Fulham v Man City 15:00
– Fulham earned a well deserved win against Wigan last time out, with Hugo Rodallega’s header against his former club proving to be the difference between the two sides. Along with Damien Duff, who scored the decisive second goal, Dimitar Berbatov again showcased why Martin Jol was so keen to bring him to Craven Cottage.
– Mark Schwarzer has been the busiest goalkeeper in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index so far this season, making 32 saves. Eleven of those came against Wigan in the last game, a joint high for goalkeepers this season.
– Mahamadou Diarra has excelled since arriving at Craven Cottage and his team mates clearly agree. He sits fifth on the EA Sports Player Performance Index for ball receptions with 259.
– Bryan Ruiz is clearly keen to show Martin Jol he should be in his thinking despite the arrival of Dimitar Berbatov and Hugo Rodallega. He is the second highest ranked striker in terms of assists according to the EA Sport Player Performance Index with 2.
– Joleon Lescott’s first half header was unfortunately not enough to give Manchester City all three points against Arsenal last weekend as the Gunners battled back to claim a 1-1 draw. A clearly frustrated Roberto Mancini still has plenty of problems to solve if his side are to make a real attempt at defending their title.
– One bright point is the arrival of Spanish midfielder Javi Garcia Fernandez, who put in a performance covering 7.01 miles against Arsenal, enough to enter the top ten for individual distances covered so far this season and to be the most distance covered by a City player so far this season.
– As a team performance, the 64.28 miles covered by City was also the most they’ve covered in a single game this season.
– Nullifying the ever-present threat of Yaya Toure continues to by crucial to any team’s chances of success against the reigning champions. The giant midfielder has racked up an incredible 241 successful passes so far this season.