In-depth player stats: QPR vs Sunderland
QPR v Sunderland 15:00 – EW
– QPR secured a vital win in their relegation fight, as they beat Southampton 2-1 last weekend. Jay Bothroyd was brought back from loan early by Redknapp last month, while Loic Remy was a January purchase, with both players scoring on Saturday to repay Redknapp’s faith.
– Bothroyd has needed just 122 minutes to get his first QPR goal, while Remy has averaged 161 minutes for each of his two goals.
– Those strike rates already compare well with fellow QPR striker Jamie Mackie has scored twice in 1732 minutes on the pitch this season, while Dijbril Cisse took 1199 minutes to score three goals before leaving QPR in January.
– Sunderland came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Fulham in their last game, thanks to goals from Craig Gardner and Stephane Sessegnon.
– Gardner’s goal was his fifth of the season, having come from 45 efforts at goal with 57.8% on target.
– Sessegnon has also scored five goals this season, coming from a marginally more efficient 43 efforts with a significantly more accurate on target percentage of 67.4%.
– The game will see two of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index’s best players with the ball at their feet. Sessegnon is ranked third for dribbles completed with 38, four behind today’s opponent and league leader Adel Taarabt with 42.
– Adam Johnson set up Sessegnon’s goal, his 7th assist of the season coming from 76 crosses, the 6th most frequent crosser of the ball in the Barclays Premier League.
– Gardner’s goal came from a penalty won by January signing Danny Graham. Graham is yet to score his first goal for Sunderland, despite playing 233 minutes for the Black Cats. In that time Graham has hit four shots on target and one off target. Graham’s shots per goal ratio this season at Swansea was 9 shots per goal, but an on target percentage improved from 62.9% to 80% suggests it won’t be long before he’s firing for the Black Cats.
– Carlos Cuellar has now got the best tackles won percentage in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, with 86.8% of his 53 tackles won, over taking Everton’s Phil Jagielka who’s tackles won percentage is 85.2%.