Liverpool welcome West Brom to Anfield, who currently sit a point above them in the Premier League. Alan Irvine will be content with his side’s start to the season, as they sit in tenth place with two wins, two draws and two defeats. Brendan Rodgers, however, will be hoping to see an improvement in his team’s form, starting with a win against West Brom this Saturday.
Newly appointed vice captain Jordan Henderson has continued to show his development in the centre of the park. The England international has completed 244 sprints this season, six more than the next best in the squad, Raheem Sterling. Henderson has an average speed of 7.1km/h, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, and has displayed an abundance of energy this season to match his skill.
Raheem Sterling is a player who has attracted a lot of attention for his performances so far this season, and is Liverpool’s top scorer on three goals. Sterling has displayed plenty of pace and trickery this season, and has proven to be Liverpool’s greatest threat when running at defenders. Sterling has completed the third most successful dribbles in the league with 18, trailing only Eden Hazard and Erik Lamela, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
Dejan Lovren has made more clearances than any other player in the Liverpool squad. The Croatian defender has cleared his lines 55 times in the Premier League so far, ranking him seventh among the rest of the players in the division. Rodgers will be hoping to see Lovren improve the defence further as the season progresses.
Saido Berahino has been the standout player for West Brom this season. The forward has scored four goals in his first six games, leading to calls for an England call-up. He has had seven shots on target, more than anyone else in the West Brom squad, and the seventh most in the Premier League, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. He is ranked joint third in the top-scorers list, and will hope to add to his tally against Liverpool. Berahino is 17/2 to be first goalscorer with 888sport.
Berahino managed two of his goals against Burnley last week in a brilliant West Brom performance, but arguably Graham Dorrans was the key man in that victory. Dorrans bagged a goal himself, as well as laying on assists two for his teammates. The midfielder put in a near-impeccable performance and this was reflected by his 96.9% passing success rate, as shown by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
It may be the pace of the likes of Berahino and Sessegnon that is widely regarded as a threat West Brom possess, but in actual fact the two quickest players this season have been their central defenders. Both Jonas Olsson and Craig Dawson have been clocked running at 34.3km/h according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, which ranks them both in the top 20 quickest Premier League players this season.
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