Everton host Crystal Palace at Goodison Park this evening.
This evening sees Everton host Crystal Palace at Goodison Park in the second Friday night Premier League fixture of the month.
The Blues are keen to return to winning ways after last weekend’s disappointing defeat away to Bournemouth.
Palace, meanwhile, will be determined to continue their recent run of form that has seen them win their last three league games.
The game will feature a battle of the Belgians, as strikers Romelu Lukaku and Christian Benteke come up against each other.
Both are key men for either side, with their respective teams’ hopes very much resting on the forwards’ shoulders.
So how have they compared so far this season? We decided to take a look at the stats.
| Team | Total Shots per Game | Shots on Target per Game | Shooting Accuracy | Goals | Key Passes per Game | Assists | Accurate Passes per Game | Passing Accuracy | Appearances | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romelu Lukaku | Everton | 3.6 | 2.2 | 22% | 4 | 2 | 1 | 15.4 | 81% | 5 | 387 |
| Christian Benteke | C. Palace | 3 | 0.75 | 17% | 2 | 1.25 | 0 | 19.25 | 71% | 4 | 354 |
As it turns out, Lukaku has had the better start to the season as he came out on top in seven of eight areas.
So far he has registered more shots per game, more shots on target per game and bagged twice as many goals as Benteke.
The trend continues when it comes to shooting accuracy, with Lukaku sitting on 22% so far while Benteke has managed a tally of 17%.
He has also registered more key passes per game and managed an assist, something Benteke is yet to do.
The former Liverpool man does come out on top when it comes to accurate passes per game but Lukaku’s passing accuracy is better by 10%.
Lukaku comes out on top comfortably on this occasion and Everton will be hoping it proves to be more of the same in the game against Palace.
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