Sunderland Statistics Preview

Last updated : 18 January 2013 By Paul Farrington

Wigan v Sunderland 15:00

 

- Wigan managed to claim a deserved point after a Franco di Santo goal secured a 1-1 draw against Fulham last weekend. Given the amount of chances his side created, Roberto Martinez may have been disappointed not to be have taken all three points but it was a performance to suggest there is plenty of fight in his team to help stave off a relegation dog fight.

 

- Wigan will really miss the presence of Ivan Ramis after he was sidelined last week for the rest of the season after a serious knee injury. The Spanish defender has been a colossus at the back for the Lactics this year, making 120 interceptions and establishing a 68% tackle success rate from his 53 attempted challenges.

 

- Roberto Martinez’s side will still be well--tended in his absence though, given that they have some of the most committed and effective defenders in the Premier League. The defensive pairing of Maynor Figueroa and Gary Caldwell have made a highly impressive 431 defensive contributions between them this season, at a rate of one every 7.8 minutes.

 

- He’s been struggling to find the net in recent fixtures but Arouna Kone remains Wigan’s biggest threat on goal. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows his as have a shot-to-goal ratio of 1 every 8 attempts, so expect him to start adding to his tally of 8 goals in the near future.

 

- Franco Di Santo’s movement and strength are of great value to the Wigan forward line, but he needs to tidy up his defensive work when tracking back to help his teammates. He’s joint-first in the Wigan squad for fouls committed, with 26 notched up this season, so watch out for him to bag another given that he’s 6/4 at 888sport.com to score at any time.

 

Jean Beausejour has certainly been willing to get the ball into as many dangerous areas as possible, given that he ranks third on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for crosses delivered with 80, one for every 23 minutes he’s been on the pitch. He’s also had a decent return on those deliveries, racking up 6 assists to boot.

 

- A fine all-round performance from Sunderland saw them record a dominant 3-0 win over West Ham last week. Goals form Seb Larsson, Adam Johnson and James McClean formed part of a superb win for Martin O’Neill’s side, ensuring they remain just above the relegation danger-zone in 14th.

 

- One wonders where Sunderland would be had they not landed Steven Fletcher last summer, giving the level to which he has contributed to their cause this season. He’s their leading goalscorer with 8, but also their 2nd highest assist provider with 4.

 

- Creative winger Adam Johnson has being doing his utmost to help Fletcher out there, having had 21 attempts on goal and managing to find the net once every 5.25 times he has a shot. He’s an industry-best 9/2 at 888sport.com to add to his tally this weekend by scoring at any time.

 

- Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar has quietly been demonstrating the class many have known he possesses this season, proving himself to be one of their rocks in the Sunderland defensive line. He’s established a remarkable 87% tackles success rate from 53 challenges, by far the highest in the Sunderland squad.

 

- His fellow defender John O’Shea may have lost a yard of pace but his mind clearly remains a sharp as ever. His 144 interceptions places him third on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

 

- James McClean is quickly cementing his reputation as a true box-to-box midfielder, one who loves both the defensive and offensive sides of the games. He’s made more attempted tackles than any other Sunderland player with 96, and is second only to Adam Johnson for crosses made with 46.