With a number of high-profile names to be found on team sheets throughout the English top-flight, 2016-17 is promising audiences weekly showdowns of football’s great talents.
To celebrate the launch of the new Premier League campaign, the gang at oulala.com have taken a look at the stats behind three key player head-to-head battles – continuing with dynamic playmakers Alexis Sanchez and Philippe Coutinho – to see who has the better chance of turning the tides in Arsenal’s blockbuster opening round meeting with Liverpool on Monday morning.
It may be a little surprising just how dominant the Chilean is across the eight attacking areas analysed. With both missing a number of games during last season, Sanchez’ 30 appearances saw a return of 13 goals and four assists – taking around two-and-a-half-hours on average to impact a match – compared to just eight goals for Coutinho, although the Brazilian recorded one more assist.
The Liverpool midfielder also had a higher total of shots on goal for the campaign, however, Sanchez created more scoring chances for the Gunners and was more accurate for both shots and passing.
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