Liverpool v Tottenham
Premier League
Sunday, 10th March, 4pm
– The ever-impressive Luis Suarez bagged a hattrick as Liverpool demolished Wigan 0-4 away from home. Stewart Downing continued his return to form by heading in from close range inside the second minute to start what turned out to be a fantastic all-round performance by Brendan Rogers’ side.
– Jose Enrique has had a dramatic turn around in form since the beginning of the season. He’s emphatically silenced his critics and now has the best tackle success rate in the entire Liverpool squad, 83.3% from 36 attempted challenges.
– Steven Gerrard continues to cement his status as a Kop legend with his consistently excellent performances over his Liverpool career and this season has been no different. He’s racked up a superb 13 assists and a successful pass in the opponent’s half once every 3.14 minutes this season.
– However, the star of the Liverpool show this year has undoubtedly been Luis Suarez. He’s had an incredible 142 shots on goal this season, 59.1% of which have been on target, at a rate of one every 30.5 minutes.
– Speculation is rife that Martin Skrtel could be on his way out of Anfield this summer, however the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that it could be a mistake to let him leave. He’s made the second highest number of defensive contributions (106) to the Liverpool cause this season.
– Tottenham secured what could well be a power-shifting win by beating arch rivals 2-1 at White Hart Lane. The effervescent Gareth Bale and his wing partner in crime Aaron Lennon both scored on a day that could well go down in history as the day when the balance of power in North London may have begun to veer Spurs’ way.
– Neutralising the attacking gifts of Bale will likely be high on Liverpool’s priority list on Sunday, the electric Welshman enjoying a particularly rich vein of form in recent weeks. Stopping him will always be easier on paper though, with Bale having an on target attempt on goal once every 30.1 minutes this season. With his wand of a left foot don’t count against it just taking one of those to tilt the balance in Spurs’ favour.
– You’ll find many of teammates arguing that Aaron Lennon has made just as much of an impact as Bale this season and the EA SPORTS Player Performance certainly seems to back this up. He’s delivered 42 crosses this season and racked up a squad high 7 assists along the way.
– Jan Vertonghen was in superb form against Arsenal last weekend, showcasing his ability to be equally effective at centre-half or full-back. The technical Belgian has an excellent tackle success rate this season, successfully completing 76.7% of his 73 attempted challenges.
– Kyle Walker is another who has been in top form at the back for AVB this season, with only three defenders in the Premier League (Leighton Baines, Glen Johnson and Patrice Evra) able to surpass his total of 531 completed passes in the opponent’s half according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
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