Premier League Focus: March Round-up & Team of the Month

The Premier League entered its penultimate month of action over Easter and in this piece we'll take a look back at the top performers in March.

We start with the team of the month based on our unique statistical ratings, with only those to have started over half of their respective side's league games during March considered.

Given the rare chance to stand in for the injured Tim Howard, Everton's Jan Mucha started in the home wins against Reading and Man City last month. The Slovakian made 12 saves over the two games, with 8 coming in a man of the match performance against the champions to help his side keep a clean sheet.

Mucha is joined by teammate Seamus Coleman at right-back, who was another player to shine in the victory over Mancini's men, picking up an assist for Leon Osman's opener. He bagged another in the win over Reading and only three players completed more dribbles in March (9).

On the opposite flank United's Alex Buttner was handed some rare playing time to allow Patrice Evra to rest and certainly showed that the league leaders' left side is in safe hands without the Frenchman. He made 9 tackles in just 2 matches, with United keeping clean sheets in both, and also created 3 chances.

Our centre-back pairing is Vertonghen and Vidic, with only Luis Suarez netting more than the Belgian's 3-goal haul last month. Said tally came from as many shots and he also made 12 tackles, 13 interceptions and picked up an assist. Vidic, meanwhile, won the third most aerial duels of any defender (18), while only three players made more clearances (43).

Tottenham loanee Andros Townsend only started 2 games for QPR in March but netted 2 goals and picked up an assist in that time, attempting 7 shots and creating 4 chances. On the opposite flank Eden Hazard bagged a spectacular goal against West Ham, picking up an assist in the same game, and completed the second most dribbles (10) in the month over 3 appearances.

Marouane Fellaini scored in the 3-1 win for Everton over Reading and picked up two assists last month from both chances he created. He won 15 aerial duels in just 2 games, as well as making 5 tackles and 10 clearances. Santi Cazorla was also on the scoresheet against the Royals, setting up another in the same match whilst ranking in the top 10 for key passes (8), dribbles (8) and accurate passes (184).

Suarez stretched his lead over van Persie at the top of the scoring charts in March, netting a league high of 4 in that time. He had the third most shots last month (17), with only three players completing more dribbles (9). His work rate overall was immense, winning more tackles than any other striker (9).

Partnering the Uruguayan is Wayne Rooney, who has stepped up to the plate following a rare barren run from Robin van Persie. The Englishman scored twice and assisted twice in just 2 appearances in March, attempting 11 shots and creating 8 chances for teammates to earn the highest WhoScored rating of 8.72.

We finish by rounding up the statistical leaders by statistic, with Rooney pipping Townsend (8.43) and Fellaini (8.41) to the player of the month award. As mentioned, Suarez’s 4-goal haul was the most in March, with hat-trick hero against Norwich Shinji Kagawa joining the Belgian duo of Vertonghen and Benteke on 3.

Liverpool’s new wing wizard Coutinho picked up the most assists (3), including a precise through ball to set Liverpool on their way to their most recent win at Villa, with 8 players tied on 2. The leader in terms of shots wasn’t Suarez (17), nor was it Bale (20), but Southampton forward Jay Rodriguez, whose confidence is apparent registering 24 shots over 4 appearances.

City’s David Silva made the most key passes, with 15 over 3 appearances, beating De Guzman (11) to second and Beausejour (10) to third. Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko was the most successful dribbler (13), ahead of Hazard and Sessegnon (10), while De Guzman was again heavily involved in terms of team play for Swansea. His 11 accurate crosses pipped Beausejour (10) and Snodgrass (9), while a total of 268 accurate passes was also a month high ahead of Ashley Westwood (233) and teammate Ashley Williams (222).

Defensively, Lucas Leiva was the top tackler, with 23 just enough to beat Morgan Schneiderlin (21), though the Frenchman came out on top for interceptions, with 25, ahead of ever-present Matthew Lowton (21). James Collins made a colossal 60 clearances over just 3 appearances, with Clint Hill (46) second and Williams (44) third, while Villa’s Christian Benteke won the most aerial duels (38) and teammate Brad Guzan made the most saves (19).