Varying fortunes for Aussies

Oceania's new Player of the Year, Tim Cahill, will be looking forward to the derby.

Oceania's new Player of the Year, Tim Cahill, will be looking forward to Sunday's Merseyside derby with relish.

The Everton midfielder has enjoyed a superb first season in the Premiership, providing the engine at the heart of the Toffees race for a Champions League spot.

The former Millwall man has bagged an impressive six goals this season, making him Everton's joint-top goalscorer in the top tier. Cahill's attacking instincts are also borne out by the 38 shots on goal the Antipodean star has mustered from inside the opposition box.

Only seven other players in The Premiership have managed more close-range efforts this season, and none of them are midfielders like Cahill.

	Player	Team	Shots from Inside Box
1	Henry	Arsenal	60
2	Cole	Fulham	48
3	Johnson	Crystal Palace	46
4	Angel	Aston Villa	45
5	Heskey	Birmingham City	43
6	Dickov	Blackburn Rovers	42
=	Drogba	Chelsea	42
8	Cahill	Everton	38
9	Rooney	Manchester United	37
10	Bent	Everton	36
=	Fowler	Manchester City	36
=	Lampard	Chelsea	36
=	Sibierski	Manchester City	36

Cahill's aerial ability has also been well represented, with the 25-year-old dynamo bagging four of his six goals with his head, the second-best tally so far. Indeed no other player in the top division has had more headed attempts on goal than the Goodison favourite.

 	Player	Team	Headed Shots
1	Cahill	Everton	28
2	Angel	Aston Villa	26
3	Crouch	Southampton	25
=	Heskey	Birmingham City	25
=	Sibierski	Manchester City	25

However, while the new Oceania Player of the Year prepares to do battle at Anfield on Sunday, last year's winner will be watching from the stands. Harry Kewell has endured a disappointing season with Liverpool.

The former Leeds star's time under Rafa Benitez has been peppered by injury and poor form and more recently by some uncomfortably public disagreements with his frustrated boss. When compared to Cahill's form this term, Kewell's season has fallen well short of expectation.

	Tim Cahill	Harry Kewell
Minutes On Pitch	2,072	1,203
Goal Attempts
Goals	6	1
Shots On Target	15	10
Shots Off Target	27	15
Shooting Accuracy	36%	40%
Chance Conversion	14%	4%
Passing
Goal Assists	5	2
Defending
Tackles Made	103	34
Tackles Won %	72%	76%
Discipline
Fouls	65	11
Yellow Cards	6	0
Red Cards	1	0