English Premier League Matchday 11 Statistical Wrap-Up
Matchday 11 brought with it a host of blockbuster fixtures, headlined by the clash between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
With another 10 matches done and dusted, let us take a look at the numbers from this week's round of EPL matches.
Results:
FT Arsenal 3 - 3 Fulham
FT Everton 2 - 1 Sunderland
FT Reading 0 - 0 Norwich City
FT Southampton 1 - 1 Swansea City
FT Stoke City 1 - 0 Queens Park Rangers
FT Wigan Athletic 1 - 2 West Bromwich Albion
FT Aston Villa 2 - 3 Manchester United
FT Manchester City 2 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur
FT Newcastle United 0 - 1 West Ham United
FT Chelsea 1 - 1 Liverpool
The Numbers
1 of 9Total Attendance: 377,242
Highest Attendance: Arsenal vs Fulham (60,093)
Average Attendance: 37,724
Total Goals: 26
Most Goals: 6 (Arsenal 3-3 Fulham)
Total Draws: 4 (Arsenal 3-3 Fulham; Reading 0-0 Norwich; Southampton 1-1 Swansea; Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool)
Boring Draws (0-0): 1 (Reading vs Norwich)
Penalties Awarded: 2
Own Goals: 2
Clean Sheets: 4 (Reading, Norwich, Stoke and West Ham)
Offensive: Goals and Goalscorers
2 of 9With only two players netting more than once across all games this week, the prize for top scorer in the English Premier League this week is shared between Arsenal's Olivier Giroud and Manchester United's Javier Hernandez.
Both players netted twice in their respective matches. Despite this, Hernandez did so in a quicker fashion, therefore taking overall accolades.
Collectively, goals were flying out of matches, but in the end it was Arsenal, Fulham and Manchester United who topped scoring with three goals netted in each match (United were assisted by an own goal).
Following on from this, Everton, West Bromwich, Aston Villa and Manchester City all scored two goals in their respective clashes.
With three of the current top-five scorers in the EPL netting over the weekend, the race for the Golden Boot for 2012-13 has heated up. Most notably, Luis Suarez has equaled Robin van Persie's tally for the year:
| Rank | Scorer (Team) | Played | Goals |
| 1 | Luis Suarez (Liverpool) | 11 | 8 |
| 1 | Robin van Persie (Manchester United) | 11 | 8 |
| 3 | Demba Ba (Newcastle United) | 11 | 7 |
| 4 | Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) | 9 | 6 |
| 4 | Marouane Fellaini (Everton) | 10 | 6 |
| 4 | Michu (Swansea) | 11 | 6 |
Offensive: Shots On- and Off-Target
3 of 9All in all, 26 goals were netted from 248 total shots. In the end, it was no surprise to see Manchester United usurp the title of most shots in front of goal, following their three goals against Aston Villa. The breakdown is as follows:
| Team | Shots | Shots on Target | Goals |
| Manchester United | 19 | 5 | 3 |
| Everton | 18 | 6 | 2 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 18 | 2 | 0 |
| Southampton | 16 | 4 | 1 |
| Newcastle United | 16 | 8 | 0 |
Individually it was no surprise to see Olivier Giroud top the shots category after his double against Fulham:
| Player (Team) | Shots | Shots on Target | Goals |
| Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| Adel Tarrabt (QPR) | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Dimitar Berbatov (Fulham) | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Yohan Cabaye | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) | 4 | 2 | 0 |
Offensive: Possession and Touches on the Ball
4 of 9Although no game during this week's round of matches was decided by more than a single goal, it is interesting to note just how dominant some teams actually were in this round.
However, one only has to look to the Celtic vs. Barcelona clash midweek to notice that possession doesn't always win you games. The most possession dominant teams are as follows:
| Team | Possession (%) |
| Manchester United | 70 |
| Wigan | 66 |
| Everton | 62 |
| Manchester City | 62 |
| Chelsea | 57 |
Furthermore, in terms of possession, Newcastle vs. West Ham proved to be the most statistically even possession game, with time on the ball split at 50/50.
