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NB: Player appearances are based on a player starting and completing at least 60 minutes. The sample is based on a team’s home and away league matches since the start of last season unless otherwise stated.
West Ham v Sunderland
West Ham will be without Scott Parker for their next two games after the former Chelsea player collected his 10th booking of the season. Parker has played 52 of 71 West Ham games since the start of last season resulting in a PPG of 1.23. However, the 19 matches he’s missed have seen a 36% fall in PPG to just 0.79 as their average goals scored have fallen from 1.35 per game to just 0.63. The knock-on affect of this has been for the number of over 2.5 goal matches to fall from 58% to just 32%.
Palermo v Chievo
Chievo’s hopes of ending Palermo’s unbeaten home record look very slim as they miss three key players with Santiago Morero, Luca Rigoni, and Sergio Pellissier all out.
Morero has played 19 and missed 16 of Chievo’s away matches since the start of last season and while with him the Flying Donkeys have won seven and lost only six of their matches for average points per game of 1.42, without him they’ve lost 10 times as their PPG has dropped by 47% to just 0.75. Furthermore, they’ve failed to score in any of those defeats without him, with nine of the 10 being either 1-0 or 2-0, and 13 of the 16 matches he’s missed finishing with under 2.5 goals.
The news is just as bad when looking at their stats with and without Rigoni as their PPG has fallen from 1.47 in the 17 away matches he’s played to just 0.78 in the 18 he’s missed, as they’ve lost 12 times in his absence, including 10 defeats where they were already trailing at half-time.
Mallorca v Valencia
Valencia travel to Mallorca with a host of defensive injuries, as Angel Dealbert has joined Carlos Marchena, Jeremy Mathieu, Miguel, and David Albelda in the treatment room. With Mallorca such a force at home – they’ve won 12 of 14 home games this season – Valencia look in for a rough evening on Sunday, particularly give they have had to contend with a Europa Cup exit this week. This is highlighted by their away record without Albelda since the start of last season of eight defeats in 15 matches, including losing each of the last three he’s missed by three-goal margins. This is certainly a match that should feature goals as nine of the last 10 away matches that Albelda has missed have finished with three or more goals.
Mainz v Borussia Dortmund
Andreas Ivanschitz is suspended for Mainz’s home game against Dortmund this weekend and the Austrian, who is on loan from Panathinaikos, has proved an excellent addition to Mainz’s midfield this season. In 20 games with Ivanschitz Mainz have averaged 1.45 points per game, with the attacking midfielder’s six goals contributing to an average goals scored per game of 1.15. These stats both compare very favourably to Mainz’s stats in the nine matches he’s missed, where they’ve picked up just one point per game and averaged only 0.67 goals per game. As a result of their significantly reduced goal threat in his absence seven of the nine matches that Ivanschitz has missed have finished with under 2.5 goals.
Siena v Bari
Bari still retain an outside chance of European qualification in Serie A while Siena look doomed with an eight point gap to safety. However, Bari have been hit by an injury to one of their key midfielders Sergio Almiron, who is on loan from Juventus. Since making his first appearance for Bari in week eight, Almiron has missed 10 games with Bari winning only once and losing six times. In contrast, Bari have won nine and lost only four of the 15 matches he’s played.