Premier League Player Rankings: Hazard Falls, De Gea Rises, Grealish Enters
Welcome to the latest edition of our 2014-15 Premier League player rankings, continuing for another season in its mission to quantify the form of England's top-tier players.
We have three new entries as some of our stalwarts drop from the top 20 altogether, and there are other adjustments as some of the more established players (particularly Chelsea ones) begin to drop off.
The rankings are formed based on players' last four games, with slightly more emphasis placed on their most recent outings.
Only Premier League performances are counted, and one-week wonders do not find their way in by default (David De Gea did not qualify in Week 7 for one great showing but now has after demonstrating consistently strong form).
Take a look to see if you agree with our selections, and if you feel like we've missed anyone, let us know in the comments section below.
Dropouts
1 of 21
Aaron Lennon, Everton: Two no-shows in a row against relegation-threatened clubs.
Olivier Giroud, Arsenal: His form has declined over the past few weeks, and he looked poor against Swansea City.
Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur: His midfield are a mess, so he's getting nothing in terms of service.
20. Robert Huth, Leicester City
2 of 21
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
How's this for a contender for under-the-radar January signing of the season? Robert Huth has been phenomenal since joining Leicester City on loan from Stoke City.
He's taken up the Martin Skrtel position in Nigel Pearson's back three, playing the central role and simply being asked to smash his way through games. He's showing excellent intuition and reading of the game, too but, mostly, he's just bruising through opposing players.
19. Jack Grealish, Aston Villa
3 of 21
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Jack Grealish's rise to prominence inside the space of two months has been a real sight to behold; he's mixing it every week with bigger, stronger players, but he's trouncing them with superior technique and skill.
His mazy run and assist for Aston Villa's winning goal against West Ham was fantastic, hitting the byline after beating two men and sliding the ball into Tom Cleverley's path. It was his best game to date and caps a wonderful little streak.
18. Federico Fernandez, Swansea City
4 of 21
Last Week: 20
Differential: +2
Federico Fernandez followed up his strong performance at Stoke City last weekend with another good one at the Emirates Stadium on Monday. He and Ashley Williams got a little lucky at times but deserved a clean sheet in the end thanks to their dogged defending.
He's not a very flashy player, but he has a calming influence and has settled the Swans down post-Chico in the same way he settled Argentine down when they were in need of an Ezequiel Garay partner. He doesn't make mistakes and gets it done.
17. Willian, Chelsea
5 of 21
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Glen Johnson has a habit of making wingers look better than they are, but Willian has been thriving recently and his performance against Liverpool is simply the tip of the iceberg.
He's managed to lock Juan Cuadrado out of the reckoning for a spot on the right, with his ridiculous work rate and improving final-third efficiency extremely notable in these end-of-season Chelsea displays.
He was brilliant against Crystal Palace in the game that won the Blues the title, and he was brilliant this weekend too.
16. Fabian Delph, Aston Villa
6 of 21
Last Week: 18
Differential: +2
Fabian Delph has hit a new level of form since Tim Sherwood has taken over, and his adaption to a half-LCM, half-temporary left-wing role has really helped the team in the attacking areas.
He's able to stretch his legs and push forward, link with Jack Grealish on the left and cross for Christian Benteke in the centre. He's the captain, the driving force in midfield and the leader of a newly-inspired side.
15. Marc Albrighton, Leicester City
7 of 21
Last Week: 17
Differential: +2
Marc Albrighton's been impressing us with his brilliant attacking qualities of late, but against Southampton it was his defensive assets that stood out.
His energy and willingness to run up and down mean he's a perfect fit the wing-back role, and not only did he get forward to cross, he also tracked runs back and made a few vital interventions to provide his 'keeper with help one-on-one.
14. Santi Cazorla, Arsenal
8 of 21
Last Week: 10
Differential: -4
Santi Cazorla had another very tidy week on the ball, but perhaps didn't do enough in the face of a resolute, determined Swansea City midfield.
He racked up almost 10 percent of the entire game's possession for himself, per WhoScored.com, but he failed to deliver any penetrative passes or break the lines with runs.
13. Simon Mignolet, Liverpool
9 of 21
Last Week: 13
Differential: None
Simon Mignolet put in another good showing this week, dominating aerially and looking quite comfortable stopping shots. Chelsea didn't exactly put their heart and soul into attempting to win the game, but Mignolet again came out looking good.
Given his direct competition for the Belgian No. 1 shirt Thibaut Courtois was tending the opposition goal, it will have been an important afternoon for him.
12. Ki Sung-Yueng, Swansea City
10 of 21
Last Week: 14
Differential: +2
Swansea City's midfield, as a collective, put in a brilliant, battling performance against Arsenal. They were fortunate the Gunners forgot their shooting boots but deserve credit nonetheless.
Ki Sung-Yueng was a "key" part of this setup, as he, Jack Cork and Jonjo Shelvey covered every blade of grass to block shots and intercept passes. The South Korean's all-round impressive season continues.
11. Branislav Ivanovic, Chelsea
11 of 21
Last Week: 7
Differential: -4
Branislav Ivanovic had a quiet game, failing to get forward too much but never truly looking troubled in the defensive third either.
