Chelsea vs Man City provides mouthwatering clash of the Spanish playmakers

The game of the weekend takes place at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea host Manchester Citywhere two of the most creative players from the past few seasons go head-to-head.

David Silva and Juan Mata, combined, have assisted 81 goals in the Premier League since 2010. The Spaniards are two of the most individually creative talents in world football.

However good he may be, though, Mata has found himself on the fringes of the Chelsea first team this season as Jose Mourinho has preferred Oscar in the number 10 role behind the lone striker. The Spaniard has managed to fight his way back into the team and appeared in five matches out of the possible eight so far.

Silva has also played five matches but Mata’s lack of time on the pitch shows when you compare each other’s minutes. Silva has played 414 minutes compared to Mata’s 303.

Due to the fact that Silva has spent more time on the pitch than Mata, he has completed a lot more passes, however, of the 195 that Mata has attempted he has completed 176 of them (90%), compared to Silva’s 86% from 370 attempted.

In terms of key passes and chance creation, Silva leads the way too. 17 key passes and 3 assists for the Man City star, compared to 9 key passes and zero assists for Mata.

Due to the lack of playing time Mata has had, the only fair comparison would be to weigh up chance creation in terms of the minutes played by each player and it is Silva who comes out on top, averaging a key pass every 20.7 minutes, compared to Juan Mata who has played a key pass every 34.7 mins.

Under Rafael Benitez and Roberto Di Matteo last season, Mata created 95 chances but under Mourinho, this season, he has had a more withdrawn role where he’s had to track back and defend more often than he usually would.

Silva leads Mata in almost all departments this season, coming out on top in goals scored, shot accuracy, tackles won, take-ons and headers. However, overall duels sees Mata winning 69% to David Silva’s 58%. Silva may have won more duels but his success rate is not as good as Mata’s which signals the change in style of play for the latter under Mourinho.

Due to Mata’s reduced time on the field this season, it is slightly unfair to compare him to Silva, who has featured more often despite playing the same number of games.

Touching on Mata’s chances created last season (95), Silva created 103 opportunities for his teammates but did have four less assists than his Spanish counterpart. The Chelsea attacker scored 12 last season, eight more than Silva.

They both shared the same passing accuracy of 85% but Mata attempted one more pass throughout the whole season (1804) – very close.

The Spaniards are both very similar in terms of stats – this season apart – so Sunday’s clash in west London will be a fascinating one should Mata be handed a start by Mourinho.

Chelsea fans will be hoping to see the Juan Mata of old; creating chances, taking risks and causing defences problems, whilst City fans will want to see this season’s withdrawn, more tactically structured Mata. Oscar will, most definitely, start in the central role that Mata flourished in last season but Mata can still cause some damage coming in from the right-hand side and using his superb left foot devastatingly.

Silva, meanwhile, will be picking up gaps in-between Chelsea’s midfield and defence and linking up well withSergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo.

My guess would be that Silva will outperform Mata on Sunday, just like he has done all season.