Gerrard breaks into top ten of most efficient EPL players, Lovren falls and Yaya takes top

Top attacking efficient players in the Premiership 
(must have played at least 120 minutes thus far)

	ape
Y. Toure	0.878
S. Nasri	0.859
D. Fletcher	0.825
Cesc Fàbregas	0.822
F. Coloccini	0.817
N. Bentaleb	0.805
Eden Hazard	0.804
S. Gerrard	0.797
E. Adebayor	0.795
T. Blackett	0.795

Fletcher is a bit shocking, but he has posted a 87.3% pass rate and has only averaged 7 caused possession changes a match.  Blackett has managed an even better successful passing percentage at 88.4%.

If all players are included, despite the amount of minutes played, Sergio Aguero is king with a ridiculous 0.938 attacking efficiency.  That's what happens when you score 2 goals, post a 3/4 shot accuracy and are 10/10 on passing in 29 total minutes on the pitch.  Only a matter of time before they play the Argentine, Jovetic, and Dzeko up front at the same time and have the minnows of the Prem soiling their shorts.

Leicester's Andy King is a good example of 'levelling off''.  The Welsh midfielder dropped 22 places in rankings after facing Chelsea, the 2nd most efficient side in the EPL.  The Foxes next host Arsenal, which could go either way for King as he should have the amount of touches to show if he's as good as he was against Everton.

Top defensive efficient players
(must have played at least 120 minutes thus far)

	dpe
C. Chambers	0.914
R. Ferdinand	0.914
M. Skrtel	0.905
D. Lovren	0.896
F. Coloccini	0.894
Y. Toure	0.884
P. Jagielka	0.878
Fernando	0.877
V. Kompany	0.871
T. Blackett	0.865

Chambers continues to impress, but I did change up the formula to be more possession-friendly, meaning the 19-year-old right back benefits greatly from playing for Arsene Wenger.  That shouldn't help Rio though as QPR is the fifth-worst possession side.  Man United should have let him stayed another season.  Skrtel leap frogs Lovren and having both centre backs in the top for says a lot about Liverpool's somewhat deficient defence. Save Gerrard, only Jordan Henderson is  ranked in the top 75 at 74.

Top overall efficient players

(must have played at least 120 minutes thus far)

	ope
Y. Toure	0.881
F. Coloccini	0.856
C. Chambers	0.840
S. Nasri	0.835
T. Blackett	0.830
D. Fletcher	0.829
Fernando	0.825
G. Barry	0.821
S. Gerrard	0.820
N. Bentaleb	0.817

No Chelsea players? Fabregas is closest at 18th, but they are tied with City with a league best 8 players in the top 100.  It is a team sport after all.  Lovren dropped to 13th, one ahead of Skrtel.

The most dangerous player for Southampton at Anfield

Nathaniel Clyne gets no respect.  The 23-year-old right back put up some solid attacking numbers last season and was more of a catalyst in the opponent's third than Luke Shaw or any other Saints defender.  If he is allowed to be a factor tomorrow, it will increase Southampton's chances of scoring and even winning exponentially.  They will probably push forward in limited numbers as not to suffer an 'easy' goal on the counter and an extra player to stretch the Liverpool defence would be very beneficial in that regard.

Here is the offensive output for Clyne last season:

ap90	cc90	cc90	ccv	pass%	bp%	lb90	lb%	tti90	gopd
0.19	0.19	0.58	0.143	0.816	0.41	1.26	0.542	10.73	0.42

The most impressive stat is his goals on pitch difference.  Lovren, Shaw, and especially Chambers paled in comparison.  Our new centre back posted an acceptable -0.05, Shaw was a little bit better with a 0.03, but Chambers was horrendous with a -0.59, a full goal difference than Clyne.  Did Arsenal buy the wrong right back?  I think so.

Despite the endless jokes the south coast club has endured this summer, Southampton is not without quality.  Even with Jay Rodriguez out due to injury, they will be a formidable attacking force.  The key will be how well their midfield interacts.  Most likely, Morgan Schniederlin (or Jack Cork) and Victor Wanyama will start as defensive midfielders with Gaston Ramirez, Dušan Tadić, Steven Davis, and James-Ward Prowse in front of them.  Not to be too cliché, but the Saints will look to hold on to the ball as long as possible, forcing Liverpool to come at them and hoping the Merseysiders will make a mistake.

Unfortunately for them, it will leave new boy Graziano Pellè alone at the top.  I don't expect much from the Italian striker, bar a lot of frustration, but getting him the ball in open space will put the skills of Tadić & company to test.  If they can gain any momentum, expect Nathaniel Clyne and/or Ryan Bertrand to 'bomb' forward and help out on the attacking end.  It would be 'suicidal' to do so often though as Liverpool's counter is quick and deadly.

If I had to make a prediction, I'd say Liverpool 2-1 with goals from Coutinho, Skrtel, and Shane Long.