It seemed a case of him winding down after an exhausting season; he's played close to the maximum amount of minutes possible in the Premier League, plus any cup exertions he's been given.
He also fouled quite a lot.
10. Esteban Cambiasso, Leicester City
12 of 21
Last Week: 9
Differential: -1
Esteban Cambiasso's attitude throughout this season has been truly fantastic; never relenting, he's been Nigel Pearson's midfield general—his eyes and ears on the pitch.
He almost single-handedly dragged Leicester City out of their rut, and now his team-mates have gained confidence, he's playing a key part in a hardworking midfield. His driving runs and passing range continue to impress.
He's unfortunate to move down, but a certain compatriot lit up Queens Park Rangers for a hat-trick and surges upward as a result.
9. John Terry, Chelsea
13 of 21
Last Week: 11
Differential: +2
John Terry nodded home from a corner this weekend. In other news, the sky is blue and pigs still can't fly.
The goal took him to the top of the list for all-time Premier League goalscoring defenders with 39, per the Daily Mail, and he now sits ahead of David Unsworth (who took penalties to boost his tally).
Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Liverpool was enough to keep the title-winning party going.
8. Eden Hazard, Chelsea
14 of 21
Last Week: 4
Differential: -4
Eden Hazard had a bit of nightmare day by his own standards against Liverpool. Absolutely nothing he tried came off as Chelsea eased to a 1-1 draw with the Reds.
The iffy performance is certain to raise some eyebrows given he was allowed to spend the week preceding the match relaxing near the ocean, per the Mirror, and there's a chance Jose Mourinho shuts him down for the season soon.
7. Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
15 of 21
Last Week: 15
Differential: +8
Sergio Aguero takes a big step forward in our rankings this week courtesy of the hat-trick he scored against Queens Park Rangers.
He moved onto 25 Premier League goals for the season—five ahead of Harry Kane—and it looks certain that the Argentine will haul in the Golden Boot award. Given that he's really starting to catch fire, it's almost a shame that the season is about to end.
But Aguero might have found the secret to avoiding injury in the future, and was quoted by Jamie Jackson of The Guardian as saying:
"I had to change a lot of things, starting with my food. I needed a healthier way of life.
Touch wood, I haven’t had any muscle injuries this season, only the knee problem.
"
6. Christian Benteke, Aston Villa
16 of 21
Last Week: 5
Differential: -1
Christian Benteke didn't score for once, but he was still integral to Aston Villa's good play against West Ham at the weekend. He's more than just a goalscorer in the final third.
The Villans' reliable left-sided build-up play often featured him as a conduit, and although Jack Grealish and Tom Cleverley stole the limelight, Benteke's distracting of the defence and pressuring of young Reece Burke created space for others to play in.
He moves down but only because there were several stunning performances from just below.
5. David De Gea, Manchester United
17 of 21
Last Week: 8
Differential: +3
David De Gea is almost solely responsible for Manchester United's victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday evening, and his team-mates' thanks at the end of the fixture proved they knew it too.
He made an inhuman stop right after Palace had equalised to ensure his side stayed level, could recover and go on to claim the victory; he made several other key saves throughout, battling a turning tide of red and blue, roared on by the home crowd.
A magnificent performance.
4. David Silva, Manchester City
18 of 21
Last Week: 6
Differential: +2
David Silva was at his mercurial, magical best on Sunday as Manchester City destroyed Queens Park Rangers, although he was given an awful lot of room to play in.
He slipped between the midfield and defensive lines with consummate ease, feeding Sergio Aguero with passes and even getting in behind to round the 'keeper and score one himself. It's been a good goalscoring season for the Spaniard.
3. Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
19 of 21
Last Week: 2
Differential: -1
Some of Mesut Ozil's passing was truly sublime on Monday, but ultimately he failed to make the breakthrough. In the context of the result he wasn't good enough—he couldn't break Swansea down—but in a vacuum his performance was rather decent.
He moved the ball on quickly to give impetus to attacks and produced some stunning deliveries over longer distances. Unfortunately, try as he might to pick the lock, his forwards' off day in front of goal stunted any chance of an assist.
2. Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool
20 of 21
Last Week: 3
Differential: +1
Once again, Philippe Coutinho flew the lone flag for Liverpool as his side squeezed out a draw against Chelsea. He was the Reds' best player, a Man-of-the-Match candidate and continues to set himself apart from his team-mates.
There was plenty of classic Coutinho dribbling and wriggling between challenges, creating chances and selflessly serving up others. His improvement in the second half of the season has been jaw-dropping to say the least.
1. Francis Coquelin, Arsenal
21 of 21
Last Week: 1
Differential: None
Everything was absolutely fine, Arsene Wenger, until you took Francis Coquelin off.
Swansea City offered very little threat on the counter thanks to his ability to fill important gaps and drop into dangerous zones, but when he was taken off, the middle of the field became a haven for Bafetimbi Gomis to enjoy. We saw this at St. Mary's several months ago: As soon as Ronald Koeman took off holding midfielder Harrison Reed to go for the win, the Swans nabbed one on the counter and won 1-0.
Arsenal lost 1-0 on Monday for two reasons: profligacy in front of goal (every shot straight at Lukasz Fabianski) and exposing themselves to the counter by taking off our No. 1-ranked player.
