Emre Can (Liverpool)
The German struggled to hold down a consistent place under Rodgers, whether it be at centre-back or in the midfield, however, since Klopp has taken over the Kop, Can has looked refreshed and the most settled since joining Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen last season. In the Reds’ past two Premier League outings against Tottenham and Southampton, the 21-year-old has put in man of the match performances and won over some of his critics within Anfield.
At White Hart Lane, Can completed over 90% of his tackles and maintained a pass accuracy of 73%, which equals 38 passes found the target from 52 attempts. When the Saints visited Anfield last weekend, he repeated his tackling form with another 90% success rate, while also improving his passing, as he hit the mark 57 times from 67 efforts, or 85% accuracy.
Emre Can’s first half by numbers: 88% pass accuracy 2 shots 2 interceptions 1 tackle 1 goal Solid in the middle. pic.twitter.com/BMP3kg21Vx
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 22, 2015
Kurt Zouma (Chelsea)
The Blues defence has copped plenty of warranted criticism this term, however, credit has to be given to young Frenchmen Kurt Zouma, who has come of age playing alongside the experience of either John Terry or Gary Cahill. The 20-year-old has started nine games for Chelsea this campaign and has demonstrated an eagle eye for tackling and plenty of composure to negate the pressure of Premier League strikers.
Zouma has held down a solid 79% completion rate in terms of his tackles, which is shy of both Terry and Cahill, though he has been involved in almost double the amount of contests. In possession he has also been neat and tidy, having kept an 82% pass accuracy, which equals a total of 233 completed passes.
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