Fulham will be heading to Stoke full of confidence after their strikers enjoyed a field day against QPR in their last outing
Andrew Johnson hit a hat trick in that game and leapt 167 places in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index to 33rd
Bobby Zamora also hit the net in that game and rose 52 places to 22nd in the Index
Johnson’s hat trick goals were his first in the Premier League this season, despite having got 88% of shots on target. Zamora has had 77% of shots on target this season and with Fabio Capello looking at alternative striking options in Wayne Rooney’s absence both can stake a claim for an England place. Only Rooney and Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor are ranked higher as English strikers in the Index.
Johnson now joins the list of 6 players who have scored 3 goals or more in a single game this season, along with Edin Dezeko, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Sergio Aguero and Demba Ba
Danny Murphy’s penalty pushed him up 8 places to 13th – Fulham’s highest ranked player. Murphy has won 85% of tackles this season and covered 74.9km across his 7 appearances, scoring twice
Fulham’s final scorer Clint Dempsey is the joint 3rd highest in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for shots on target, having had 15 so far
Fulham’s hosts Stoke City suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Swansea City in their last outing, covering 120.7 km in the process
Ryan Shawcross covered the most distance for Stoke, with 11.7km
Their struggle this season is apparent in the fact their goalkeeper Asmir Begovic is their highest ranked player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
Begovic has now made 38 saves in the Barclays Premier League, the 5th highest of any goalkeeper and is the 4th ranked goalkeeper overall behind Joe Hart, David de Gea, and Tim Krul
Ryan Shawcross is their next highest ranked player in 71st place. The defender has won 80% of his tackles this season and made 10 clearance and 10 interceptions
Record signing Peter Crouch has hit 55% of his shots on target since joining, scoring once