Touches on the ball were aplenty this week, with a number of players exceeding 100 touches during the course of a single match:
| Player (Team) | Touches on the Ball |
| Michael Carrick (Manchester United) | 142 |
| Ben Watson (Wigan Athletic) | 121 |
| Paul Scholes (Manchester United) | 113 |
| Angel Rangel (Swansea) | 112 |
| Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) | 101 |
Offensive: Passing and Passing Accuracy
5 of 9Wigan proved to be somewhat of a revelation this week, topping the charts for the most accurate passing of all the EPL clubs over the weekend. They were closely followed by Manchester United and Arsenal:
| Team | Passing Accuracy (%) |
| Wigan Athletic | 90 |
| Manchester United | 89 |
| Arsenal | 89 |
| Liverpool | 87 |
| Fulham | 84 |
Of all the midfielders who spent 90 minutes on the pitch, it was no surprise to see Mikel Arteta record the highest individual passing accuracy of the weekend, with a resounding 94 percent of all passes completed:
| Player (Team) | Passing Accuracy (%) |
| Mike Arteta (Arsenal) | 94 |
| Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa) | 94 |
| Bryan Ruiz (Fulham) | 93 |
| Jean Beausejour (Wigan) | 93 |
| Esteban Granero (QPR) | 92 |
NB: All players included played at least 85 minutes and are midfielders.
Defensive: Individual and Total Tackles
6 of 9In what was an electric match at Stamford Bridge, both Chelsea and Liverpool brought their best games. As such, it was no surprise to see both teams standing head and shoulders above the rest in their defensive effort:
| Team | Total Tackles |
| Chelsea | 34 |
| Liverpool | 30 |
| West Ham United | 24 |
| Arsenal | 24 |
| West Bromwich Albion, Wigan Athletic, Newcastle United | 21 |
West Ham United put on an impressive defensive display to withstand an equally impressive Newcastle attack. Individually, they were led by Mohamed Diamé, who stood his ground in the midfield, ensuring the Hammers took all three points. It is no surprise to see him on top of the individual list of tacklers this week:
| Player (Team) | Tackles |
| Mohamed Diamé (West Ham United) | 8 |
| Ramires (Chelsea) | 7 |
| Jose Enrique (Liverpool) | 7 |
| Davide Santon (Newcastle United) | 5 |
| Steven Whittaker (Norwich) | 5 |
Defensive: Interceptions
7 of 9Brazilian Tottenham midfielder Sandro's effort in the middle of the park proved not enough for Tottenham, as City defeated them 2-1. Sandro topped the list for most interceptions of the round with seven during his time on the pitch:
| Player (Team) | Interceptions |
| Sandro (Tottenham) | 7 |
| Barry Bannan (Aston Villa) | 6 |
| Steve Sidwell (Fulham) | 5 |
| Johnny Heitinga (Everton) | 5 |
| Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton) | 4 |
It is interesting to note that none of the players who made the list for the top interceptions for this round play for a side that collectively recorded the top tackles for the round.
Defensive: Discipline and Cards
8 of 9Total Fouls Called: 255
Most Calls in Favour: Stoke (18 fouls awarded)
Least Calls in Favour: Manchester City (7 fouls awarded)
Most fouls in a match: Stoke vs QPR (31 fouls in total)
Cards: 34 yellow, 0 red
Offsides: 48 (Manchester City, 8)
Wild-Card Statistics
9 of 9A few extra statistics to take with you next time you go to trivia:
- Manchester United's win against Villa continues the Red Devil's unbeaten streak at Villa Park (since 1995)
- Fulham remain winless away to Arsenal, having never beaten the Gunners at home in 27 matches.
- Fernando Torres has failed to score against Liverpool since moving to Chelsea from Anfield.
- Edin Dzeko's six goals this season account for almost half of all the goals scored by Manchester City's strike force (13 in total).
- Fulham have given away 14 points in total from winning positions in the league this year, the latest two coming after the Gunners drew equal from 3-2 down.
- Manchester City are still the only undefeated side in the EPL this season.
- Sunderland have scored the least amount of goals in the league this season (seven), yet remain three points out of relegation.
- Arsenal have netted the second-highest amount of goals in the league, but sit in eighth position (having conceded 19).
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