moyes’ side as they covered 62.54 miles as a team, their second highest team total of the season
Osman’s goal was his second of the season from 20 attempts at goal with 9 on target, while Naismith had not registered a single effort at goal until he fired in Everton’s second
Marouane Fellaini enjoyed a competitive midfield battle with Steven Gerrard, which led the Liverpool skipper to brand Everton long ball specialists who played like Stoke
The stats, however, tell a different story as Everton’s Steven Pienaar has completed exactly the same number of passes in his opponent’s half as Gerrard with 281 – both lead their teams in this discipline.
Leighton Baines is ranked second at Everton for passes completed in the opposition half with 265 compared to Liverpool’s second ranked player Joe Allen who has made 244.
Marouane Fellini and Leon Osman make it four Everton players in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index’s top 20 for passes completed in the opponent’s half
Meanwhile Leighton Baines has pulled ahead in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for crosses delivered, having delivered 46 crosses compared to Gerrard’s 42
Norwich v Stoke 15:00
Michael Turner followed up a great display against Arsenal with the equalizer in Norwich’s 1-1 draw against Villa in their last Premier League game
Robert Snodgrass has had a confident start to life at Norwich. He has had more shots at goal (18) than any of his Canaries team mates, and has also delivered the most crosses with 29, although he is yet to be credited an assist
Jonathan Howson and Russell Martin are vying for the title of Norwich’s top passer, both have completed 139 passes in their opponent’s half so far this season, the most of any of the Norwich team
Bradley Johnson, meanwhile, has attempted more tackles than any other player in the Norwich squad with 34
Stoke and Sunderland played out a nil nil draw in their last game to make it six draws from nine games in the league so far
Charlie Adam and Ryan Shawcross were both denied by Sunderland keeper Simon Mignolet as Tony Pulis expressed frustration at Stoke’s poor fortune in front of goal this season
Peter Crouch has had the most shots on goal for Stoke this season with 17 with 9 on target, ahead of Michael Kightly who has had 14 shots on goal with 11 on target
Crouch has also completed more passes in his opponent’s half than any other Stoke player with 121 completed
Steven Nzonzi joined Stoke from Blackburn this season, and his been central to the Potters breaking up play. Nzonzi has made 41 interceptions this season, the joint highest for a midfielder along with Wigan’s James McArthur.
Meanwhile Jonathan Walters is top among strikers in the same discipline, having made 21 interceptions so far this season
Sunderland v Aston Villa 15:00
Sunderland have now drawn six of their first nine games this season after a 0-0 draw with Stoke in their last outing
Simon Mignolet was outstanding for the Black Cats to keep a clean sheet
Sunderland are the lowest scoring team in the league, having scored just six goals in nine games, but only Arsenal have a better defensive record. Sunderland have conceded only 8 goals so far this season.
Five of those six goals have come from Steven Fletcher, so it’s no surprise that he has had more efforts on goal than any other Sunderland player with 13.
He is followed by James McClean and Craig Gardner who have each had ten efforts on goal, with McClean getting four of those on target and Gardner six. Overall Sunderland have had just 61 efforts at goal (in comparison, Luis Suarez tops the table for efforts on goal by an individual player with 50)
Sebastian Larsson, meanwhile, tops the Sunderland charts for passes in his opponent’s half with 141 completed
Paul Lambert returned to former club Norwich in Villa’s last Premier League game and came away with a point courtesy of a Christian Benteke goal
Benteke’s goal was his second in the Premier League this season having had 19 attempts at goal with 63% on target
Darren Bent and Brett Holman are the only other Villa players to have had ten or more efforts at goal, with Bent attempting 15 shots at goal with 9 on target and Holman attempting ten 10 with 3 on target
Full back Joe Bennett had previously made Villa’s task harder receiving a red card early in the second half
Bennett had previously attempted 13 tackles, winning nine but conceding five fouls
Swansea v Chelsea 15:00
Swansea played out the longest game in Premier League history against Man City last weekend, and will be frustrated that they could not take all three points as they outplayed City for long stretches
The longest game in Premier League history was a test on player fitness, and Swansea covered the most ground they have in a single game this season with 66.92 miles, led by Jonathan de Guzman’s 7.01 miles, the most by a single Swansea player this season
Jonathan de Guzman has impressed for Swansea this season, and leads the team for passes completed in the opposition half with 199 so far this season.
