Newcastle United travel to the Liberty Stadium this afternoon to face Swansea City, with Alan Pardew’s men looking for their fourth Premier League win on the bounce. One man who will be key to their efforts is Hatem Ben Arfa, whose rate of assists is better than Manchester City’s playmaker David Silva…
• Swansea were dealt a late blow last weekend against Spurs, after holding onto a precious point until the 72nd minute.
• Two Adebayor goals on the 72nd and 86th minutes meant Swansea remain in the bottom half of the table after 31 games this season.
• On loan midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson scored his sixth goal in eleven games since joining the Swan, having had 37 shots at goal.
• Sigurdsson is the second most frequently shooting midfielder in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, having a shot every 24 minutes 50 seconds.
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• Swansea striker Danny Graham has made more clearances than any other striker in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index with 26.
• Swansea have five players in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index top 30 for most distance covered, more than any other team.
• Swansea’s representatives in the top 30 are Scott Sinclair (171.07 miles), Neil Taylor (166.06 miles), Joe Allen (164.62 miles), Angel Rangel (164.17 miles) and Leon Britton (162.37 miles).
• Newcastle outplayed Liverpool at the SportsDirect.com Arena, as Papiss Cisse scored in both halves to secure all three points.
• Newcastle are on a three game winning streak going to their game against Swansea and are now five points away from a place in the Champions League.
• Papiss Cisse has scored seven goals in his first seven Premier League games for Newcastle, in his first season in the Premier League.
• Cisse’s seven goals have come from just 15 shots on target, which according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index gives Cisse a strike rate of 46.6% of shots hitting the back of the net.
• In comparison Swansea’s Danny Graham has a success rate of 32.2%, so far this season. He’s put 10 in the back of the net and that’s come from 31 shots on target.
• Cisse was again helped by assists from Hatem Ben Arfa. Ben Arfa has been inspirational since returning from injury, averaging an assist every 150 minutes, one of the best returns in the Premier League and ahead of even David Silva.
Data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the official player rating index of the Barclays Premier League.
