Head-to-head: Moyes chases Baines, but would he be that much better than Evra?

David Moyes has launched a second bid for Everton's Leighton Baines as he attempts to strengthen his Manchester United side.

But why is the former Toffees manager raiding his old club for a left back when Patrice Evra currently occupies the No 3 shirt at Old Trafford?

Will Baines be that much of an improvement on the veteran Frenchman? Sportsmail asked Opta to crunch the numbers and compare the two.



Replacement? David Moyes has launched another bid for Leighton Baines - but does he need him given Patrice Evra's continuing contribution to Manchester United's success



Not Needed: David Moyes is hard chasing a left back when he has more pressing needs in other areas of his squad

TALE OF THE TAPE

Leighton Baines

Patrice Evra 28 Age 32 Kirkby, Merseyside Birthplace Dakar, Senegal 5ft 7in Height 5ft 9in England: 18 caps, 1 goal Internationals France: 49 caps, 0 goals 272 Premier League apps 241 19 PL goals 6 27 Yellow cards 29 0 Red cards 0 105 Wins 171 79 Draws 36 88 Losses 34 357 Goals for 521 325 Goals against 201 394 PL Points 549

Looking at their performances over the Barclays Premier League opening weekend, and over the whole of the 2012-13 season, the stats throw up some interesting conclusions. As a general rule, Baines is a more potent attacking force and Evra is the better defender.

The Everton and England man, who started every match under David Moyes last season, had more successful passes, attempted three times as many crosses and created a whopping five times as many chances as his Manchester United counterpart.



Robin van Persie scored 26 league goals last season, the attraction that has Moyes salivating is the thought of the Dutchman getting on the end of one of 241 crosses that Baines put into the box, compared with just 87 crosses delivered by Evra in his 34 appearances.

Strangely, Baines and Evra each had five assists last season, but with Baines creating 116 chances and Evra just 24, the lack of the assists could be laid at the door of misfiring striker Nikica Jelavic who scored just seven league goals despite high quality service.

Again, Baines having a cross completion rate just 1.1 per cent better than Evra does not necessarily mean his crossing was bad, just that the Everton strikers' struggling impacted Baines' statistics.

Baines is a better dribbler with a 44.8 per cent success rate in 67 dribbles, compared with 41.2 per cent on 68 dribbles for Evra, but the latter is a much better user of the ball, with a pass completion rate 4.8 per cent better.

Source: Opta - The heat map (above) and touch map (below) show that Leighton Baines (right for both) was much more active than Patrice Evra (left for both) on the opening Premier League weekend. However, despite being statistically better, Baines' Everton drew 2-2 with Norwich City while Evra's Manchester United won 4-1



Source: Opta



It is on the back foot and in the air where the Frenchman comes into his own. Although Baines had more interceptions and made more tackles over the course of the season, he played four full matches more, and it is likely that Evra would have surpassed his totals based on their averages.

Source: Opta

Evra won 2.4 per cent more of his tackles, blocked twice as many shots, and was much more willing to put his head in where it hurts - he won 62.2 per cent of his 111 aerial duels, compared to just 39.3 per cent of 28 aerial duels for Baines.

The Manchester United captain also made more than twice the number of clearances, 165 to 75, and nearly three times as many headed clearances, 111 to 36. Baines did win more of his ground duels, 61 per cent to 52.4 per cent, however.

Although Baines is known for his free-kick taking, he only scored one more goal over the course of the season, as Evra used his potency in the air to become an attacking threat from corners. In fact he only attempted three more shots than Evra despite playing four more matches.

Evra is known for his fiery temper and fierce competitive spirit but their disciplinary records for last season are surprisingly similar. Evra committed 34 fouls picking up three yellow cards, while Baines gave away 30 free-kicks with four yellow cards. Neither was sent off in 2012-13.

In the past weekend's matches, Baines recorded better numbers in almost every statistical category, but Manchester United were 4-1 winners away to Swansea while Everton succumbed to a 2-2 draw at Norwich.

Baines had a better pass completion percentage, more passes and more tackles.



Comparison: Patrice Evra was much better defensively, and in the air, than Leighton Baines...

... But Baines was a much more potent attacking force, creating five times as many chances and putting in many more crosses into the box

Does this move make sense?

The main attraction for Moyes would be to bring in Baines and, in theory, provide more support to an already firing Robin van Persie.



As mentioned above, Van Persie getting on the end of Leighton Baines crosses and corners would be a lot more lethal than the 2012-13 version of Nikica Jelavic, and we could expect Baines to provide more assists were he to move to Old Trafford.

However, Patrice Evra is a proven winner and is known as a leading presence in the Old Trafford dressing room.



Leadership: Patrice Evra is popular in the Manchester United dressing room, and captained the side while Nemanja Vidic was injured

The future: Baines is four years younger than Evra and in his prime years

Combination: David Moyes will be salivating at the prospect of Robin van Persie getting on the end of Leighton Baines' expert delivery

While club captain Nemanja Vidic was out injured, the 32-year-old captained the club ahead of the likes of Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand.



In fact, previous boss Sir Alex Ferguson praised Evra's leadership qualities on several occasions.

'He's a very popular player with a good personality, which is important to have if you’re captain of a club like ours.

'He’s very friendly and has got a good humour about him, but he’s also quite a determined lad.'

Defensive shift: If Baines did arrive, Moyes may consider using Phil Jones more at right back, given Rafael's propensity for getting forward

Manchester United actually conceded three more goals than Everton last season, and with another attacking full back on the left hand side United could become exposed to quick counter attacks.

Starting right back Rafael is another that loves to get forward, although he is expected to be out for a month with a hamstring injury, and pairing those two as part of a four-man defence could spell danger for the defending champions.

Moyes may consider employing Phil Jones or Chris Smalling more in the position, but that would be a mistake given their lack of natural ability on the ball when compared to Rafael.

Midfield steel: Manchester United have needs in other areas of the squad, with Marouane Fellaini another target

Source: Opta - Marouane Fellaini's heat and touch maps show how the midfielder is a true box-to-box presence



If Moyes is able to get Marouane Fellaini and uses him as a midfield anchor that may compensate for the loss of Evra's defensive skills, but this is a Manchester United team that scored 86 goals last season and already has four this year - to add more attacking options seems unnecessary when there are weaknesses in other areas of the squad.

Fellaini did show his worth as a box-to-box midfielder in the draw with Norwich. As well as completing 78 of 88 passes, he completed all four of his tackles and made seven clearances, so perhaps Moyes' priority should be on securing his services rather than another left back.

There are other considerations in any possible deal, primarily Baines is four years younger than Evra and is in his prime. Before last season, and the arrival of some competition in the form of Alexander Buttner improving his performances, Evra was criticised for lacking in concentration and making costly errors.



Evra will eventually have to be replaced, but it seems odd that Moyes would chase Baines now, given his Manchester United side have other more pressing needs.