Statistical Preview: Will Norwich’s Attacking Options Prove Too Strong For Southampton?

Despite holding a man advantage over Hull for over an hour, Norwich were not able to capitalize and found themselves on the end of 1-0 defeat to the Premier League newcomers. Record signing Ricky van Wolfswinkel had only one chance of any real purpose on goal and Chris Hughton will be hoping his summer squad additions will be able to generate more opportunities against a Southampton side which has conceded in its last two fixtures.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel may have been brought in for his clinical finishing but Chris Hughton will be expecting much greater discretion from him in defense as the season progresses. He is joint first on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for fouls committed with 8.

Midfielder Jonny Howson has been the lynchpin through which Norwich’s attacking play has functioned this season, establishing an impressive average rate of a pass in the opponent’s half once every 3.2 minutes.

Nathan Redmond has been one of the surprise packages for the Canaries so far this campaign. The 19 year old leads the Norwich squad for attacking contributions (cross, assist, dribble, shot on target) with 14.

A late header from centre-back Jose Fonte rescued a point for Southampton as they scraped to a 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland. Mauricio Pochettino’s side dominated the match for large periods but will be expecting much more clinical conversion of chances from his side this weekend.

Despite clearly knowing how to put the ball in the back of the net on last week’s evidence, Jose Fonte certainly knows how to perform his primary role equally as effectively. He leads the league for defensive contributions (clearances, interceptions, blocks, tackles won) so far this season.

Rickie Lambert looks to have taken tremendous confidence from his recent England call-up, so far ranking joint second on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for total attempts on goal with 9. A relatively solid 55.5% of these have been on target.

It surely won’t be long before James Ward-Prowse starts to grab the attention of the England management team after his roaring start to the season for the Saints. The young midfielder currently tops the league for crosses delivered with 7. With his Southampton teammate, and aerial presence, Rickie Lambert already in the England setup, Roy Hodgson may well see the value in having another solid provider of the ball in the ranks.

Saints fans will be excited to see how Calum Chambers develops in the coming seasons, as despite being the joint youngest player in the squad along with Luke Shaw, he has  quickly established an excellent tackles success rate of 75% from 4 challenges.

Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars at http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ or with FIFA Ultimate Team for FIFA 14.