Cardiff became the latest victims of a Luis Suarez-inspired Liverpool as they lost 3-1 at Anfield after a tumultuous week following speculation around the future of manager Malkay Mackay.
Crucial to the success of Cardiff this season will be the continued performance of their defence, one which has adapted quickly to the challenges of the Premier League. Principal among the Cardiff back four has been Ben Turner who has compiled some sterling statistics so far this season. He leads the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for clearances with a mammoth 167 to his name.
Alongside him, Steven Caulker has been perhaps the league’s best defender, racking up some quite remarkable figures. Not only does he lead the league for total defensive contributions (blocks, interceptions, clearances, tackles won) with 227, he also has one of the best overall tackle success rates of any player in the league, winning 86.2% of his 29 attempted challenges.
Jordon Mutch’s performance at Anfield was one which certainly did not acknowledge defeat in the face of an overwhelming Liverpool display. His goal was a just reward for his efforts too as he completed the joint fourth highest number of attacking contributions (crosses, dribbles, shots on goal, assists) in the last round with 8. Mutch is an industry best 23/2 to repeat the feat and score at any time this weekend with 888sport.com.
Despite yet another strong performance from Mauricio Pochettino’s men, Southampton were unable to hold off Tottenham on Sunday. Despite goals from Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert, the Saints eventually fell to a 2-3 defeat.
Morgan Schneiderlin continued in his fine vein of form against Tottenham, the Frenchman happy to play the quiet role of enforcer to that of his more noted attacking teammates. Schneiderlin was superb in all areas against Spurs though, not only completing the highest number of passes in the opposition half of any player in the league during the last round (66), but winning 80% of his attempted challenges.
Another fine display against Tottenham continued what has already been a standout season for Adam Lallana. He is now the pivotal figure in this Southampton side, both creatively and in his work ethic. He’s attempted the third highest number of tackles in the squad (55), behind only Schneiderlin and Wanyama, and has also contributed the highest number of attacking contributions (assists, dribbles, shots on goal, crosses) of any Saints player this term with 70. Lallana is 13/4 with 888sport.com to score at any time this weekend.
Dejan Lovren has certainly turned some heads since arriving from Lyon with some excellent displays this season. The Croatian international has won an impressive 85.4% of his 41 attempted challenges this term, giving him the best tackle success rate in the Southampton squad.