Sterling making his speed last for Liverpool

Tracking data shows Liverpool winger has sprinted more minutes than any player this season

Raheem Sterling has spent more time doing high-speed sprinting than any player

With one goal and no assists in his last seven appearances in the Barclays Premier League, Raheem Sterling's recent drop in form has coincided with one for Liverpool, too.

But the winger cannot be faulted for his efforts in looking to speed things up. Sterling has spent more than 23 minutes at a high-speed sprint in the BPL, the most of all players in the competition.

Next in the list is Everton defender Seamus Coleman, noted for his attacking forays down the right flank, while at No 10 is West Ham United's Carl Jenkinson, who last week equalled the match Moussa Sissoko as running the fastest this season.

Player	Minutes/ high speed sprinting
Raheem Sterling	23.3
Seamus Coleman	22.4
Stewart Downing	20.9
Jesus Navas	19.7
Ahmed Elmohamady	19.3
Jamie Vardy	19.1
George Boyd	18.8
Nathaniel Clyne	18.8
Wayne Routledge	18.5
Carl Jenkinson	18.4

Branislav Ivanovic's runs down the right have helped Chelsea towards the title

John Terry equalling David Unsworth as the Barclays Premier League's top-scoring defender took much of the headlines as Chelsea moved one win from the title withvictory at Leicester City on Wednesday evening. The Chelsea captain is just one of Chelsea's attack-minded defenders, who have contributed 19 goals and 16 assists in all competitions this season.

At King Power Stadium, Branislav Ivanovic collected his fifth assist of the campaign for Didier Drogba's equaliser. The Serb's rampaging runs down the right have formed a crucial part of Jose Mourinho's quest for the title, with Ivanovic equalling his best Barclays Premier League total of assists (five in 2009/10).

Only Kieran Trippier, of Burnley, has covered more ground than Ivanovic from a full-back position this term.

BPL full-backs in 2014/15

Player	Km covered	Sprints
Kieran Trippier	356.80	1,698
Branislav Ivanovic	335.84	1,653
Daryl Janmaat	334.65	1,673
Aaron Cresswell	334.29	1,766
Joel Ward	315.98	1,390
Neil Taylor	309.88	1,549

Burnley have run the furthest and sprinted the most of the bottom seven sides

With four full matchweeks to go, a lot of the focus is on the fight against relegation, where the bottom seven teams are separated by nine points and with plenty of "six pointers" on the horizon.

If points were awarded for fitness and distances covered Burnley would be far from the bottom slot they occupy at present.

The Clarets tracking data reveals a different approach to running, especially compared with the sides immediately above them. Since the start of March, Queens Park Rangers have covered more than 8km less than Burnley per BPL match, while both the Rangers and Sunderland trail the Clarets by almost 100 sprints per match.

Team	Km/ match	Sprints/ match
Burnley	115.80	542
Newcastle	113.25	535.3
Hull City	111.75	504.9
Leicester City	111.23	497.6
Aston Villa	110.53	518.9
Sunderland	109.98	455.3
QPR	107.22	457.5

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy has run the fastest among BPL forwards

One of the key men for Leicester City if they are to continue their recent revival is likely to be Jamie Vardy.

The former Fleetwood Town forward showed glimpses of his ability in the 5-3 win over Manchester United in September, in what was his third top-flight appearance.

Vardy has shown his pace by recording the fastest speed of any Barclays Premier League striker this season. But his job is not just about sprinting and so with three goals and three assists in his last six appearances Vardy is adding an end product to his speed.

Fastest strikers in the 2014/15 BPL

Player	Top speed (Km/h)
Jamie Vardy	34.94
Gabriel Agbonlahor	34.87
Mario Balotelli	34.78
David Nugent	34.71
Diego Costa	34.70
Marouane Chamakh	34.69
Diafra Sakho	34.68

Source: http://www.premierleague.com