Leighton Baines v Aaron Cresswell – which left-back played better on Saturday?

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The Everton and West Ham men are displaying a lot of similarities in their game.

Saturday was a good day for both Everton and West Ham United.

Both sides won their Premier League clashes, both sides scored three goals – and both sides witnessed fantastic displays from their left-backs.

Indeed, Leighton Baines, who registered two assists against Aston Villa, and Aaron Cresswell, who got one against Burnley, are performing brilliantly at the moment.

And, as Opta stats show, there are a lot of similarities between the pair.

On Saturday, which acted as a microcosm for both defender’s seasons as a whole, Baines and Cresswell created a number of chances, made a huge number of final-third passes and landed two accurate crosses each.

Going forward, the more-experienced Baines edged the Hammers full-back out, creating one more chance, taking 18 more touches of the ball and making seven more final-third passes than the 24-year-old.

Defensively, however, Cresswell outshone the Toffees man. The West Ham defender had more to deal with against Burnley than a blunt Villa side but nevertheless won more tackles, committed less fouls and was much better in the air and with regards to clearances.

In terms of major areas, then, it’s 1-1 between the two full-backs – but it is interesting to compare the two at this early stage in the season. The duo could potentially go head to head in a month’s time when West Ham travel to Everton. And what a match-up that could be.