Robin Van Persie and Luis Suarez have been the talismans for their club sides this season with their goalscoring statistics on a par with each other.
Man United’s RVP has netted 16 goals from 18 starts, while the controversial Uruguayan is on 15 from 20 starts for Liverpool.
But a comparison of the two stars shows that while Suarez involves himself more in the build-up and culmination of passing moves, it is the Holland striker who is more efficient where it matters.
Suarez has created 56 chances for his team-mates and has a much stronger cross completion rate (37.5 per cent)
In comparison Van Persie has created 39 opportunities but only 15.7 per cent of his crosses have successfully reached their intended target.
Despite that fact, it is the Man United forward who has more assists with six – double Suarez’s tally.
Efficient
The Liverpool number 7 has attempted 122 more passes than Van Persie but his overall passing accuracy is at 76 per cent, 4.4 behind the former Arsenal man (but it must be taken into account that Suarez has a superior pass completion rate in the opposition half, with RVP on a lowly 67 per cent).
Van Persie has also won more one-on-one battles with defenders than the busier Suarez. The Dutchman has won exactly half of his 182 duels, while the Uruguayan has lost almost two-thirds of his 208 personal contests.
Unsurprisingly, RVP also proves much more efficient in front of goal despite taking 29 fewer shots.
Suarez has only put 45.7 per cent of his 92 attempts on goal onto the target. Conversely Van Persie has a shooting accuracy rate of 50.8 per cent.
The Liverpool forward’s chance conversion rate is only at 16 per cent, well below Van Persie’s which is closer to 30 per cent.
However with Daniel Sturridge having signed for the Merseysiders, it is possible that Suarez will be played in a withdrawn role which might suit his talents more than a stint at centre-forward.
However it is possible that Brendan Rodgers may avoid giving Sturridge a first Premier League start against Liverpool’s biggest rivals, so more than likely Suarez and RVP will spearhead their team’s forward lines on Sunday.
