Bundesliga
Omar Marmoush is setting the Bundesliga alight and sits at the top of the scoring charts, while Victor Boniface has four goals in his last four games, so let's take a look at the numbers behind their excellent starts to the season ahead of the Matchday 7 meeting between Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Marmoush not only leads the league with eight goals already this season, he also tops the Bundesliga for shots taken with 27 alongside Deniz Undav, while Boniface lies in third with 24.
In addition to his eight goals, Marmoush also has four assists, which is just two away from last season’s total of six. Altogether, the Egyptian is already on 12 goal contributions this season, having registered 18 in the 2023/24 season.
His incredible start to this season has made him the first Frankfurt player to score eight goals in six games since Anthony Yeboah in 1993/94. He doesn't just lead the league in terms of goals, however, with his xG of 4.8 being the highest across the Bundesliga, as is his shot efficiency (+3.2).
Boniface has also impressed in the early stages of this season, outscoring his xG of 2.9 with four goals in his last four games - displaying his ability to score from even the most difficult of chances.
His four goals and one assist in the opening six games put him joint-top with Florian Wirtz for goal involvements in the Leverkusen team.
Despite his injury in the second half of last season, the Nigerian still finished as Leverkusen’s top scorer with 14 goals, in addition to eight assists. Outside of goal contributions, Boniface offers a physical presence that can either hold the ball up or run in behind. So far this season, he has won 49% of his duels.
Marmoush is of a different ilk to his Leverkusen counterpart, with his main strengths being speed, dribbling and agility. His relentless desire to run at defenders has led to him being the most fouled player in the Bundesliga so far, with 19 fouls received.
However, he doesn’t shirk a challenge and has won 54% of his duels in the opening six games. This, alongside the fact that he has completed the most sprints (177) in the Frankfurt team, highlight Marmoush’s defensive work rate which has been key to his side’s strong start to the season.
His ability to maintain such focus and intensity throughout the 90 minutes is evidenced by the fact that has scored three times this season in the last 15 minutes of the game, the most in the league.
Both players have made outstanding starts to the campaign, which should make for explosive viewing when they come head-to-head at the BayArena.