A good performance was marred by injury to goalkeeper Michel Vorm. Vorm has been a key figure for Swansea this season and had made 45 saves so far in nine games
Angel Rangel picked up a booking against City, and is one of only two players to have now been booked five times this season, along with Wigan’s James McArthur
Miguel Michu has been Swansea’s star player this season, and he can now count speed among the qualities in which he is dominating the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Michu was clocked at 23.06 mph against City, the 7th fastest speed registered so far this season
Chelsea’s last Premier League game against Man Utd has made headlines, but that aside was a scintillating game of football
Goals from Juan Mata and Ramires weren’t enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat for the blues
As well as his goal, Ramires committed five fouls in the game against Manchester United, the joint highest in the last round of games
Mata’s goal was his fourth of the season, coming from 19 shots at goal with 68% on target and at a rate of 21% of shots converted to goals
Fernando Torres was controversially sent off in the game, in a moment which will blot an otherwise excellent start to the season for the Spanish striker. Torres has four goals this season from just 14 shots at goal, an impressive conversion rate of 29%
Tottenham v Wigan 15:00
Gareth Bale and Clint Dempsey were both on target for Spurs against Southampton as they sealed a 2-1 victory
Bale’s goal was his third of the season and the talented winger may feel his luck is changing. Bale has had 29 shots at goal so far with an impressive 62% on target but just 10.3% converted to goals (compared to league top scorer Robin van Persie who has converted 30% of shots to goals)
Dempsey’s goal was his second since joining Spurs having had ten shots at goal with 8 on target
William Gallas made 20 interceptions in that game, enough to rank 6th for interceptions by a player in a single game this season
Wigan secured their first home win of the season with well taken goals from Ivan Ramis and James McArthur enough to beat West Ham 2-1 in their last league game
As well as getting on the score sheet, McArthur also picked up a booking in the game. He is one of only two players to have picked up five bookings this season, along with Swansea’s Angel Rangel
Shaun Maloney demonstrated the desire of Wigan to register their first home win of the season. The 6.6 miles he covered was the joint highest by a Wigan player this season
James McCarthy is epitomizing Roberto Martinez’s passing style, and despite Wigan’s relatively low league position he is ranked up among the league’s top players in 10th place in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for passes completed in the opposition half with 251 passes completed
Franco di Santo had six efforts at goal in the game against West Ham, the joint highest of any player in the last round of games
West Ham v Man City 17:30
A late consolation goal from James Tomkins wasn’t enough to stop West Ham sliding to a 2-1 defeat against Wigan in their last league fixture
Tomkins has previously provided a goal scoring threat from defence for West Ham, having had seven attempts at goal this season, all of which were on target.
Tomkins has also contributed 8 tackles won, 11 interceptions, 3 clearances and 3 blocks for West Ham
James Collins won 7 tackles in the game against Wigan, the most won by any player in the last round of games
James Collins is currently top of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for blocks, having made 13
Man City played out the longest game in Premier League history against Swansea last weekend, a fact demonstrated by the 66.69 miles they covered as a team – their biggest total of the season so far
That was led by Samir Nasri who covered a huge 7.21 miles, the most by a City player in a game this season and the fourth highest by any player in the Premier League this season. Gareth Barry followed Nasri in City’s distance charts with 7.04 miles, the tenth highest by a player in a single game this season.
