Stat Attack: Manchester United v Norwich City

Friday, March 1, 2013
10:17 AM

With a mammoth tie against Real Madrid on the horizon and a healthy lead in the race for the Premier League title, Manchester United may be tempted to rest a couple of their key starters.

Should this be the case, Norwich City must not be afraid to take the game to the Red Devils, and Grant Holt would be key to this strategy. Holt has the best accuracy rate in front of goal in the EA Sports Player Performance Index of any Norwich player, having put 62.2 per cent of his 37 attempts on goal on target.

Holt, however, has overtaken Bradley Johnson as the Norwich player with the most fouls to his name, having committed 49 this season.

Sébastien Bassong’s ability to read the game will need to be at its sharpest to combat United’s dominant passing game. The Player Performance Index shows him making 93 interceptions this season, the most in the Norwich squad.

Look for Robert Snodgrass to deliver the killer ball for the Canaries. No player in the Premier League has delivered as many crosses, his 105 deliveries putting him top of the list.

A goal from Ryan Giggs on his 999th appearance as a professional helped United to a 2-0 win at Queens Park Rangers.

Tom Cleverley has the vision and technique to fill Paul Scholes’ boots when he eventually retires. He’s successfully completed 442 passes in his opponents’ half, one for every 3.1 minutes he’s been on the field of play.

Rio Ferdinand leads the United squad for positive defensive contributions with 133.