There are clear similarities between the two midfielders, as both are creative players who like to make things happen in the final third, but combine that with an impressive work ethic and tenacious willingness to get stuck in off the ball and help their team defensively, making each something of an all-round midfield player.

They also both find themselves on the fringes of the England team, with hopes of featuring more regularly, having earned a handful of international caps during 2022, although it was Gallagher who received the call-up from Gareth Southgate for the World Cup at the end of the year.

While Gallagher and Ward-Prowse have played a similar number of games in the Premier League this season – 20 for the Chelsea man and 22 for his opponent at Southampton – the strong competition for places at Stamford Bridge means half of Gallagher’s appearances have come from the bench, while Ward-Prowse has played every minute for the Saints. However, when adjusting for minutes played, it is possible to compare their performance in 2022/23.

Goal threat

Goals is one area where Ward-Prowse definitely has the edge, helped significantly by his status as one of the Premier League’s best free-kick specialists and his team’s penalty taker, while Gallagher recently stated that finding the net more frequently for the Blues to match his tally of eight at Crystal Palace last season was a key personal aim.

Whichever way you look at it, Ward-Prowse wins here with his five goals to Gallagher’s one, but when it comes to shooting accuracy the Chelsea man just edges it, with his five shots on target to 10 despite playing less than half of the minutes, and Gallagher’s shooting accuracy of finding the target with 62 per cent of his efforts is also slightly higher than Ward-Prowse’s 55 per cent.

Creative spark

It is a similar story when you look at the opportunities the two midfielders have made for their team-mates, with Ward-Prowse posting the higher numbers but Gallagher edging it when you consider efficiency.

Ward-Prowse has two assists to Gallagher’s one, and the Southampton captain’s 45 key passes remains superior to Gallagher’s 16 even when you adjust for minutes played – albeit narrowly with Ward-Prowse producing one every 44 minutes to Gallagher’s one every 52 minutes.

However, when it comes to crossing, often considered one of set-piece specialist Ward-Prowse’s strongest attributes, it is actually Gallagher who has a slight advantage, finding a team-mate with six of his deliveries into the box, only two behind Ward-Prowse despite the latter’s advantage in game time, while the younger Chelsea man has a 30 per cent success rate with crosses, compared to 19 per cent for his opposite number at Southampton.

Interestingly, their more general passing accuracy is identical down to the decimal point, with 83.1 per cent, although when you look just at passes in the opposition half Gallagher’s only drops to 74 per cent, slightly better than Ward-Prowse’s 70 per cent.

However, their respective willingness to take on an opponent with the ball is where you see a difference in approaches, with Gallagher’s 10 successful dribbles double that of the Saints midfielder, giving the former one every 83 minutes, significantly higher than Ward-Prowse’s one every 396 minutes.

Getting stuck in

They are both midfielders who aren’t afraid to put in a tackle, with 19 successful challenges each this season, which obviously favours Gallagher due to minutes played, but also reflects Chelsea’s increased willingness to go hunting the ball with a high press, while Southampton tend to defend deeper and allow their opponents possession more often.

That means success rate is a more accurate way to judge their tackling, and Gallagher again comes out on top, although more narrowly, winning possession with 68 per cent of his tackles to Ward-Prowse’s 54 per cent.

It is even closer when other defensive statistics are adjusted for minutes played, perhaps surprisingly given Chelsea tend to spend more time on the ball than Southampton and Gallagher usually operates a little higher up the pitch than Ward-Prowse.

Although Ward-Prowse’s 20 clearances are twice that of Gallagher and the Southampton man has also registered 27 interceptions to the Blue’s 12, those margins are swung ever so slightly in our midfielder’s favour when adjusted – Gallagher making a clearance every 83 minutes to Ward-Prowse’s 99, and an interception every 69 minutes compared to 73.