France vs Germany preview World Cup 2014: A statistical look at the quarter-final in Rio

WhoScored.com take a look at the stats to suggest how the upcoming matches may pan out and where each game could be won and lost

Paul Pogba will feature for France against Germany

The ball gets rolling with a battle between two of Europe's most successful footballing nations as France face Germany on Friday.

Though they were admittedly handed a favourable group draw Les Bleus have surpassed the expectations of many, particularly given the blow of Franck Ribery's late withdrawal from the squad. Deschamps side have coped admirably in his absence though, netting 10 times to this stage, with the often undervalued Mathieu Valbuena (7.98 WhoScored rating) and Karim Benzema (8.11) particularly impressive in attack.

They've tested the opposition keeper often - only Belgium have had more shots on target (31) having played 30 minutes more - whilst also keeping 3 clean sheets at the other end. With Antoine Griezmann likely to be restored to the side to allow Benzema to move to a central position, the tactical set-up of each team will be similar. There were notions of a 'false 9' being deployed where Germany are concerned, though Thomas Muller has been used as a pretty traditional centre-forward to now.

He has continued an excellent World Cup record in this tournament and the Germans, as expected, have looked efficient going forward. However, defensively they have been far less stable than we have become accustomed to, with Joachim Low's insistence on playing four centre-backs across the defence having its pitfalls. Injuries in the backline may actually have a positive effect, forcing Philipp Lahm into a full-back role to mark Griezmann, a winger whose movement could prove hard to handle for a more cumbersome, makeshift right-back.

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings.