In-depth player stats: Norwich vs Manchester City
Norwich v Man City, Saturday 15:00
Norwich’s tough run of Christmas fixtures continues with a visit from Man City on Saturday, after facing a rampant Chelsea side on Boxing Day. Norwich will feel pleased though that they managed to keep the scoreline to 1-0.
Sebastian Bassong came close with a late header, while Grant Holt dragged a chance wide
Bassong is Norwich’s second highest ranked player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index ranked 59th overall. He is one of only four defenders to have scored three or more goals this season.
Bassong has needed just 9 efforts at goal for his 3 goals. Those defenders who have out scored him with 4 goals, Evra and Ivanovic, each have needed 13 and 14 efforts respectively.
Bassong has now also made the second highest amount of clearances in the league with 45, though it will take a huge effort to overtake top performer Jonas Olsson of West Brom who has made 65 so far this season
Grant Holt’s season has been disrupted by injury and the goals haven’t flowed for the striker as they did last season. Holt has four goals now from 27 efforts at goal with 15 on target.
Man City will be looking to bounce back after falling further behind league leaders Manchester United with a surprise 1-0 defeat to Sunderland on Boxing Day
Mancini has called for better finishing from his strikers in order to mount their title challenge, after it took midfielder Gareth Barry’s late goal to get a win against bottom side Reading in their previous game
Man City’s top goal scorers, Carlos Tevez (7) and Sergio Aguero (6) have scored just one goal each in the last seven games.
Tevez is now averaging 8.43 shots per goal and Aguero 7.17 shots per goal, a rate bettered by Norwich striker Grant Holt who averages a goal every 6.75 shots. In comparison, the league’s top scorer Michu averages a goal every 4.15 shots this season, showing just how far off the pace the striker’s on show today have been in converting their chances.
Yaya Toure remains the centre of City’s best play, and preventing him from dictating the midfield will be key to Norwich getting a result out of the game. In the game against Reading he completed 73 passes in his opponent’s half, the third highest total by a player in a single game this season and taking his total to 818 passes completed this season.