Features
TUE 28.04.2015
Mikel Rico and Esteban Granero will face off on matchday 34 of the Liga BBVA in what will be one of the most important on-the-field battles in the upcoming Basque derby between Athletic Club and Real Sociedad. The two Spanish midfielders will be in charge of orchestrating their teams’ play, as they have been doing all season. Both men have been essential figures for their respective managers.
Mikel Rico will have the extra advantage of playing at home. The Basque has made 31 appearances this season with Athletic, starting a total of 29 matches. He has clocked up 2,500 minutes of playing time with the Bilbao outfit, finding the back of the net on three occasions in the process. The Barakaldo native has had 20 efforts on goal, half of which, 10, have been on target. He has successfully completed 21 dribbles of the 39 he has attempted and won back possession 184 times.
He will be up against Esteban Granero. The Madrid man has featured in 30 games for Real Sociedad this season, starting all of them, racking up a total of 2,259 minutes of playing time and failing to score. The txuri-urdin midfielder has had 18 efforts on goal, three of which have been on target. Of his 26 attempts to dribble with the ball he has pulled of 16 of them and has also won back possession on 174 occasions.
|
Stats/players |
Mikel Rico (Spain) |
Esteban Granero (Spain) |
|
Total games played |
31 |
30 |
|
Games started |
29 |
30 |
|
Total Minutes |
2500 |
2259 |
|
Goals |
3 |
0 |
|
Total Number of Shots |
20 |
18 |
|
Shots on Target |
10 |
3 |
|
Total dribbles |
39 |
26 |
|
Total completed dribbles |
21 (53.8%) |
16 (61.5%) |
|
Number of Passes |
1260 |
1134 |
|
Number of Completed Passes |
968 (76.8%) |
948 (83.6%) |
|
Long balls |
119/49 (41.2%) |
102/61 (59.8%) |
|
Short passes |
1141/919 (80.5%) |
1032/887 (86%) |
|
Assists |
2 |
2 |
|
Ball recoveries |
184 |
74 |
Mikel Rico has made more passes than Esteban Granero. The Athletic midfielder has passed the ball 1,260 times, compared with the former Real Madrid player’s 1,134. The Basque man has attempted 119 long balls, succeeding with 49 of them, and has linked up with a team-mate with 919 of his 1,141 short passes. Meanwhile, the Real Sociedad midfielder has found his man with 61 of his 102 long ball attempts and been successful with 887 of his 1,032 short passes. Both players have turned provider on two occasions each.
Both of these Athletic Club and Real Sociedad midfielders are capable of deciding the Basque derby. Their performances in the middle of the park will be pivotal for each of their teams as they try to overcome their bitter rivals, and as such all eyes will be on them.
© LALIGA - 2015