EA Sports bring us a few stats ahead of our trip to Humberside to take on Hull City and hopefully not only continue our great run this season, but our record against the Tigers. Hull will go into this weekend’s fixture with good reason to be confident, having remained unbeaten in their last three games, in a run that included away fixtures to both Liverpool and Arsenal. Their good start to the season sees them sit just inside the top half, but a third win of the season could see them climb to as high as fifth in the league.

Hull’s Croatian forward Nikica Jelavic has started the season in fine form, as illustrated by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. The 29 year old has already scored four goals this season, hitting the back of the net with 66% of his shots on target. The Croatian has racked up an impressive 343 sprints and it is that hard work that his teammates will have to pick up in his absence.

The man to do this could well be Mohamed Diame, who has instantly clicked with his new teammates since his move from West Ham. According to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the Senegalese international has already bagged himself four goals, scoring 100% of his shots that have hit the target. He has also won the fourth highest amount of tackles in the league with 34, made eight clearances and made 14 interceptions. He is 23/4 to score anytime with 888sport.com.

If Hull are to come away with the points, they will need to find their second consecutive clean sheet. Their star man at the back so far this season has been Curtis Davies, as illustrated by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. The English centre back has racked up the second most interceptions and clearances in the league, with 30 interceptions and 101 clearances. He has also made a total of nine blocks, with only six other Premier League players making more. He will need to be at his ever best to keep the Saints high performing front line at bay.

Southampton have gone from strength to strength this season, picking up 18 points from a possible 21 in their last seven matches. They sit just four points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, and will look to move within a point with and consolidate second spot with their third win on the bounce.

Southampton’s star man so far this season has been new signing Graziano Pelle, which has been backed up by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. The Saints’ new boy is the fourth top scorer in the league, having bagged six goals already this term. One of the keys to his secret is to make sure you hit the target, which he has done so 14 times this season, the third most shots on target of any Premier League player. He is 32/25 to score anytime with 888sport.com.

Whilst Pelle continues to take the plaudits for his goal scoring, Morgan Schneiderlin has been the epitome of consistency behind him, as revealed by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. The French international has also grabbed himself three goals and an assist, whilst racking up the fourth most passes in the Premier League with 564 passes completed. 301 of those passes have been in the opposition passes, illustrating the danger he possesses to the opposition goal. Off the ball, he works just as hard, winning the third most tackles in the Premier League with 35 tackles won.

At the back for the Saints, is one of only two people in the league with more tackles than Schneiderlin, Nathaniel Clyne, who has won 82% of his tackles, winning 41 overall. Behind Clyne lies Fraser Forster, who has kept five clean sheets; the most in the Premier League. He also has the best ratio of saves made to goals conceded of 3.4:1 and will look to improve that ratio even further this weekend.

Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars at fantasy.premierleague.com or with FIFA Ultimate Team.

Photo: Action Images

Southampton Polls