STATS: Sturridge’s dribbles for Liverpool vs Hill’s defensive work for QPR
Liverpool v QPR 16:00
– Daniel Sturridge scored his first ever professional hat trick in Liverpool’s last league outing to see off Fulham 3-1.
– That took Sturridge’s goal tally for the season to 11. He’s one of 25 players in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index to have scored ten of more Premier League goals this season, and he’s done it in the least amount of minutes on pitch (1248 minutes, averaging a goal every 113 minutes 27 seconds).
– Sturridge converted his hat trick from 7 shots at goal with 5 on target – more than any other Liverpool player has in either category this season. Sturridge plagued the Fulham defence, exploiting space by taking 15 touches in the opposition box. He also completed 8 dribbles, more than any other player in the last round of games.
– Sturridge’s attacking play was complimented by a tough midfield performance from Lucas and Jordan Henderson. Lucas attempted ten tackles in the game, winning six, the most of any player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, while Henderson was the only player in the Premier League to commit four fouls in the last round of games.
– Lucas is now ranked 5th in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for tackles attempted with 121, an incredible feat given he has played just 1957 minutes this season. To put it in context, 4th ranked Robert Snodgrass has taken 3126 minutes to attempt 127 tackles.
– Jamie Carragher will wave farewell to his beloved Anfield on Sunday before retiring. He showed what his team mates will be missing in the game against Fulham, completing 64 of 67 passes in the game.
– QPR went 1-0 up in their last game against Newcastle before falling to a 2-1 defeat.
– QPR did well to disrupt Newcastle’s passing game though, limiting them to a 66% success rate, their lowest of the season. Jermaine Jenas, meanwhile, completed 64 passes in the game, more than any other player on the pitch.
– QPR defender Clint Hill has been one of their most impressive performers this season. He has been the fifth busiest defender in the league this season, contributing defensively 342 times across tackles, clearances, blocks and interceptions.
– Christopher Samba joined in January and has the best minutes per defensive contribution rating in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, averaging one every 7 minutes 12 seconds.