Manchester City vs Chelsea: Statistical analysis

Last season’s Champions Chelsea are pitted against the runners up Manchester City, in the second round of the Premier League match day and it may not be too early to call these teams the title favourites once again.Chelsea who are travelling to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday will be eager to improve on their opening day performance as they let their lead slip twice and had to settle with a draw. The Citizens, on the other hand, will be eager to build on their opening day performance against West Brom as they cruised to a 3-0 win at the Hawthorns.In the buildup for this week’s heavyweight bout, here is a statistical comparison between the team and their key players in different parts of the field based on their performance last season.All statistics have been obtained from Squawka.

#1 Team comparison

The clash on Sunday promises to be a fiesty one

Head to Head

Overall the two teams have faced each other 142 times across all competitions. Out of these games 70 were at Chelsea’s home, 71 at City’s home and 1 game was played in a neutral venue.

Overall

Results	Total	Win %
Chelsea	57	40.14
Manchester City	47	33.10
Draws	38	26.76
Goals	Total	Average Per Game
Chelsea	199	1.40
Manchester City	178	1.25

At City’s home

Results	Total	Win %
Manchester City	33	46.48
Chelsea	22	30.99
Draws	16	22.54
Goals	Total	Average Per Game
Manchester City	101	1.42
Chelsea	79	1.11

Overall, Chelsea have a superior record against Manchester City, but in games away to City the Citizens have a better record. Considering these stats, the game at the Etihad on Sunday could be very interesting.

2014/15 season

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goals For	Goals Against	Goal Difference	Points
Chelsea	38	26	9	3	73	32	41	87
Manchester City	38	24	7	7	83	38	45	79

#2 Goal Keepers: Joe Hart vs Asmir Begovic

Joe Hart won the Golden Glove award last season

Goal Keepers: Joe Hart vs Asmir Begovic

Ideally, Thibaut Courtois would start for Chelsea, but the Belgian is suspended for the clash against City following his red card against Swansea and thus Begovic will make his first start for Chelsea on Sunday.

Player	Games	Clean sheets	Goals conceded	Saves per game	Saves per goal	Punches	Catches
Joe Hart	36	14	34	2.11	2.38	30	98
Asmir Begovic	35	7	43	1.77	1.44	10	81

Joe Hart was the golden glove winner last season with 14 clean sheets and this also made him the goalkeeper with the most golden glove awards. In addition to this statistically Hart is superior to Begovic, however, it is to be remembered that Begovic was playing for Stoke City last season. With the Chelsea defense ahead of him, the Bosnian might be able to do better.

#3 Defence: John Terry vs Vincent Kompany

Captains Terry and Kompany will be crucial in determining the outcome of the game

John Terry showed that age is just a number as he played every minute of every Premier League game last season as Chelsea won the league title. This feat made him only the second outfield played to do so in a title winning season after Gary Pallister in 1992/93.

Terry’s counterpart Kompany, on the other hand, had a difficult season last time around. The Belgian was in and out of City’s team with injuries and on one occasion Pellegrini made the bold call to drop Kompany from the starting lineup following a poor show against Liverpool. The Belgian’s performance wasn’t even close to what he produced for City in their title-winning seasons.

Statistics	John Terry	Vincent Kompany
Games Played	38	25
Interceptions	32	45
Clearances	217	105
Blocks	30	14
Defensive Errors	3	1
Tackles Won	37	28
Aerial Duels Won	72.39%	61.29%
Fouls Committed	13	34
Total Duels %	68.30%	46.74%
Yellow Cards	2	7
Goals Scored	5	0

Even if you look at the above statistics per 90 minutes, Terry dominates Kompany in most cases except for tackles won, defensive errors and of course interceptions. However it is clear as daylight that Terry was the best defender in the league last season.

The captains of both clubs are very good in the air, but Kompany failed to score a single goal last season while Terry managed to find the back of the net five times. Kompany though scored a goal on the opening weekend of the ongoing season

#4 Midfield: Yaya Toure vs Cesc Fabregas

Toure and Fabregas have to pull the string from midfield for their respective sides

Back in 2013/14, Yaya Toure had an amazing season and was scoring goals for fun; however he had a contrasting season last time around despite scoring 10 league goals. Toure struggled to create chances for his teammates and his defensive side of the game was often a big letdown. Fabregas on the other hand returned to the Premier League and picked up from where he left off. He started the season brightly and assisted plenty of goals, however his form dipped in the latter half of the season.

Statistics	Yaya Toure	Cesc Fabregas
Games Played	29	34
Goals Scored	10	3
Assists	1	18
Key Passes	32	75
Chances Created	33	93
Pass Completion	89%	85%
Interceptions	16	24
Clearances	23	34
Blocks	5	5

Despite scoring seven goals more than Fabregas and boasting a better pass completion, Toure lags behind Fabregas in the attacking and defensive aspect of the game. The Ivorian only registered one assist in the whole season, while Fabregas notched up 18.

The reason is self-explanatory if you see the chances created by both players. Even in the defensive side of the game, Fabregas who is a far more attacking minded player than Toure, edges out the City man.

During the opening weekend of the current season, Toure assisted Silva’s opener against West Brom and then scored one as well, while Fabregas was among the worst players on the pitch for Chelsea.

#5 Forwards: Sergio Aguero vs Diego Costa

Ageuro and Costa were among the best forwards in Europe last season

Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa were among the best forwards in Europe last season and the two players spearheaded the attack of their respective teams last season. Aguero was the Golden Boot winner last time around with 26 goals from 33 games while Costa was the third highest scorer with 20 goals in 26 games.

Even though both players missed a lot of games through injury, Costa missed more matches while he was on the treatment table and then some more due to a suspension for stamping Liverpool’s Emre Can.

Statistics	Sergio Aguero	Diego Costa
Games Played	33	26
Goals Scored	26	20
Assists	8	3
Chances Created	33	41
Shot Accuracy	54%	64%
Successful Take Ons %	58.39%	39.44%

Even though Aguero had more goals and assists overall and per game, the Argentine was not in the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year and wasn’t even named in the PFA Team of the Year, while Costa achieved both.

Both players are returning to their respective squad after some injury woes and Aguero didn’t even start for City on the opening weekend while Costa made a surprise start despite rumours of him being not fit.

#6 Creative Outlets: Eden Hazard vs David Silva

Silva and Hazard are among the most creative players in the Premier League

Eden Hazard and David Silva are among the best players in the world at the moment. These players are vital members of their respective sides and majority of their teams attack passes through these players.

Hazard who was the PFA Player of the season last year endured a difficult game against Swansea last week, while Silva had a great game against West Brom as he score a goal and set up another. These players are crucial to how their teams play and therefore it is important that we draw a comparison between the two.

Overall

Statistic	David Silva	Eden Hazard
Games Played	32	38
Goals Scored	12	14
Assists	7	9
Chances Created	93	100
Key Passes	86	91
Successful Take Ons %	73.91	64.29
Pass Completion	86%	87%

At first glance, it might seem like Hazard had a better season statistically, but if you look at these statistics per 90 minutes then Silva narrowly edges out Hazard.

Per 90 minutes

Statistic	David Silva	Eden Hazard
Goals Scored	0.41	0.37
Assists	0.24	0.24
Chances Created	3.17	2.67
Key Passes	2.93	2.43

When you compare these players statistically it is baffling how Silva wasn’t even nominated for the PFA Player of the Year when Hazard won the award!