STATS: Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle – Fastest players, hardest workers, most shots
Tottenham v Newcastle, Saturday 12:45
– Yet another superb strike from Gareth Bale secured all three points for Tottenham as they defeated 10-man West Brom 0-1 at The Hawthorns.
– Despite his much vaunted attacking abilities, Moussa Dembele will be looking to sharpen up some of his defensive work this weekend. Out of all of Tottenham’s active players, he has committed the most fouls with 33 and only has a 56% tackle success rate from 71 attempted challenges.
– Arriving under the weight of much expectation has clearly not fazed Lewis Holtby. Despite playing only 82 minutes in the league, he has already completed 38 passes in the opponent’s half at a rate of one every 2.2 minutes.
– Jan Vertonghen remains the crucial lynchpin in AVB’s defence this season. The Dutch international has quickly settled into life in the Premier League, racking up 73 interceptions, 12 blocks and a 79% tackle success rate.
– Gareth Bale’s 11 goals have seen him capture the attention of some of Europe’s top clubs. The gifted winger has been utilizing his talent of controlling the ball at extreme pace to great effect this season, going on 29 dribbles, placing him 5th on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
– Two goals from new signing Moussa Sissoko capped a memorable home debut as Newcastle came from behind to beat Chelsea 3-2 in a pulsating encounter at St James’ Park.
– Moussa Sissoko made an immediate impact of the Premier League last weekend following his arrival from Toulouse. According to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, he’s had 7 attempts on goal, at a rate of one every 25.1 minutes.
– Retaining the services of Fabricio Coloccini must be on the top of the priority list for Alan Pardew and his team this summer. His captain has been one of his side’s outstanding performers this season, establishing an 81% tackle success rate to go along with his 98 interceptions.
– Following Demba Ba’s departure to Chelsea, Papiss Cisse will be expected to step up to the goalscoring-plate for the remainder of the season. However his accuracy in front of goal has not been as precise as last season, with only 53.3% of his 45 attempts on goal being on target.
– Mike Williamson’s reading of the game this season has been excellent, the defender intercepting the ball 101 times, the highest in the Newcastle squad.