Sunderland are boosted by the return of Dan Ballard this weekend, but how important is the centre-back?
The Northern Ireland international has missed the Black Cats’ last two matches with a hamstring injury, but Regis Le Bris has confirmed he will be able to rejoin the squad in some capacity for Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa. Ballard will be a welcome addition back into the fold as Sunderland try to keep their shock European hopes alive. But what sort of influence has he exerted over the Mackems’ fortunes this season?
How important is Dan Ballard to Sunderland?
Metric With Dan Ballard (26 games) Without Dan Ballard (6 games)
Points per game 1.77 1.50
Goals scored per game 1.54 0.83
Goals conceded per game 0.77 0.67
Win rate 50% (13/26) 33.3% (2/6)
Ballard has missed just six Premier League games so far this season, and while Sunderland have only lost one of them, their points per game has dropped from 1.77 with him, to 1.50 without him. Interestingly, their goals per game has also plummeted from 1.54 with him to 0.83 without him, with Ballard clearly a powerful weapon on set-pieces, scoring two goals so far this term and causing wider havoc in the opposition box.
Even more surprising is the fact that Sunderland’s goals conceded per game rises to 0.77 with Ballard, compared to 0.67 without him. However, the sample size without Ballard is considerably smaller, while the data may indicate that Le Bris tries to be more conservative when he knows he’s without the reliable centre-back. All of that said, a dig into the raw data reveals just how important Ballard really is at the Stadium of Light. The 26-year-old is first among Sunderland players for headed clearances (122) and aerial duels won (101) this season, while he’s only made three errors leading to a shot, none of which ended up in a goal.
Ballard is also in the top four in a host of other key metrics, including clearances (2nd), passes completed (3rd), and shots attempted (4th), playing a part in six of Sunderland’s 10 Premier League clean sheets this campaign.
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