Player Focus: Does Baines Deserve to Start Upon His Return From Injury?

When Leighton Baines limped off in the 50th minute during Everton’s 3-3 draw with Liverpool last month, fans of the Toffees were justifiably gutted that the left-back had to leave the field of play injured. Many had expected youngster John Stones to come in as his stand in while Baines recovered from a fractured toe he sustained in the stalemate.

Bryan Oviedo instead was drafted in at left-back for the 4-0 win and the Costa Rican hasn’t looked back since. Oviedo is currently Everton’s highest rated player, with a WhoScored rating of 7.64 following a highly impressive 4 consecutive starts for the Toffees. In that period, the 23-year-old has netted 2 goals, registered 2 assists and been awarded 1 man of the match award as a result of his performance in Everton’s surprise 1-0 win at Manchester United.

The full-back has proven to a be a more-than-adequate stand-in for Baines having helped the Merseysiders pick up 10 points from a possible 12 and aided in seeing their unbeaten run stretch to 9 league games. Nevertheless, regardless of his performances, Baines is tipped to come back into Roberto Martínez’s starting XI upon his return from injury, with it reported that he may be in the squad to face Swansea this weekend.

The 29-year-old has now started all but 10 of the Toffees' last 168 Premier League matches, highlighting not only how imperative a player he has been for Everton since signing from Wigan, but also his remarkable fitness levels, as proven by how much ground he covers, as shown in his heatmap from this season. The England international regularly presses forward to assist higher up the pitch and provide a further outlet for his side.

Like Baines, though, Oviedo has performed in a similar capacity, as his heatmap highlights, with the Costa Rica international pressing forward to offer another threat for the Merseysiders. However, what perhaps stands him in higher stead when compared to Baines is that he covers even more ground and that has certainly had an effect, with Everton conceding only 2 goals in their last 4 matches.

The differences in tackles per game between Baines (2.9) and Oviedo (2.8) in their starts this season is as little as that between their interceptions (1.1 to 1.2). Focusing on the attacking side of each respective players games and it’s herein that the difference between the duo begins to show.

Baines and Oviedo both boast WhoScored strengths of ‘crossing’ and ‘key passes’ and the two have been able to continuously exhibit these facets of their game during their time on the pitch, such is their insistence to push forward at any given opportunity. However, while the former is renowned for his delivery into the box, highlighted in his average of 1.1 accurate crosses per game, Oviedo is outdoing Baines in this respect, with the Costa Rican currently averaging 1.8 per encounter.

Evidently, Oviedo is the better of the pairing at picking out a teammate when putting balls into the box from the wing and ensuring that Romelu Lukaku’s aerial ability is maximised, with the Belgian boasting a WhoScored strength of ‘headed attempts’. Yet, in relation to key passes, Baines is the better performer, with the Englishman averaging 1.3 key passes per game to Oviedo’s 1.

However, the Costa Rican has 2 assists to his name since coming into the starting XI, compared to Baines' 0, suggesting that while Oviedo isn’t providing as regularly for Everton as his fellow left-back, his key passes are of a much higher standard for the attack.

Boasting a strength of ‘taking set-pieces’ means Baines can offer a creative threat in attacking dead ball situations for the club, while both of his goals this season came from free-kicks. With Oviedo in the team, the set-piece duty has fallen to the likes of Steven Pienaar, Kevin Mirallas and Gerard Deulofeu, with the success from these scenarios dropping somewhat with Baines unavailable.

Nevertheless, with Oviedo evidently impressing at left-back, it would be understandably unfair to relegate him back to the bench upon Baines’ return. Granted, the latter has become an integral member of the Everton team since joining in 2007, but the form of the former since coming into the starting XI has left Martínez with a selection predicament that needs to be delicately approached.

It’s expected that Oviedo will start this weekend against Swansea, regardless of whether Baines travels to South Wales or not, with Martínez unlikely to risk the England international with ahead of the hectic festive period. However, upon his full return from injury, the Spaniard has a tough choice to make with regards to who his regular left-back should be for the second half of the season, with Oviedo highly impressive when handed the opportunity to start.

Should Roberto Martínez recall Leighton Baines at the expense of Bryan Oviedo upon his return to full fitness? Let us know in the comments below