STATS: Michu’s shooting for Swansea vs Berbatov’s shooting accuracy for Fulham
Swansea v Fulham 16:00
– Swansea were not able to spoil Sir Alex Ferguson’s Old Trafford farewell. Despite yet another Michu goal, they fell to a 2-1 defeat on the great man’s final home appearance.
– Wayne Routledge gave the United defence a torrid time last weekend utilising his pace and movement to excellent effect. Its therefore unsurprising to see him rack up such impressive figures on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, Routledge having completed a pass in the opponent’s half on average once every 4.4 minutes, as well as dribbling 27 times this season.
– Michu was once again the man Swansea turned to get them out of trouble on Sunday, the Spaniard seeming to have an innate knack of popping up at crucial moments. He has been a sight to behold at times during his debut season in the Premier League, managing to work an attempt on goal on average once every 30.7 minutes this campaign.
– At just 20 years of age Ben Davies has had a season to be proud of after being called up for an extended run in the first team. Not only does the youngster have the best tackle success rate of any Swansea player with 72.7% from 88 attempted challenges, Davies has also made 239 defensive contributions this term, the third highest in the Swans’ squad.
– Fulham’s poor run of form continued as they were well beaten 1-3 by Liverpool at Craven Cottage, Dimitar Berbatov’s first half goal providing scant consolation.
– Berbatov’s goal will have come as a relief to the Bulgarian striker who was on something of a barren run before Sunday. Berbatov has not had the run of luck in front of goal he would have liked but has still managed to establish a solid shot accuracy rate of 61.8% from 76 attempts on goal this season. This combined with Berbatov’s talent meant it was only a matter of time before he got himself back on the score sheet.
– Full back Sascha Riether has been one of the real positives for Fulham fans this season, making an immediate impact and looking perfectly at home in the Premier League. He will likely also end the season as Fulham’s most successful defender, having so far come out on top with 76.7% of his 73 attempted tackles.
– Despite often being referred to as a striker, Bryan Ruiz has often been willing to drop off to receive the ball in deeper positions this season. Indeed his 659 completed passes in the opponent’s half, as registered by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, are indicative of his role as more of a number 10 this term. Swansea will be looking to cut off Fulham’s attacks at their source by limiting Ruiz’s time on the ball as much as possible.