Player Performance Index | EPL Week 11 Star Line-Up

Game week 11 was another interesting round of English Premier League football with 10 different clubs having representitives in The EA SPORTS Team of the Week.

Using the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, we rated all players and have produced this quality line up below.

Stand-out performers this week in defence were Thomas Vermaelen who scored on his EPL return after a long lay off with injury and David Wheater who led by example in holding Stoke goal-less in Bolton's outstanding 5-0 win.

Moving into midfield and we have two match winners in the heart of it, Yaya Toure with his imense header for City to beat QPR and Frank Lampard with another header to see off Blackburn in a much needed win for Chelsea.

Up front sees Villa's Gabby Agbonlahor and Bolton's Ivan Klasnic who both had brilliant games setting up and scoring goals.

With thanks to the Player Performance Index, here is a selection of interesting stats from the weekend's games.

Fulham vs. Tottenham

• Tottenham continued their fine run of form in the Barclays Premier League with a hard fought 3-1 victory over a battling Fulham side. Scott Parker has won a huge amount of admirers in the past few game weeks with his hard graft and determination being a key factor in Spur’s rise up the table. The England International once again showed his impressive work rate with the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index telling us that Parker covered more distance during the game than any other player on the pitch (6.81 miles).

Interestingly the Index also shows that 1.06 miles of this total distance was covered when the ball was out of play which suggests that he is constantly thinking about which positions he should be in on the pitch whether the ball is in or out of play. 

Manchester United vs. Sunderland

• Manchester United ran out 1-0 winners courtesy of an own goal from ex defender Wes Brown on the weekend of Sir Alex Fergusons 25th Year in charge at Old Trafford. The Champions were certainly made to work hard for the victory by a Sunderland side who, according to The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, recorded the highest average speed as a team during game week 11 averaging 2.98mph.

• The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows the Black Cats (68.17 miles) also covered more distance during the game than the Red Devils (66.51 miles) with Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole completing the most distance than any other player on the pitch during the 90 minutes (7.01 miles)

Liverpool vs. Swansea City

• Swansea City ensured Liverpool were held to a 4th home draw of the season with a deserved 0-0 draw at Anfield. Liverpool have played energetic, fast flowing football under Kenny Dalglish so far this season however the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index surprisingly shows that Liverpool had the lowest average speed as a team than any other Premier League team during game week 11 averaging just 2.57 mph.

• This match also involved the two teams who covered the 2nd and 3rd least distances as a team during game week 11 (Liverpool 60.65 miles & Swansea 61.04 miles), suggesting Swansea did well to slow the game down and tame a strong Liverpool side.

QPR vs. Manchester City

• Manchester City edged a 5 goal thriller at Loftus Road with a late goal from Yaya Toure to ensure they remain 5 points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League. After early season concerns over his future at City it was James Milner who once again shone during the  game, this is backed up by The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index showing that the England midfielder not only completed the most distance out of any player during the game (6.48 miles) but he also had the highest average speed during the 90 minutes (5.06mph) than any other player in the Premier League during game week 11

• In contrast to Milner’s high work rate during the game The Player Performance Index shows that City actually covered the least distance out of any Premier League team during game week 11 (60.57 miles)

• The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index indicates that Sergio Aguero reached a top speed of 26.7mph during the game against QPR making him the 2nd fastest player in the Premier League over game week 11. Many may be surprised to see that Stokes Rory Delap was in top spot, reaching a top speed of 26.8mph in Stokes 5-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers.
 
Blackburn vs. Chelsea

• Blackburn Rovers remain in the bottom 3 of the Barclays Premier league table after a Frank Lampard header gave Chelsea a narrow 1-0 victory at Ewood Park. No one can fault Blackburn’s work ethic during a game in which saw them push Chelsea all the way to the final whistle. This is backed up by The Player Performance which shows Rovers covered 70.63 miles as a team; this is more than any other team covered during game week 11. Interestingly Chelsea covered the 2nd most (69.52 miles).

• Blackburn midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen ran a total 7.73 miles during the match, this was the highest distance ran by a player in the Premier League this weekend