Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Swansea City stars all feature plus more.
There have been some big money, high profile midfield moves this month with Nemanja Matic returning to Chelsea while Juan Mata made a move to Manchester United.
The Premier League produced some stand out midfield performances this week with Mata’s United debut noteworthy while Steven Gerrard excelled in the Merseyside derby.
We’ve taken a look at the stats to see who were the best midfielders across certain areas during the mid-week games. Take a look.
Assists
| Player | Club | Pos | Goal Assist | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool | MF | 1 | 1 | 79 |
| Jonathan De Guzmán | Swansea | MF | 1 | 1 | 88 |
| Nathan Dyer | Swansea | MF | 1 | 1 | 32 |
| Fernandinho | Man City | MF | 1 | 1 | 90 |
| Juan Mata | Man Utd | MF | 1 | 1 | 85 |
Mata is worth looking at from this list because his assist came on his Manchester United debut. It’s very important for United and the rest of their season that the Spaniard settles in quickly and well and this will allow him to build a little momentum.
Shots
| Player | Club | Pos | Total Scoring Att | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Lampard | Chelsea | MF | 6 | 1 | 27 |
| Oscar | Chelsea | MF | 6 | 1 | 80 |
| Ross Barkley | Everton | MF | 5 | 1 | 76 |
| Hatem Ben Arfa | Newcastle | MF | 5 | 1 | 75 |
| Sebastian Larsson | Sunderland | MF | 5 | 1 | 90 |
Midfielders who get forward regularly and are able to shoot themselves are valuable. Unfortunately for Frank Lampard and Oscar in this case, they couldn’t help Chelsea over the line against a very dogged and determined West Ham.
Accurate Corners into the Box
| Player | Club | Pos | Accurate Corners Intobox | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Mirallas | Everton | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
| Jesús Navas | Man City | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
| Willian | Chelsea | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
| Steven Davis | Southampton | MF | 2 | 1 | 89 |
| Jonathan De Guzmán | Swansea | MF | 2 | 1 | 88 |
Kevin Mirallas is unlucky because his delivery against Liverpool was superb. The Liverpool defence deserves credit for dealing with any threat Everton put together but Mirallas can’t be faulted for delivering set pieces, which gave his team a chance to get onto the score sheet.
Times Fouled
| Player | Club | Pos | Was Fouled | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hatem Ben Arfa | Newcastle | MF | 3 | 1 | 75 |
| Adam Johnson | Sunderland | MF | 3 | 1 | 87 |
| Alexander Kacaniklic | Fulham | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
| Leon Osman | Everton | MF | 3 | 1 | 45 |
| Ramires | Chelsea | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
Adam Johnson continued his good form in Sunderland colours, picking up key fouls for his side which allowed them to maintain pressure over Stoke. Hatem Ben Arfa of Newcastle was also difficult for Norwich City to deal with in a game the Toon should have won.
Accurate Passes
| Player | Club | Pos | Accurate Pass | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Whittingham | Cardiff | MF | 80 | 1 | 90 |
| Gareth Barry | Man City | MF | 73 | 1 | 90 |
| Jack Cork | Southampton | MF | 72 | 1 | 90 |
| Fernandinho | Man City | MF | 69 | 1 | 90 |
| Leon Britton | Swansea | MF | 66 | 1 | 90 |
There’s a good contrast on this list between Gareth Barry (on loan at Everton) and Fernandinho. Both players made a similar amount of accurate passes with Barry on the end of a big loss with Everton, while Fernandinho helped City to a big win at Tottenham.
image: © Dean Jones
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