Newcastle Vs West Ham - Premier League Head-To-Head Analysis

2. DEFENSIVE-MIDFIELD: Ryan Taylor (NUFC) Vs Alex Song (WHUFC)

Ryan Taylor simply hasn't looked the same player since returning to the Newcastle United line-up a few months ago - and that is understandable considering he spent more than two years on the sideline with several serious knee injuries. However, he should not be in the Magpies team ahead of Medhi Abeid right now because he simply cannot keep up with the pace of the Premier League. Alex Song on the other hand was one of the signings of the season. West Ham managed to capture the former Arsenal defensive-midfielder from Barcelona on a season-long loan, and the 49-cap Cameroon international has been magnificent. When comparing the two, the most-used stats are not overly telling - it takes a bit of digging to show the vast difference between them. In 14 Premier League appearances for Taylor (11 as a starter, three off the bench), he has failed to score but has contributed one assist. Song meanwhile has played 27 times in the Premier League (24 as a starter, three off the bench), and he too has failed to score, although he has provided three assists.

However, it is in just about every single department a defensive-midfielder should succeed that Song betters Taylor: tackles per game (3.2 to 1.8), dribbles per game (1.4 to 0.3), pass-completion rate (76% to 72%), and average passes per game (42.8 to 32.4). In fact, Taylor is only ahead in the disciplinary stakes really - he makes just 0.6 fouls per game compared to Song's 1.9, and he has just three yellows to the Cameroonian's four (although Taylor has played a lot less). Their key passes-per-game stats are identical though. Delving into this a little deeper though, and even in the disciplinary stakes Taylor doesn't come out overly well. Partially he commits less fouls because he simply cannot keep up with play to make a challenge at all, and partially it's because he's nowhere near as proficient at his job as Song is. Sometimes Song commits fouls because he reads the situation well and decides a free-kick would halt the opposition's play.

Verdict: Song, Song, Song, Song - and still Song. Put simply, Song is a class above - while Taylor is past his sell-by date. Chelsea and Manchester City are said to be interested in the 27-year-old this summer - and you can see exactly why.