Manchester City host Arsenal at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon.
This weekend sees Manchester City hosting Arsenal at the Etihad stadium in arguably the game of the weekend.
Both sides are title challengers this season, with Arsenal third in the table and City fourth at this moment in time and a point separating them.
Both teams boast arguably two of the best-attacking midfielders in the division, if not Europe, in the shape of Kevin de Bruyne and Mesut Ozil.
Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne celebrates scoring their second goal
The Belgian and German are key men for their teams and have shown that so far this season.
But which player has been in better form so far? We decided to look at the stats to find out.
| Accurate Passes per Game | Successful Final Third Passes per Game | Key Passes per Game | Assists | Passing Accuracy | Won Contests per Game | Shots on Target per Game | Goals | Appearances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin De Bruyne | 35.47 | 20.47 | 2.93 | 8 | 81% | 1.07 | 0.87 | 2 | 15 |
| Mesut Özil | 51.2 | 28.27 | 2.47 | 2 | 86% | 1 | 0.6 | 5 | 15 |
So far Ozil has registered more accurate passes per game, 50 compared to 35, and more successful final third passes per game 28 compared to 20.
He has also enjoyed a better overall passing accuracy than the Belgian, with a score of 86% compared to 81%.
Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil celebrates scoring their fourth goal
However, De Bruyne has registered more key passes per game and dominates in the number of assists with four times as many, eight compared to two.
The City star also comes out on top in terms of dribbles won per game and shots on target per game.
Ozil has been the more lethal of the two, though, with five goals to his name, which for some is the most important stat.
With this weekend’s clash likely to be crucial to either side’s title hopes, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.
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