STATS: Aston Villa vs Swansea

Aston Villa v Swansea 15:00

Aston Villa fell to their fourth defeat in a row after Crystal Palace beat them 1-0 on Boxing Day

If Aston Villa fail to turn that run of form around at Swansea, the efforts of Karim el Ahmadi in midfield can’t be questioned, he’s won 63 tackles this season, ranking him fourth in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

Cieran Clark has also been putting in fantastic defensive work this season, winning 32 of 36 attempted tackles.

Libor Kozák was denied his fifth Premier League goal of the season against Palace thanks to a goal line clearance by Adrian Mariappa. Kozák has four goals so far this season and has got them from just nine efforts at goal, with 77.8% on target, a fantastic return from the Czech striker.

In comparison, last season’s top scorer Christian Benteke has labored to his tally of four goals, taking 30 shots at goal with half on target.

Swansea suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea on Boxing Day, though in reality it could have been more if Gerhard Tremmel, standing in for the injured Michel Vorm, hadn’t pulled off two great saves to deny Sameul Eto’o.

Tremmel has had a relatively quiet time standing in for Vorm, making just 15 saves in 5 appearances and 450 minutes.

Chico Flores has also been in great form in the Swansea defence this season. His reading of the game means he has made more interceptions than any other defender in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index with 46

Meanwhile, defensive team mate Angel Rangel has completed 371 passes in the opposition half, the second highest of any Premier League defender. However, he was focused on defensive duties against Chelsea, making 8 interceptions, more than any other player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.