A sensational goal from Carlos Tevez gave the reigning champions all three points against a stubborn Swansea side
Tevez’ goals was his fourth of the season, having had 32 shots on goal this season with 62.5% on target but just 12.5% of shots converted to goals (compared to league top scorer Robin van Persie who has converted 30% of shots)
Meanwhile Mario Ballotelli continues his wait to break his duck, having had 18 shots at goal without scoring, more than any other player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index
Yaya Toure completed 55 passes in his opponent’s half in the game against Swansea, the most of any player in the last round of games and the 10th highest overall for a single game
Sunday 4th November 2012
QPR v Reading 13:30
QPR looked like holding Arsenal to a draw in their last league fixture before Mikel Arteta scored a controversial late winner
Previously Jamie Mackie and Esteban Grenaro had both missed good opportunities to get on the score sheet
Only Sunderland have scored fewer goals than QPR this season, but it’s not for lack of effort on QPR’s part. Adel Taarabt and David Hoillett have each had 15 efforts on goal with 10 of those on target, while Granero has had 13 efforts at goal with 5 on target and Booby Zamora has had 11 shots with 8 on target
Reading played their part in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Fulham in their last league outing
Mikele Leigertwood put Reading ahead, before the Royals fell to 2-1 before a thrilling final five minutes saw three goals scored including two from Reading via Gareth McCleary and Hal Robson-Kanu left the fans breathless and with a point per team
Leigertwood and McCleary were each scoring their first Premier League goals for Reading, with Leigertwood having previously had six shots at goal with two on target and McCleary six shots at goal with five on target. Robson-Kanu’s was his second from an efficient five efforts at goal with three on target
Adrian Mariappa made 21 interceptions in that game to contribute to a see saw encounter, the fourth highest by an individual player in a single Premier League game this season. Kaspars Gorkss, meanwhile, put in a performance that ranks 9th for interceptions in a game with 19 interceptions
Nicky Shorey continues to enjoy a renaissance at Reading having delivered 20 crosses this season, the second highest by a defender in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index after Everton’s Leighton Baines. 8 of those crosses were delivered in the game against Fulham, enough to put Shorey’s performance in the top ten this season for crosses delivered in a single game
Liverpool v Newcastle 16:00
Liverpool shared the spoils with Everton in the Merseyside derby last weekend as Luis Suarez took centre stage as his shot drew an own goal from Leighton Baines and he also scored the second
Suarez now has six goals this season, but his 50 efforts at goal means his conversion rate remains at a relatively low 12%. In comparison, Robin van Persie has a conversion rate of 30%.
In an ill tempered Merseyside derby, Raheem Sterling committed five fouls, the joint highest number of fouls in the last round of games, while Liverpool were clearly fired up and covered 63.12 miles as a team – their second highest total of the season (after their 63.69 miles against Man City)
Steven Gerrard supplied a sublime cross for the second, and was part of an enthralling midfield battle with Marouane Fellaini. Gerrard has completed 281 passes in his opponent’s half this season and delivered 42 crosses providing 4 assists
Martin Skrtel has been in dominant form this season and is ranked third in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for clearances with 23 so far this season. That included 7 in the game against Everton the second highest of any player in a game this season.
Papiss Cisse scored his first goal of the Premier League season, albeit from a fortunate deflection, and Demba Ba was also on target as Newcastle beat West Brom 2-1 in their last game
Ba’s goal means he remains neck and neck with Robin van Persie in the race for this season’s golden boot on seven goals a piece. Ba’s goals have come from 32 shots at goal with 47% on target, and 22% of shots converted to goals
Cisse had previously had 17 shots at goal before finally breaking his Premier League duck, with 47% on target
Yohan Cabaye is demonstrating the form that pegged him as one of the best signings of last season. He covered 6.56 miles in the game against West Brom, the second highest of a Newcastle player this season, after his own 6.83 miles against Norwich
Monday 5th November 2012
West Brom v Southampton 20:00
Romelu Lukaku scored for West Brom in his second start for the Baggies last weekend, but his goal was not enough to prevent Newcastle defeating West Brom 2-1
Lukaku has three goals now in the Premier League this season having had 18 efforts at goal with a lethal 89% on target, the best accuracy rating of any player to have had ten or more shots this season
At the other end of the pitch, Jonas Olsson remains top of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for the most clearances having made 29 so far this season
Youssouf Mulumbu has been central to much of West Brom’s play this season, completing more passes in his opponent’s half than any other player in the squad with 182 so far
Southampton suffered the same scoreline as West Brom in their last game, losing 2-1 to Spurs despite a Jay Rodriguez goal
Rodriguez’s goal was his first of the season, having previously had 14 shots at goal with 43% on target
Adam Lallana has completed more passes in the opposition half than any other Saints player with 209 so far this season
Meanwhile Rickie Lambert has had more shots at goal than any other Saints player with 19 including 8 on target and an impressive shot conversion rate of 21% of shots resulting in goals
Morgan Schneiderlin continues to dominate the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for distances covered in a game. His 7.2 miles against Spurs is the 5th highest by a player in an individual game this season. Schneiderlin now has four of the top five registered distances covered in a game this season.
Schneidelin’s contribution meant that even in a weekend that contained the longest match in Premier League history, Southampton still covered more ground than any team last weekend. Their 67.12 miles against Spurs was the second highest by a team in a single game this season, second only to Southampton’s own 67.85 miles against Fulham