Football / Reaction / Missing Players 12 12 09

Missing Players (12/12/09)

Bettorlogic have found a selection of the key missing players from across Europe's major leagues.

Everton's Tim Cahill

 

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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.


Chelsea v Everton

Everton travel to the capital without their star midfielder Tim Cahill, who is out suspended following a fifth booking of the season at Spurs last weekend. This adds to the Toffees already lengthy list of key absentees and gives David Moyes a serious problem as he looks to get Everton back up the table.

Since the start of last season Cahill has played 42 of Everton’s 53 matches and with the Aussie midfielder, Everton have lost only 11 of 42 matches and averaged 1.60 points per game while without him they have lost five times and seen their PPG fall by 32% to just 1.09.

Everton’s problems have been at both ends of the pitch during this time with their average goals scored falling from 1.43 per game to 1.27 and their goals conceded rising by 49% from 1.1 to 1.64. Since 2007/08 Cahill has missed seven of Everton’s matches against the Big Four and they have taken just one point from those games while failing to score in four of the defeats.


Liverpool v Arsenal

Liverpool have been having a terrible season but showed against Manchester Utd that they could still raise their game for these Big Four clashes. They should be boosted by the absence of Emmanuel Eboue from Arsenal’s team as in the 21 matches that the Ivorian has played for Arsenal since the start of last season they have averaged 2.29 points per game – 36% more than in the 31 games he has missed. In fact the Gunners have won only 14 of the 31 matches Eboue has missed while losing seven times and they have conceded 82% more goals per game at 1.29 without him compared to 0.71 with him.


Birmingham City v West Ham Utd

Birmingham have won their last three matches and welcome a West Ham side in disarray. The Hammers will be without Carlton Cole and without the England man they are without a proven Premier League goal-scorer. While they have lost only 13 of the 35 matches that Cole has played in since the start of last season they have been beaten in half the 18 games he has missed and their average goals scored have fallen by 33% from 1.40 per game to just 0.94.


Hull v Blackburn

Jimmy Bullard is out for two months with a fresh knee injury and the loss of November’s Premier League Player of the Month could be a massive blow for Hull. In the three matches he has played for the Tigers they are unbeaten with one win and two draws, while in the 29 games he has missed since joining the team they have lost 18 times and averaged just 0.66 points per game. Similarly from 2007/08 till he left Fulham Bullard was a pivotal player for the Cottagers as they averaged 1.41 points per game in the 32 matches he played compared to just 0.65 PPG in the 26 he missed, as they lost 13 times while winning only twice in his absence.


Sampdoria v Roma

Roma have found some form recently but will travel to Genoa to play Sampdoria without their key centre-back Philippe Mexes who is suspended. Roma kept their first clean sheet in 19 matches last weekend but have struggled defensively since the start of last season and this has been highlighted when Mexes has been absent.

Since the start of last season the French international has played 37 and missed 16 of Roma’s games and without him they have conceded 38% more goals per game than with him as they have let in an average of 1.94 goals each time Mexes has not played. Not surprisingly this has had a significant affect on Roma’s results as their PPG has fallen from 1.76 to just 1.38 with a record of six wins and six defeats in the 16 matches he has missed.

Their results have been particularly disappointing on the road as they have failed to record a single win in nine attempts without Mexes, losing five times. With both teams level on points this is a big game and is likely to be full of goals given that 12 of the last 16 matches Mexes has missed have finished with three or more goals.


Lens v Nice

Nice’s captain Olivier Echouafni is out with an injury ahead of their trip to Lens this weekend. The French midfielder has missed 15 of Nice’s 53 matches since the start of last season and without him their PPG has fallen by 31% from 1.45 to just one point per game as they have lost eight times. There have been significantly fewer goals when he has been missing as Nice’s average goals per game has fallen from 1.21 to just 0.73 and nine of the 15 matches he has missed have finished with no more than a single goal.
 

 
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