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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.

Deportivo v Real Madrid

Madrid travel to in-form Deportivo this Saturday and will do so without Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese winger was sent off in their 2-0 win over Malaga last weekend.

The former Manchester United player had already scored both the goals in that game, and has had an immediate impact at the Bernabeu since his summer move. He is Madrid’s leading scorer in all competitions with 15 goals from just 14 starts and has already picked up two red cards in 11 league appearances.

However, while Real have scored 16% more goals per game with Ronaldo, at 2.45 per game compared to 2.12 in the eight matches he’s missed, their results are almost identical as they’ve won eight of 11 with him and six of eight without. In fact, they’ve also conceded more goals when the former World Player of the Year has been missing, and as a result more of their games have had over 2.5 goals when he’s been absent.

Given Deportivo’s form and their position in the top six, it is possibly more relevant to note that Real have failed to score a first half goal in any of their four matches against top-half teams that Ronaldo has missed, drawing three and losing one of those four opening halves.

Leverkusen v Freiburg

Leverkusen have been flying this season and are still unbeaten at the top of the Bundesliga. However, just as their captain Simon Rolfes had returned to full fitness he’s been struck down by a knee injury that looks set to keep him out for several weeks. However, the good news for Leverkusen is that they’ve been unbeaten in the 12 matches he’s missed since the start of last season with six wins. Moreover, they’ve averaged 2.58 goals per game without him – up 51% from the 1.71 they’ve averaged in the 41 games he’s played – and conceded just one goal per game, which represents a 17% drop in goals conceded. Significantly just 13 of the 42 (32%) matches he’s played have had four or more goals, compared to eight of 12 without him.

Napoli v Genoa

Michele Pazienza is suspended for Napoli, with The Blues currently sitting fourth in the table ahead of their important clash with Genoa this weekend. The Italian midfielder has played 27 and missed 32 of Napoli’s games since the start of last season and while his team has generally fared slightly better in his absence the most significant point is that their games have seen far more goals. Napoli have scored 38% more goals per game and conceded 23% more when Pazienza’s been missing, which has resulted in 69% of their games without him having over 2.5 goals compared to just 30% when he’s played.

Liverpool v Bolton

Reports this week initially suggested that Yossi Benayoun could be heading out of Anfield. However, those rumours were quashed by Liverpool, and the Reds would be well-minded to keep hold of the Israeli captain.

Since the start of last season, Benayoun has played 35 and missed 26 of Liverpool’s games with the result being that Liverpool have won 66% of the matches he’s been in compared to just half those he’s missed. This has resulted in average points per game of 2.20 with the former West Ham player compared to 1.81 without him, and is largely a result of their scoring struggles in his absence. The attacking midfielder has been Liverpool’s fourth-highest scorer as he’s helped them average 2.26 goals per game, while without him they’ve managed a relatively paltry 1.46 goals per game – 35% fewer.

Not surprisingly then, the number of games with under 2.5 goals has increased significantly in Benayoun’s absence, up from 34% to 69%. Moreover, The Reds have been struggling to score badly recently and eight of their last 10 matches have had under 2.5 goals, although both those that beat that line came in the five games that Benayoun played in this period. Another major reason for these scoring problems has been the absence of Fernando Torres, as Liverpool’s average goals scored have fallen from 2.15 in the 33 matches the Spaniard has played since the start of last season to just 1.64 in the 28 he’s missed.

Birmingham v Tottenham

Tottenham’s England winger Aaron Lennon remains sidelined and is likely to be out for another three weeks with a groin injury. Lennon has played 43 and missed 18 of Spurs’ games since the start of last season and been one of the Lilywhite’s most impressive performers, as they’ve averaged 1.60 points per game with him and just 1.28 without as a result of their average goals scored falling by 31%, from 1.60 to 1.11 per game without him. This has also caused the number of games with fewer than three goals to increase from 47% to 56%, and the differences are even more pronounced when looking purely at Spurs’ away matches where their goals scored fall from 1.55 to 0.90 and their under 2.5 goals games increase from 30% to 50% in Lennon’s absence.