STATS: Schneiderlin’s tackles for Southampton vs Lampard’s goal rate for Chelsea
Southampton v Chelsea 15:00
– Southampton are now 8 points clear of the relegation zone with 8 games to go in the Premier League after beating Liverpool 3-1 in their last outing.
– Morgan Schneiderlin, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez were all on target, while Southampton fans have received another boost since with the news that Rickie Lambert has signed a new contract.
– As well as hitting five goals this season, Schneiderlin has won more tackles than any other player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, winning 76 so far this season and attempting 127 in total.
– Away from his colleagues’ goal scoring heroics, Southampton’s Jose Fonte has been in great form in defence, making 180 interceptions, the joint second highest in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Fonte has made 267 defensive contributions in total this season across tackles, clearances, interceptions and blocks, the fifth highest in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
– Chelsea ‘s 2-0 win over West Ham will be remembered by Blues fans for Frank Lampard’s 200th goal for the club. Veteran midfielder Lampard was joined on the score sheet by Eden Hazard, who is at the other end of his Chelsea career but put in a similarly memorable performance.
– Hazard had five shots on target against West Ham, more than any other player in the last round of games.
– Lampard’s goal was his 12th of the season, coming at an average of one every 124 minutes, the fourth best in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
– Villa’s Matt Lowton has played more minutes than any other outfielder this season with 2898, and using his average minutes per goal if Lampard had played that many he would be the Premier League’s top scorer with 23 goals this season.
– Demba Ba passed 100 shots at goal for the season against West Ham, though he may not to dwell on those efforts as he missed a couple of great chances. Ba has 15 goals this season, though his on target shooting percentage remains just 58%.
– Ba can have no complaints about playing in front of Chelsea’s talented midfield. Eden Hazard and Juan Mata each have 13 assists to their name this season, ranking 2nd and 3rd in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
– Mata and Hazard also topped the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for passes completed in the last round of games, completing 54 and 50 respectively, while Eden Hazard completed the most dribbles by any player in a single match this season with 8.
– Those more creative midfielders have been supported by the solid defensive work of Ramires this season. Ramires won 6 tackles this in the game against West Ham, the joint highest in the last round of games.