Aston Villa host Swansea at Villa Park on Saturday.
This weekend sees Aston Villa take on Swansea at Villa Park, as the two sides look to return to winning ways amid poor runs.
Both sides are struggling to pick up points at this point in the season, as they find themselves in the bottom half of the table after nine games.
Goals have been hard to come by for the two teams, meaning the pressure is firmly on the defence to keep opponents at bay and hope the forwards will come good.
Key players for both are arguably Micah Richards and Ashley Williams, so we decided to take a look at how the pair match up so far this season.
| Tackles per Game | Won Tackles per Game | Total Clearances per Game | Effective Clearances per Game | Head Clearances per Game | Effective Head Clearances per Game | Interceptions per Game | Interceptions Won per Game | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micah Richards | 2 | 1.5 | 7.3 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Ashley Williams | 2 | 1.4 | 8.3 | 7.1 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
And in a surprise outcome, Richards has come out on top so far this season, as he beats Williams in five key areas.
The duo are level when it comes to the number of tackles they make per game, but the Villa man comes out on top when it comes to won tackles, narrowly edging out his rival.
The Villa defender also comes out on top when it comes to headed clearances, effective headed clearances, interceptions and interceptions won per game.
Williams does enjoy some success, though, as he emerges victorious in headed clearances and effective headed clearances.
It seems then, at this point in time, that Richards has enjoyed a better season than Williams, despite his side having conceded six more goals so far. Who enjoys a better game come Saturday is sure to play a big part in the result.
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