Head-to-head: Who comes out on top between Martin Skrtel and Scott Dann?

Liverpool host Crystal Palace in the Premier League this weekend.

Liverpool host Crystal Palace in the Premier League at Anfield this weekend with the Reds looking to build on last week's win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, while the visitors are looking to get back to winning ways having not won in their last three.

This weekend could see plenty of focus on defence. Visiting teams often like to keep things tight at Anfield, so the hosts don't get a sniff, while a solid defence seems very important to Jurgen Klopp as his side looks to find their feet under him, and ease the pressure on those who operate in the final third of the field.

Martin Skrtel is likely to start at the heart of Liverpool's backline, while boyhood Liverpudlian Scott Dann will be lining up for Palace.

So how do the two compare? We have a look at a few of their key stats: 

Both of them are regular starters, but it seems that Skrtel outperforms his counterpart in every key area. The passing accuracy is likely to be down to the type of football that Liverpool play, both under Klopp and their predecessor Brendan Rodgers, who insisted on playing out from the back; though so far that particular aspect to their play doesn't look as if it has been abandoned.

In terms of tackle accuracy, Skrtel is faultless, while Dann is winning 6/10. Then again, some will question just how many tackles the Slovakian puts in per game when reading this statistic, but a 15.5% lead when it comes to winning headers in the air is another impressive statistic. Duels won per game, however, is a much closer run thing.

Given that Liverpool were previously linked with a move for Dann some years ago, they are probably happy - on this evidence - that Skrtel is lining up for them instead.