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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.

Burnley v Liverpool

Knee surgery has brought Fernando Torres’ season to a premature end with the Spaniard now facing a race to be fit in time for the World Cup. Since the start of last season Torres has played 39 and missed 34 of Liverpool’s matches as the star striker has suffered several injuries.

Nevertheless, he has still been comfortably Liverpool’s top scorer with 30 goals, ahead of Gerrard with 22 and Kuyt with 20. As such it is no surprise to see that their average goals scored have fallen by 27% from 2.10 per game with Torres to just 1.53 per game without him.

Away from Anfield Torres has played 19 and missed 17 games with Liverpool’s PPG dropping from 1.84 to 1.47 in his absence, as their goals scored have fallen from 1.63 per game to just 1.12. Moreover, the average league position of the teams Torres faced was 10.7 while those they faced without him was 12, and this season they’ve scored just three goals in seven away games without the Spanish star.

Chelsea v Stoke

Chelsea’s title aspirations received a triple dent last weekend as they lost to Spurs and had skipper John Terry sent off. However, in the one match this season that Terry has missed Chelsea thumped Sunderland 7-2 at Stamford Bridge.

In fact, even going back to the last time that Terry missed a significant period in 2007/08 there is little to suggest that Chelsea fare any worse in his absence as in 88 games with him they have averaged 2.22 PPG while in 23 without this drops to just 2.17 PPG, with both average goals scored and goals conceded almost identical regardless of whether he has been playing.

Genoa v Lazio

It’s been a difficult season for Lazio’s Cristian Ledesma, who spent the first half of the season being frozen out of the first team before a change of coach saw his reintroduction at the start of February, since when he’s been an ever present until missing this week through suspension.

His impact has certainly been a blessing for the Lazio fans, as the capital club were sitting in the drop zone after their first 23 games this term having scored just 17 goals – with four of those coming in a single match against Livorno – as they’d failed to trouble the scorers on 10 separate occasions. However, in the 11 matches since Ledesma’s return they’ve failed to score only once and averaged 1.36 goals per game while moving three points clear of danger.

Overall since the start of last season Ledesma has played 45 matches and missed 27 with Lazio’s PPG falling by 36% in his absence from 1.40 to 0.89 and their average goals scored dropping by 43% from 1.29 per game to just 0.74.

Lorient v Bordeaux

Bordeaux come into this match on the back of a terrible run of form that has seen them crash out of the Champions League and drop from first to sixth in Ligue 1. Last weekend they drew 2-2 with Lyon in a match that saw three players sent off including Benoit Tremoulinas.

Tremoulinas is an attacking left back and one of Bordeaux’s leading assist providers. He’s played 54 of the French champion’s 70 matches since the start of last season with their PPG dropping by 28% from 2.09 to 1.50 when he’s been missing. This is easily explained by their average goals scored falling by 15% and their goals conceded rising by 80% when he hasn’t played.

Fiorentina v Chievo

Chievo will be without their Brazilian number 10 Luciano for the trip to Florence. The right winger has been at Chievo for the past 10 years and since the start of last season has played 52 of their 72 games, including 25 of 36 away matches, and without him the Flying Donkeys have lost eight of 11 road games, whilst winning only once – at basement club Livorno this season. Moreover, seven of these eight defeats have seen them losing by half-time, as their average goals scored have fallen by 47% from 1.04 per game to just 0.55.