England vs Peru - Head To Head Preview

Wembley will host the first of England’s three friendly matches this evening before the World Cup kicks off in Brazil.  Roy Hodgson’s 23-man squad will all want to impress in a game where a place in the starting eleven could be won or lost.  To celebrate the release of EA SPORTS 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, EA SPORTS have complied data from all international leagues this season to find out who to look out for in both sides.

	Goals	Minutes per goal	Assists	Dribbles	Crosses
Sterling	9	246	7	92	10
Farfán	9	169	5	55	28

Statistically Peru’s best player is Jefferson Farfán.  EA SPORTS have used total goals, minutes per goal, assists, dribbles and crosses to determine which wingers have performed best worldwide this year.   The data shows that Farfán was the 8^th best winger this season beating the likes of Gareth Bale (18), Angel Di Maria (28) and Arjen Robben (32).

His counterpart Raheem Sterling on the other hand is ranked 33^rd and will want to carry his fine form from the second half of this season into the match against Peru. 

The head to head table above shows how Sterling and Farfán size up against each other. It is clear that Sterling prefers to carry the ball himself whereas Farfán is keen to pick out a cross, making 18 more successful crosses than Sterling this year.  With 169 minutes per goal Farfán has shown he is more efficient in front of goal this season but with Sterling finishing the season well it’s hard to see him not creating a chance.

	Goals	Minutes Per Goal	Assists
Sturridge	22	103.4	9
Pizzaro	10	68.3	2

Where England has Daniel Sturridge, Peru has Claudio Pizzaro.  The Bayern Munich forward may have had limited chances at Munich this season, but he has shown good stats in the league this year.  With 10 goals in 17 games he has shown that he certainly has an eye for goal and England’s defence better beware. Pizzaro has bagged a goal every 63 minutes for Bayern Munich this season compared to Sturridge’s 103.4 minutes per goal.

England’s defence is certainly stronger on paper compared to their South American rivals.  Carlos Zambrano from Eintracht Frankfurt is Peru’s highest ranked centre back this year and England’s Gary Cahill beats him in every category apart from interceptions.  Cahill has proved he also has goals to his game this season and is especially dangerous at set pieces. 

	% Tackles won	Clearances	Interceptions	Blocks	Goals + Assists
Cahill	81	205	29	21	3
Zambrano	72	118	55	17	0

With all to play for this evening, England fans can finally start preparing for the excitement, frustration and all out emotion that watching England at a World Cup brings.