The pressure is mounting on Rodgers and Liverpool simply must beat QPR convincingly today
Liverpool come in to this game without a win in two and last time out they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Hull City. They still sit in 5th place, with Tottenham trailing them on goal difference and Southampton a point behind.
Raheem Sterling has announced himself on the world stage this season and is currently third in the division on successful dribbles with 99, meaning more than half of his 188 attempted dribbles have come off, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Averaging 3.1 successful dribbles per game, Sterling is almost certain to pass the century mark this weekend against QPR.
Just trailing Sterling is Phillipe Coutinho who was named in the PFA Team of the Year last weekend, and the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows what an impact he has had on the Liverpool side. Coutinho is fourth in the division for number of successful dribbles, with 94. The attacking midfielder also has four goals and five assists this season, and he has had a great influence in opposition territory, making 826 passes in the opposition half this season, which is the 16th highest total of any Premier League player and 12.2% of Liverpool’s passes in opposition half this season.
Midfielder and vice-captain Jordan Henderson remains the player to have covered the most ground in the Liverpool squad this season. Over the course of Henderson’s 33 games, he has covered 363.3km, which is the ninth highest total in the entire division. Henderson has recently taken his game average past the 11km mark and now runs on average 11.01 km per game, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Henderson has chipped in with six goals for Liverpool this season and is 10/1 to score first with 888sport.com .
QPR are now four points adrift of safety and without a win in three, so Chris Ramsey’s side will know the importance of three points on the weekend, and will look to take advantage of what has appeared to be a dip in form from Liverpool.
At the back, Steven Caulker has impressed for The Rs, making vital contributions on several occasions this season. Caulker has completed 374 clearances, the second most in the Premier League, and trails only two players in terms of blocks, having made 34, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
Charlie Austin is a player who will be looking to get back to goalscoring ways after going without a goal yet again last weekend. Austin still remains on 17 goals after missing a crucial penalty, but the striker remains right up there in the list of top goalscorers behind leaders Diego Costa, Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane. He’s had the second most shots on target in the league with 50, which makes up an impressive 67.6% of his shots. Austin is 8/1 to score first with 888sport.com.
Rob Green is now the second busiest goalkeeper in the top flight this year after West Ham’s Adrian. Green has made 117 saves so far, which is one less than Adrian. The Englishman’s saves average out to 3.5 per game, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Costel Pantilimon remains the leader of saves per game in the Premier League of anyone who has played more than ten games (4.1), the only person ahead of Green.
Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars with at http://fantasy.
