In-depth player stats: Manchester City vs Fulham
Man City v Fulham, Saturday 3pm
Manchester City kept within touching distance of league leaders Manchester with a 2-0 victory over Arsenal last weekend
Edin Dzeko and James Milner were on target for the blues in that game. Dzeko’s tenth of the season means he is now averaging a goal every 96 minutes and 30 seconds, a rate bettered only by Manchester rival Chicarito Hernandez who averages one every 82 minutes 23 seconds
Milner is traditionally one of City’s hardest working players and he didn’t disappoint against Arsenal, covering 7.3 miles in the game, more than any other player on the pitch and the sixth most by a single player in a game this season.
Vincent Kompany was also in the headlines this week after his red card in the Arsenal game was reversed by the FA. Kompany has been a key part of the City team this season, making 112 defensive contributions this season including 33 tackles won, 24 clearances, 47 interceptions and 8 blocksbi, more than any other Man City player
Fulham earnt a point against Wigan in their last game thanks to a stunning 25 yard strike by Giorgios Karagounis
Karagounis, who is 35, showed he is still as competitive as ever with an all action display that saw him cover 6.33 miles, the second highest total of the Fulham team after Bryan Ruiz who covered 6.63 miles
Fulham fans have been calling for a new striker, but in new summer signing Mladen Petric they have one of the league’s best finishers, averaging a goal every 134 minutes this season, the 8th best in the league and better than the likes of Luis Suarez and Demba Ba
On loan Sascha Riether has excelled in defence for Fulham this season as the Cottagers had to cope without Brede Hangeland in the early part of the season. Riether has won an incredible 76.47% of the 51 tackles he has attempted this season, making 137 defensive contributions in total averaging one every 14 minutes 35 seconds