Morgan Schneiderlin will get another chance to prove he is among Europe’s best midfielders as he goes head-to-head with Cesc Fabregas this weekend.

The Frenchman will again have a key role at Premier League leaders Chelsea on Sunday as Ronald Koeman’s men kick-off the final ten games of a potentially historic season.

Up against him will be one of the world’s leading midfielders in the shape of Fabregas.

Schneiderlin, who has been repeatedly linked with moves to various big clubs this summer such as Arsenal and Manchester United, will get another chance to shine in front of the live TV cameras.

Though Fabregas has been used in a slightly more attacking role than Schneiderlin on a few occasions this season, it is the Frenchman who actually has the better of the statistical battle in this campaign – underlining his quality and importance to the Saints side.

Schneiderlin has outscored Fabregas in the Premier League in 2014/15 with three goals to the Spaniard’s two, though Fabregas has notched a massive 15 assists – one of the few areas he can actually better his opponent.

Given the way he has developed as a player, you would perhaps expect Schneiderlin to have the edge when it comes to defensive duties.

He certainly does, with an average of 3.3 successful tackles a game compared to 2.7 from Fabregas, who has two European Champions and one World Cup winner’s medal in his collection.

Schneiderlin also boasts a much higher success rate when it comes to interceptions and competing for, and winning, aerial duels as well.

Therefore you might expect former Arsenal and Barcelona star Fabregas to have the edge when it comes to using the ball – but again it is Schneiderlin who has been the better of the two in this top flight campaign.

Fabregas has attempted more passes per game than Schneiderlin, but it is the French star who has the highest pass completion rate of 89.3 per cent compared to 86.3 per cent.

That pass completion rate is fifth of all players who have featured in Schneiderlin’s position in the Premier League this season.

Only Mathieu Flaimi of Arsenal, Manchester City’s Fernando, Michael Carrick of Manchester United and Swansea’s Ki Sung-yeung can boast a better pass success rate than Schneiderlin.

When comparing Schneiderlin’s tackling to players in a similar position, again only a handful have better stats – Lucas (Liverpool), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace) and Ryan Mason (Tottenham).

It is telling that Schneiderlin is the only player to feature in the top five for all of the most key areas for a central midfielder.

That underscores just what a huge all-round talent he is, and why Saints face a real fight on their hands to keep a player who joined them seven years ago this summer from Strasbourg as an 18-year-old.

That ability has been recognised by France, with whom he went to the World Cup last summer.