Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars at http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ or with FIFA Ultimate Team for FIFA 14.
Paul Lambert faces his former club desperately looking to win to avoid the Villans being dragged into a relegation scrap.
Villa will have been disappointed to leave St James’ Park with zero points, after managing to keep Pardew’s men at bay for practically the whole game. Central to the defensive efforts was Leandro Bacuna, who demonstrated his excellent tackling ability. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he attempted 7 tackles last Sunday, and won every single one of them.
With all the talk of Roy Hodgson’s selection for the World Cup this year one name that hasn’t been mentioned is Villa defender Nathan Baker, who has made 20 appearances for Villa this season. A defender who can slot in at centre half or left back, he could make a useful squad player, particularly because of has excellent defensive ability. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he made a total of 16 defensive contributions at the weekend (based on blocks, clearances, tackles won and interceptions) – the fifth most in the league.
Paul Lambert’s men have struggled at points this season, and this is in no small part down to their lack of goals. Villa have only managed to hit the back of the net 27 times this year, which should come as no shock when one considers that Marc Albrighton has the best record in the squad of minutes per shot, averaging a shot every 41 minutes. Albrighton is 23/2 with 888sport.com to score the first goal on Sunday.
It must be promising for Villa fans that despite the influx of foreign players into the Premier League, they still have a solid British core, with Fabian Delph, Ciaran Clark, Nathan Baker, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Westwood all featuring on a regular basis for Lambert’s men. The latter, in particular, might feel slightly hard-done by that he hasn’t been considered for the England squad, particularly as he undoubtedly has excellent ability when it comes to stroking the ball around the park. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that Westwood has completed an impressive 550 passes in the opposition half this season, at a rate of a pass every 3.8 minutes.
An outstanding victory over Champions League hopefuls Tottenham has relieved some of the pressure on Chris Hughton, with the back four producing an excellent defensive display to keep Tim Sherwood’s men at bay.
Robert Snodgrass scored the winner on Sunday, taking his goal tally for the season to 3. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he was a constant offensive threat for the Canaries against Spurs as he made a total of 26 attacking contributions, the most in the Norwich squad (based on shots on target, passes in the opposition half, crosses and dribbles).
Nathan Redmond’s 3 dribbles on Sunday took his overall total to 41 for the season, an impressive number for the talented youngster. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that this is the fifth most dribbles of any Englishman, and interestingly ahead of World Cup selection, the third most of England’s out and out wingers (behind only Townsend and Sterling). The two who are ahead of him are strong contenders for Brazil this year, but if Redmond continues this fine form he could be set to join them on the plane. You can find Redmond at 15/1 with 888sport.com to score the first goal of the game on Sunday.
Jamie Redknapp claimed that Joseph Yobo could be one of the signings of the Transfer Window, as he arrived at Carrow Road from Turkish side Fenerbahce. The Nigerian has made an impressive start to life at Norwich, with his form earning him a recall to the national team squad, and he continued his impressive run against Spurs making a total of 15 defensive contributions (based on tackles won, interceptions, clearances and blocks).
Bradley Johnson registered his first assist of the season on Sunday, as he played the killer through ball from which Snodgrass scored the winner. The fact that it was Johnson’s first assist could be considered something of a surprise, particularly when one considers that Johnson has completed 409 passes in the opposition half this season.
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