Statistical Betting Preview: Manchester City vs Swansea

Manchester City were once again back to their best form on their return to the Etihad as they put Tottenham to the sword with a 6-0 thrashing. City fans will have seen this as a clear marker of intent that their side are more than capable of sustaining a challenge for the title this season and will be hoping for more when Swansea come to town on Sunday.

Sergio Aguero’s form of late has been nothing short of incredible, both scoring and creating for his teammates. His shooting statistics match up to the plaudits, with the little Argentinean having the best shot accuracy rate (71.95%) of any player in the top 15 in the league for total number of shots according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

As predicted Yaya Toure did indeed surpass a major landmark last weekend as he became the first player to surpass 500 passes in the opponent’s half. He currently finds himself on a total of 517, coming at an excellent average rate of one every 2.1 minutes. Toure is 2/1 with 888sport.com to score at any time this weekend.

Summer signing Fernandinho continues to show that it has not taken him long to adapt to the physical rigours of the Premier League with another robust performance against Tottenham. He attempted the second highest number of total tackles in the last round with 12, winning a solid 66.6% of them.

Jesus Navas shone against Tottenham, his pace and close control providing constant problems for a disorganised Spurs defence. The Spaniard has proven himself more than willing to do the hard graft in tracking back as well this season though, with an excellent tackles success rate of 81.8% from 11 challenges to his name.

Jonjo Shelvey came on in the second half to strike the definitive blow in a 1-2 win for Swansea against Fulham last time out.

Wilfried Bony has certainly shown himself to be keen to grab any possible opportunity to impress manager Michael Laudrup this season. The big Ivorian has registered more attempts on goal than any other Swansea player this term with 25. Bony is 7/2 with 888sport.com to score at any time this weekend.

Although City will provide a tough barometer of Swansea’s progress to date, they should certainly not expect to have it all their own way this weekend, particularly in terms of possession. In Angel Rangel and Jonathan de Guzman, the Swans had the league’s two most effective passers last weekend, between them racking up a huge total of 99 completed passes in opposition territory according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Even at the Etihad, City will have to be accurate in possession or risk losing it to a technically comfortable Swansea outfit.

Roland Lamah was another to turn in an excellent shift against Fulham. He ranks second in the league for total attacking contributions (assists, shots on goal, dribbles, crosses) during the last round with 8.

Chico Flores has been a mainstay of the Swansea defence this season, providing stability and positional intelligence at the back for Michael Laudrup’s side. No other Swansea player can match his 131 defensive contributions (blocks, clearances, interceptions, tackles won) this term.