Sunday 11 December 2016 13:16, UK
Manchester United face Tottenham on Nissan Super Sunday. Who will come out on top in the key battle between Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Victor Wanyama? We take a look at the stats...
Sunday's game at Old Trafford sees an intriguing midfield match-up between playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan and play-stopper Victor Wanyama.
They have enjoyed contrasting starts to life at their clubs this season, with the main difference being game-time. Mkhitaryan started only his second Premier League game at Everton last Sunday, while Wanyama has started all 14 of Tottenham's fixtures.
While Wanyama has played in 97 per cent of Spurs' Premier League minutes, Mkhitaryan has only featured for 17 per cent of United's Premier League minutes. This has been down to his slow adjustment to English football and a thigh injury suffered earlier in the season.
United will certainly be looking to add more goals to their recent performances on Sunday, having scored only seven in their last eight games, with three of those coming at bottom club Swansea.
This has led to a frustrating run of six draws in the last two months, but if Mkhitaryan can repeat his goal involvement stats from last season, he could be the man to solve their recent issues.
Mkhitaryan was involved in 49 goals in all competitions for Borussia Dortmund last season, scoring 23 and assisting 26. Only five players were involved in more goals across the top five major European Leagues.
Only Mesut Ozil (19) and Angel Di Maria (18) made more than his 15 league assists, and his total of 26 goal involvements in the Bundesliga were only bettered by Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (32) and team-mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (30).
The Armenian was duly voted Bundesliga Player of the Year. Previously, he also scored 44 goals in 106 appearances for Shakhtar Donetsk, and he is his country's record scorer with 19 goals in 60 games.
His impressive record shows why United were so eager to sign him in the summer, and a comparison between his stats from last season and United's attacking midfielders this season shows how favourably he compares.
Wanyama is the player who will be looking to stop Mkhitaryan on Sunday. The 25-year-old Kenyan has been a revelation this season, playing a key role for a side with the best defensive record in the Premier League.
Only Jan Vertonghen has played more minutes for Spurs this season and no player has won more tackles, with only Kyle Walker making more interceptions.
As expected, Wanyama has committed the most fouls for Tottenham - he actually ranks fifth overall in the Premier League this season. However, he has improved on his card count. He has been booked only once in his last 11 Spurs appearances, a marked improvement on his record of three red cards in the previous 11 months.
It's all set up for a fascinating contest this Sunday between the first ever Armenian and first Kenyan to play in the Premier League. The midfield battle could have a decisive impact on the outcome of the game.
