The form of West Brom’s Romelu Lukaku is in direct contrast to that of Stoke strikers Peter Crouch and Jonathan Walters ahead of Saturday’s clash at the Britannia Stadium.
Back on Boxing Day, Stoke were above Liverpool in the Premier League table in eighth having beaten Brendan Rodgers’ side 3-1 in a hugely impressive performance at the Britannia Stadium.
That was the ninth game of 10 they went unbeaten before the turn of the year, but since then Tony Pulis’ side have picked up just four points to slip into the bottom half of the table and to the periphery of the relegation battle.The Potters are still in a relatively safe position – they can move back into the top half with a win on Saturday – but a failure to take maximum points against West Brom would leave them anxiously looking over their shoulders heading into the final eight games of the season.
Stoke have an excellent record against the Baggies, winning nine of their last 12 meetings, but they lost the corresponding fixture last season and will know not to take lightly a side that still has an outside chance of claiming a European spot.Robert Huth is still suspended for Stoke, while Matthew Etherington and Cameron Jerome are both injury doubts. West Brom, meanwhile, still have doubts over Shane Long and Steven Reid.
Here are the latest statistics from the Premier League’s official Player Performance Index ahead of the game:
- Stoke were leading Newcastle 1-0 right up until the 72nd minute last weekend, before going on to lose the game 2-1.
- Jonathan Walters won a penalty and then scored from the spot to put the Potters ahead. Walters has six goals in the Premier League this season and is now Stoke’s top goal scorer after over taking Peter Crouch, who has five.
- Walters’ goals have come from 39 shots at goal, although he has got just 43.6% of shots on target. Crouch, meanwhile, may consider himself unlucky as he has the better on target percentage of 63.2%, and has had just one fewer shot, with 38.
- The one thing Walters and Crouch do have in common is the urgency to try and win the ball back. The two are ranked third and fourth in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index’s strikers for tackles attempted, with 63 and 62 respectively.
- Matthew Etherington must be hoping either will start converting his crosses this season. Only two players in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index (Angel Rangel and Luke Shaw) have delivered more crosses than Etherington’s 31 without being credited an assist.
- Asmir Begovic once more excelled to keep Stoke in the game, making 11 saves in total, the joint highest of any keeper in the Premier League last weekend.
- West Brom come into the game in a happier mood after goals from Romelu Lukaku and a Jonathan de Guzman own goal saw off Swansea in their last game.
- Lukaku’s strike means he has now overtaken Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko to have the second best minutes per goal rating in the league. Lukaku has scored 13 times in the Premier League this season, averaging 112 minutes 28 seconds. Only Javier Hernandez has a better minutes per goal rating with a goal every 93 minutes 30 seconds.
- Graham Dorrans enjoyed a fantastic game in midfield for West Brom, completing 50 passes in the opposition half, more than any other player in the last round of games, while James Morrison ranked third with 41.
- Meanwhile, Gareth McAuley is ranked fourth overall in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for defensive contributions across tackles won, blocks, clearances and interceptions with 262 overall.
- McAuley has excelled in particular in clearances, where he is ranked third with 69 so far this season. His team-mate Jonas Olsson is ranked first with 77, making for a fascinating battle in the penalty area between McAuley and Olsson and Walters and Crouch.
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