Newcastle vs Aston Villa
Newcastle Stat Attack
Newcastle welcome Aston Villa to St. James Park looking to bounce back after a humbling defeat by Manchester City in the last round of Premier League fixtures. The Magpies are comfortably sitting in mid-table, ten points clear of the relegation spots, but will be looking for a good run between now and the end of the season to secure a top-10 finish.
Jack Colback’s versatility would be a joy for any Premier League manager, with the Newcastle-born midfielder able to comfortably operate in central midfield, out wide and also at full back.
Colback also guarantees to run himself into the ground in every match that he plays and although he may have been on the wrong end of a 5-0 defeat in the last round of Premier League fixtures, the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index demonstrates that he continued to show great desire throughout. The former Sunderland-man covered a total of 11.6 km – the most in Newcastle squad.
Although usually a forward, Ayoze Pérez was deployed on the wing against last season’s Champions in the last round of Premier League fixtures. Some players have been known to throw their toys out of the pram when asked to play out of position, but the Spanish youngster did the polar opposite and tried his absolute hardest to reverse the Magpies’ fortunes. Not only did he run the second highest distance in the Newcastle lineup, covering 10.8 km, but he also won an impressive 80% of his challenges.
If pundits were asked at the start of the season who Newcastle’s best performing defender would be this campaign, it’s unlikely that Paul Dummett would unanimously have been at the top of their lists. The Newcastle academy graduate, however, has been something of a revelation at the back this season, making a total of 204 defensive contributions (based on blocks, clearances, tackles won and interceptions) according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. It will certainly be a blow for John Carver and his men that the defender is likely to miss the rest of the campaign through injury.
Aston Villa Stat Attack
Tim Sherwood’s return to management began with an unfortunate stoppage time defeat at the hands of Stoke City. It was a pity for the Villans who had taken the lead through a Scott Sinclair header and who had looked bright for many parts of the game.
If Villa are to maintain their Premier league status this term then they’ll need England international Fabian Delph to reach the levels of performance that led to his first England call-up last year. The former Leeds man delivered a peach of a cross for Scott Sinclair to score the opening goal of the game, which added to an all-round solid attacking display. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index demonstrates that Delph made a total of 20 attacking contributions (based on passes in the opposition half, crosses completed, dribbles completed and shots on target). This was the most in the Villa squad.
Scott Sinclair’s stated aim when joining the Villans on loan was to achieve more game time and when featuring for Sherwood’s men on Saturday, he certainly showed his desire to get stuck into the thick of the action. The on-loan City man covered a total of 11.2km on Saturday – the second most in the Villa lineup with only Fabian Delph (11.4km) covering more.
Alan Hutton has been like a new signing for Aston Villa this term, featuring prominently after spending much of the last three seasons out on loan. In addition to performing extremely competently in defence, Hutton has also been a real attacking force for the Villa this season with the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index demonstrating that he has made a total of 414 attacking contributions. This is the fourth most of any Villa player and the eighth most of any defender in the league.
Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars at http://fantasy.
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villains? come on get it right its villans
EA Sports write these previews. Good spot. Changed.