Statistical Preview: Liverpool Looking To Stay Top As They Host Southampton

Liverpool old-boy Jonjo Shelvey was involved in all four goals as the Reds played out a 2-2 thriller at the Liberty Stadium. Brendan Rodgers returned once again to his old stomping ground and although he could only leave with a point would have been particularly pleased to see Daniel Sturridge maintain his record of scoring in every Premier League game so far this season.

Sturridge continues to impress, appearing more than capable of shouldering the substantial attacking burden left in the absence of Luis Suarez. He continues to jointly top the EA SPORTS Player Peformance Index for on target attempts on goal with 7 so far in this campaign.

Lucas Leiva is another player shining for the Reds, with no other Premier League player being able to match his slick work in defence. The Brazilian has won a league-topping 24 tackles this season, representing an incredible success rate of 82.8% from his 29 attempted challenges.

Although not necessarily someone who will consistently grab the headlines for spectacular efforts on goal, Jordan Henderson has so far shown himself to be more than capable when the ball has been presented to him in a shooting position this season. Despite only attempting 4 shots on goal, 75% of these have been on target representing the best shot accuracy economy of any player in the Liverpool squad. He’s 9/2 to score at any time this weekend with 888sport.com.

Simon Mignolet will be hoping for increased protection from his back-four, as despite impressing individually, his defence has seen him forced into 18 saves this season, the highest in the league according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

 Southampton fans will have felt desperately unlucky after they failed to come away from their fixture against West Ham with all three points last week. Despite a host of chance Mauricio Pochettino’s side were unable to convert thanks to a spectacular set of saves from opposing stopper Jussi Jaaskelainen. The Saint’s front-line will be hoping for greater accuracy in front of goal against a Liverpool side flying high at present.

It would be difficult to think of a Southampton player with greater confidence than Rickie Lambert at the moment, the England striker continuing to lay claim to his berth in the national squad with 13 attempts on goal this season, the third highest on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. He is also the highest ranked English player in this regard and his strong performances whilst leading the line for Southampton will no doubt continue to catch Roy Hodgson’s attention. He’s 28/11 to score at any time with 888sport.com.

Victor Wanyama has taken little time to impose his physical style of play on the Premier League, however he has been drawing the attention of the officials a little more than he would have liked this season. He is currently the third highest ranked player on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for fouls committed with 11.

The burgeoning reputation of James Ward-Prowse has been done no harm by some of the youngster’s recent performances, the Southampton Academy product so far whipping in more deliveries than any other player in the league, with 10 crosses to his name.

As ever, tenacious midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin was once again in the thick of the action last weekend. He was the only player in the league to break into double figures for attempted tackles last weekend (11), doing so with a superb success rate of 81.9%.

Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars at http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ or with FIFA Ultimate Team for FIFA 14.