Stats show Dimitri Payet is twice as good as Dele Alli where it matters this season

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West Ham United take on bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday knowing their star man is twice as good as Spurs’ in one crucial area.

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic with Dimitri Payet

The Hammers are sat 17th in the Premier League table, just one point above the bottom three after a torrid start to Slaven Bilic‘s second season in charge.

The East Londoners have won just four of their opening 11 games and were unceremoniously dumped out of the Europa League qualifying by Romanian minnows Astra for the second season running.

Things don’t look like getting better any time soon going by the form book with a hellish fixture list on the horizon for the next month.

Bilic’s out of form Hammers go to White Hart Lane to play Mauricio Pochettino‘s unbeaten side with star man Dimitri Payet under fire for what has been perceived by many as a quiet season so far.

Bilic and Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino

The trip to North London looks a daunting one for West Ham.

Tottenham are the only unbeaten side in the English top five and one of a select few across Europe.

Sitting fifth in the table, the North Londoners are just five points off leaders Liverpool and will expect to challenge for the Champions League places at the very least.

The gap between the two teams has widened this season and there can be little debate that Spurs are the far superior outfit.

Tottenham’s Dele Alli celebrates

Tottenham fans copied West Ham’s chant honouring Payet for their own star midfield playmaker Dele Alli.

That invariably gave rise to a debate between the rival fans as to who is the better player.

Now new statistics from football analysis website Oulala.com have gone some way to settling that debate.

So far Alli has played 10 games to Payet’s nine and has completed six less passes per game than the France hero.

Payet also has four Premier League assists this season compared to none for Alli.

But the most damning statistic for an attacking midfielder is perhaps chances created.

And it is there Payet is more than twice as good as Alli, with 39 chances conjured in his nine games compared to 18 from the Spurs midfielder as show on Oulala’s graphic below.

Payet is also twice as exciting to watch as he has more than double the number of successful take-ons with 28 compared to Alli’s 13.

Alli has proved more clinical so far with three goals to Payet’s single strike.

But Payet’s wonder strike against Middlesbrough looks set to be a goal of the season contender.