Matchweek 24/25 facts and figures, for Middle Leaford and beyond….

SECOND OPINION
Everton jolted the Premier League during the first half of the season behind a heavy dose of sonorous energy that was exemplified well during the Toffees’ 3-1 win at Villa Park in August. They were dominant in every facet, making a mockery of the opening day festivities on Trinity Road.

Now comes the replay this weekend inside Goodison Park with AV in a far more depressive state here in winter, creating the vibe for another scoreline of the Chelsea magnitude (8-0) or perhaps merely the Tottenham mold (4-0). However bleak the forecast looks, still worth noting is that Everton shouldn’t be judged heavily on its many merits from the season’s opening 19 matches. During the turnaround schedule, David Moyes’ magicians have been rendered a bit digestible.

Perhaps their opponents have strengthened since the initial meetings with Everton. Perhaps the Toffees’ rather vague attack — they have only continually pummeled the left side of the field behind Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar — can’t be sustained through to the second leg of each league encounter. Whatever the case, below is a look at comparisons for some key match elements from Everton’s five replay fixtures so far and the first versions (First match—>Second match).

Wigan
Shots: even (17—>17)
Shots On-Goal: -4 (7—>3)
Possession Time: -6:19 (48:33—->42:14)

Newcastle
Shots: -5 (18—>13)
Shots On-Goal: even (6—>6)
Possession Time: -8:14 (52:21—>44:07)

Swansea
Shots: -13 (31—>18)
Shots On-Goal: -6 (11—>5)
Possession Time: +3:40 (45:57—>49:37)

Southampton
Shots: -13 (22—>9)
Shots On-Goal: -3 (8—>5)
Possession Time: -5:35 (46:58—->42:23)

West Brom
Shots: +3 (13—>16)
Shots On-Goal: +4 (2—>6)
Possession Time: -0:39 (50:38—>49:59)

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PARTNER PASSES
Barry Bannan and Ashley Westwood were put back together as the two central midfield starters on Tuesday, which isn’t too grotesque of an option for Paul Lambert to stick with.

Besides the the reality that Bannan and Westwood appeared silly in the Chelsea disaster, they have achieved plenty of solidarity together. The duo has been Villa’s two most active passers — No. 1 and No. 2 in passes attempted — in seven of their 10 league starts together, including this week’s. Beyond those seven games, just twice with other combinations has Villa received that desired type of involvement from central midfield on the ball. Below is the full list.

Central Midielders
No. 1/No. 2 most active in pass attempts

@West Ham….El Ahmadi 91, Delph 79.
@Fulham….Delph 64, El Ahmadi 55.
@Sunderland….Bannan 44, Westwood 41.
@Manchester City….Westwood 44, Bannan 36.
vArsenal….Bannan 45, Westwood 43.
@Queens Park….Westwood 62, Bannan 39.
vReading….Bannan 56, Westwood 54.
vStoke City….Westwood 77, Bannan 63.
vNewcastle….Bannan 53, Westwood 41.

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BEGINNING IN….
Charles N’Zogbia delivered the team’s first shot Tuesday night emphatically, snapping a 26-yard question off the left post that originally seemed destined to further hit inside. The finest of strikes, what made it a little less inspirational was the timing. The match was in the 22nd minute by then and Newcastle was already ahead 1-0 while continuing to play optimistically.

A group like Villa at the moment certainly needs to be mindful about kickstarting momentum better, as soon as humanely possible. Below is a display of the first-shot performance this season and how the team has fared toward creating the ideal opening attack announcement (within 10 yards of distance/opening 10 minutes/off the foot or head of Christian Benteke or Andreas Weimann).

First Match Shot
2012-2013
Premier League Play

Distances (Yards)
1-10: 3
11-20: 6
21-30: 10
30+: 5

Time (Minutes)
1st-10th: 11
11th-20th: 6
21st-30th: 4
30th+: 3

Players
Benteke 8
Holman 4
Bannan 3
Weimann 3
Agbonlahor 1
Bent 1
Delph 1
El Ahmadi 1
Lowton 1
N’Zogbia 1

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—Patrick Kinmartin (PKtype@Gmail.com …. Facebook.com/TypePK)