Fulham v Watford live on Sky Sports Premier League from 11.30am on Saturday
Saturday 22 September 2018 08:15, UK
We evaluate Fulham midfielder Jean-Michael Seri ahead of Watford's trip to Craven Cottage, live on Sky Sports this Saturday.
The Ivory Coast star completed a shock move to the newly-promoted club this summer, after almost signing for Barcelona just one year ago.
Seri showed his class with a thunderbolt goal-of-the-month winner during a 4-2 victory against Burnley in late August, and produced similar glimpses of brilliance in the 2-2 draw with Brighton.
But the 27-year-old was at fault in the 3-0 drubbing at Manchester City last Saturday, when Fernandinho intercepted his complacent pass on the half-way line and teed up Leroy Sane to score with just 90 seconds on the clock.
But in what areas does the former Nice star excel?
Compared with the average Premier League midfielder to have played 225 minutes or more this term, the stats reveal he is superior at distribution, involvement and defensive duties.
The radar graphic below shows how Seri's primary attribute at Fulham so far has been creating chances, conjuring two per 90 minutes on average - ranking 12th out of all Premier League midfielders.
The Ivorian ranks eighth in the Premier League for successful passes with an average of 66 per game - distributing both short and long.
In addition to recording above-average stats for passes in the attacking third, Seri also excels at regaining possession and in the challenge with 2.2 interceptions and 2.7 tackles per game - ranking seventh and 17th in the league, respectively.
Seri ranks 38th for distance covered this term with an average of 11.4km in each of the three games he has completed a full game - and positional data suggests he is productive across most areas of the pitch.
A true box-to-box midfielder, the graphic below shows how Seri makes passes, tackles and interceptions from his own box to the opposition's penalty area - with a clear concentration of touches in the centre circle.
So can Seri pull the strings for Fulham against a Watford side that sit fourth in the Premier League with four wins out of five?
Both teams suffered defeat against 'big six' opposition last week, but Whites boss Slavisa Jokanovic will be looking for his main man to feed in-form Aleksander Mitrovic and record a second top-flight win.
Watch Fulham v Watford live on Sky Sports Premier League from 11.30am on Saturday
If reading on skysports.com, comment below to get involved in the debate, but please adhere to our House Rules. If you wish to report any comment, simply click on the down arrow next to the offending comment and click 'Report'.
