Barcelona's attacking options have been severely limited this season following long-term injuries to Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez.
As a result, Quique Setien's side were given the green light to sign an emergency replacement in January, and they brought in former Middlesbrough striker Martin Braithwaite from relegation candidates Leganes.
The 28-year-old failed to register a goal or assist in his first three appearances for La Blaugrana prior to the coronavirus suspension, and the Catalan giants are widely expected to bolster their attacking options in the near future.
Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez is a player who continues to be strongly linked with a switch to Camp Nou after impressing for Antonio Conte's side this season.
The 22-year-old would likely be a long-term replacement for Suarez, who is 11 years his senior, although the former Liverpool man had enjoyed a strong run of performances for Barca prior to his injury.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how the two out-and-out strikers have fared this season.
GOALS
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Both players have chalked up 11 goals in their respective leagues during the 2019-20 campaign, although Suarez can boast the better record of 0.65 goals per game compared to Martinez's 0.50.
The Inter Milan forward has netted five times in six Champions League appearances compared to Suarez's three in five. Despite the Uruguayan's long-term layoff, he is only two goals behind Martinez in all competitions this season, with the Barcelona man registering 14 from 22 appearances while Martinez boasts 16 from 31.
Interestingly, both forwards have two braces to their names this term and share a record of 11 right-footed and two left-footed goals in all competitions. However, Martinez had failed to score in Inter's last five games prior to the coronavirus postponement.
Six of Suarez's goals have been scored in front of his own fans compared to Martinez's five. The Argentine also boasts more headed goals (3) than Suarez (1), and the pair have only netted twice outside the area for their respective teams this season.
ASSISTS
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The two South Americans both tend to operate as out-and-out forwards, but there is a stark contrast in the duo's assist tally for the season.
Indeed, Martinez has only assisted one goal throughout the entire 2019-20 campaign, setting up Stefano Sensi's opener as Inter saw off Sampdoria 3-1 in Serie A back in September.
On the other hand, Suarez has accumulated a hefty assist haul for Setien's side with 10 in all competitions, seven of those coming in La Liga.
Interestingly, the former Liverpool man had not registered a single assist prior to November, but since then he has only failed to set up a goal in one of his last 10 matches before his injury.
Suarez chalked up a hat-trick of assists during Barcelona's 4-1 thrashing of Deportivo Alaves in December, and the 33-year-old has set up talisman Lionel Messi five times throughout the season. Nevertheless, Suarez can only boast one more key pass than Martinez this term, 28 to 27 in all competitions.
ALL-ROUND PLAY
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Martinez outnumbers Suarez in terms of shots this season, 114 to 68, although the Argentine has made nine more appearances than his counterpart in all competitions. Suarez does have the better shooting accuracy, however, with 55.8% of his attempts on target compared to Martinez's 42.1%.
Given Suarez's superior assist record, it comes as no surprise that he has 544 passes to his name this season, while Martinez has managed 403. Short pass accuracy also lies heavily in Suarez's favour, as the Uruguayan boasts a record of 69.4% accuracy compared to Martinez's 57.3%.
Meanwhile, Martinez has completed 35 successful dribbles in all competitions whereas Suarez has managed 23. However, the Inter Milan forward has been dispossessed 36 times compared to Suarez's 19.
Interestingly, the Barcelona man has a much cleaner disciplinary record than his South American counterpart. Suarez has only picked up four yellow cards all season, whereas Martinez has chalked up nine yellows and one red card during the 2019-20 campaign.
Conte's three-at-the-back system means that Martinez is often deployed alongside Romelu Lukaku as part of a front two, whereas La Blaugrana's 4-3-3 formation sees Suarez spearhead the attack with Messi and Antoine Griezmann normally occupying the wide positions. As a result, it is hardly surprising that the Uruguayan outnumbers Martinez in overall goal contributions given the quality of Barca's attacking options.
DEFENCE
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Both clubs have recorded eight clean sheets in their respective leagues this term, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Samir Handanovic continuing to stake their claims as two of the world's best goalkeepers.
Nevertheless, Martinez's defensive contribution heavily outweighs Suarez's. The Inter Milan forward has won 22 tackles in all competitions compared to a measly six for Suarez, and has made more interceptions (12) than the Barcelona man (3) this season.
Conte's men have only conceded 24 goals in 25 matches in Serie A during the 2019-20 campaign, whereas Barca have shipped 31 from 27 league outings.
Ben Knapton
