Christian Eriksen – Tottenham
Teams are beginning to sit deep, cede possession and frustrate Tottenham. The Swansea match was the perfect example for it.
At times it looked it was a game that happened only in Swansea’s final third. West Ham is going to be no different. It is against such cramped opposition that Tottenham need Christian Eriksen most.
He has so far had the most touches by a midfielder in the final third and has also received the most passes in the opposition half. He ranks first for crosses played by a midfielder.
There is no one in this Tottenham side better than him at unlocking defenses. Spurs do need him and crafts more than ever against the Hammers.
Roberto Firmino – Liverpool
Philippe Coutinho has his transfer saga, Mohamed Salah has his pace, Sadio Mane has his unfortunate high boot.
Roberto Firmino, though, has largely kept himself away from media attention. However, he has probably been their most important player so far, making the floating No.9 position his own.
He has had the most touches by a forward in the final third and ranks first and second amongst forwards for successful passes in the final third and chances created.
With Coutinho playing from deep, Firmino’s movement and runs behind the defense might cause havoc in opposition back lines.
Sergio Aguero – Manchester City
The biggest question at the beginning of the season was whether Pep was going to play Gabriel Jesus or Sergio Aguero.
Well, Pep Guardiola plays them both and they seem to be forming a wonderful and lethal partnership upfront.
Aguero leads the scoring charts this season with five goals. He has created 12 chances, out of which four are big chances – a league-high number amongst forwards. He is becoming quite the innovator as well these days.
Aguero has taken 12 shots from inside the box, of which eight were on target. These eight shots have subsequently yielded five goals. Efficient.
Aguero and Manchesrer City are up against Crystal Palace side. That is probably enough said.
Antonio Valencia – Manchester United
To be a full-back at 32 years of age requires some determination. To be a full-back in a side challenging for the top honours in England and Europe requires even more hard work.
Antonio Valencia seems to be getting better with age. His perennial presence on the right-flank gives Manchester United some much-needed width.
He has received 179 passes in the opposition half, which is the most amongst defenders and 97 of those were in the final third. He has also played 85 successful passes in the final third. Again, most by a defender.
The fact that Manchester United are able to manage with makeshift fullbacks on the left side is a great testament to their attacking prowess from the right and much of that is owed to one Antonio Valencia.
Matt Ritchie – Newcastle United
Chelsea and Newcastle were two clubs in crisis as far as the transfer season was concerned.
While Chelsea swiftly signed Bakayoko and Drinkwater, Newcastle had their owner Mike Ashley apologise for not being able to compete with Manchester City.
After five games Newcastle sit 4th in the table, just one point off the Blues. While much of that credit should go to Rafa Benitez, a small part should be reserved for Matt Ritchie, our differential pick for the week.
He has created four big chances. Only Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan has more, with five. He also has four assists to his name.
Looking for Romelu Lukaku and Ayoze Perez are surely not the same. His average ICT index of 10 over the past three weeks looks really impressive. What crisis?
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