STATS: Stoke’s Manchester City’s Toure sees more of the ball than anyone and Crouch hits the target
Stoke v Man City, Saturday 15:00
– Stoke’s persistence once again paid dividends as a second half goal from Peter Crouch saw them rescue a point against Wigan. They could have had all three had Charlie Adam’s late effort not been brilliantly saved by Ali Al Habsi.
– Jonathan Walters has summed up Tony Pulis’ philosophy of hard work well this season. He’s ran for more miles than any other Stoke player at 18.36.
– More goals may well be on the way for Peter Crouch this season after he found the back of the net last time out against Wigan. Out of his 6 attempts on goal so far 83% have been on target.
– Dean Whitehead continued to work hard for Tony Pulis’ side last time out, covering the most distances of any player against Wigan with 5.43 miles and the recording the second-highest speed at 21.75 mph.
– Manchester City continued their unbeaten run at the start of their title defence with a 3-1 victory at the Etihad. Goals from Yaya Toure, Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez were enough to overcome QPR although the performance itself did leave something to be desired.
– City are proving themselves to be more than just flash with no substance with the collective effort they’re putting into retaining their title. They’ve ran for a cumulative total of 185.14 miles so far this season, second on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
– As the focal point of the Manchester City midfield, Yaya Toure unsurprisingly tops the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for ball receptions with a massive 332, 40 more than his nearest rival. The big Ivorian is also working hard to get himself in the right positions to receive those passes. He’s ran for 18.28 miles this season, the highest in the City squad.
– Carlos Tevez is enjoying a productive start to the season. The Argentinean tops the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for shots on target with 11 and comes in at second for assists with 3.
– Vincent Kompany has surprisingly enjoyed a mixed start to his season with the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index highlighting some room for improvement. Every one of the 50% of his challenges that he has lost out on so far has resulted in a foul.
– Samir Nasri continues to be integral to the functioning of the Man City attack as he tops the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for successfully completed passes in the final third with 63.