Premier League Player Rankings: Alexis Out, Smalling Up, Yaya Toure Down
Seismic changes are afoot in the Premier League player rankings as five new entries freshen up the selection and a number of players leap up and down the order. Big players losing form and one key injury has necessitated the revamp.
The rankings are based on players' last six games, with slightly more emphasis placed on their most recent outing. Only Premier League performances are counted, and typically, one-week wonders do not find their way in.
We look beyond the statistical measures and into the performance, reviewing tape and gauging impact.
It's not just goals, assists and heroic clearances that impress. It's about how a player contributes to the tactical plan at hand and what impact he has over a 90-minute period.
Take a look and see if you agree with our selections, and if you feel like we've missed anyone, let us know in the comments section below.
Dropping out / Honourable Mentions
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Dropping Out
Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal: Another anonymous showing from Alexis sees him drop out of the ranking.
Dimitri Payet, West Ham: A three-month injury, confirmed by BBC Sport, necessitates his fall from the top 20.
Santi Cazorla, Arsenal: Withdrawn at half-time after being thoroughly out-played by Tottenham Hotspur's young midfield in the north London derby.
Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham Hotspur: He and Jan Vertonghen allowed Olivier Giroud about five free headers. Fortunately (for them), he missed them all.
Jefferson Montero, Swansea City: His star has faded with Swansea's form.
Honourable Mentions
Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool
Ryan Bertrand, Southampton
20. Jack Butland, Stoke City
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Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Jack Butland's ridiculously impressive season continued under the spotlight on Saturday, putting in a strong showing against Chelsea in front of the watching world.
He's been so solid between the sticks that the fans at the Britannia Stadium aren't even missing former No. 1 Asmir Begovic—who returned to the stadium for this game as the Blues' goalkeeper—and has saved them so many points this season.
"He's an assured keeper," said Mark Hughes last month, per Pete Smith of the Stoke Sentinel. That somewhat underplays just how brilliant the 22-year-old Bristolian has been; some feel he should be pushing Joe Hart for the England goalkeeping slot.
19. Odion Ighalo, Watford
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Last Week: 15
Differential: -4
Odion Ighalo drops in our rankings after a quiet performance against Leicester City (by his own lofty recent standards).
He did strike the post, but his influence on proceedings was decidedly lacking, with Troy Deeney converting Watford's only goal from the penalty spot in the second half.
18. Hector Bellerin, Arsenal
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Last Week: 18
Differential: None
Hector Bellerin missed the north London derby due to injury. His absence was felt, as Mathieu Debuchy struggled in his place.
17. Romelu Lukaku, Everton
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Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Romelu Lukaku returns to our top 20 after a resurgence in goalscoring form. Over the last six Premier League games, he's netted five and bagged three assists to boot.
The Lukaku-Ross Barkley-Gerard Deulofeu triumvirate is beginning to click nicely, but it's the Belgian's storyline that demands the most attention as it appears he may, finally, be emerging as one of the division's best strikers.
A hulking box of potential, the 22-year-old has, at times, lacked the finesse in front of goal to be considered elite. If he carries on like this for the entire 2015-16 season, that opinion won't last much longer.
16. Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
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Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Harry Kane has five Premier League goals from his last three games. Consider the slump well and truly over. His neat finish against Petr Cech opened the scoring for Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby this weekend, and he proceeded to link play and fashion attacks throughout.
A bad start to the campaign brought on accusations of him being a "one-season wonder"; fans of rival clubs began to assume his freak goal return last season was a flash in the pan.
But Kane's all-round skill-set means he's always useful even when he's not scoring, and now he's rediscovered that finishing touch, the 22-year-old can be considered truly lethal once again.
15. Nicolas Otamendi, Manchester City
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Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Nicolas Otamendi is really starting to hash out a home in Manchester City's defensive line, and his partnership with Vincent Kompany appears to be blossoming.
The 27-year-old wasn't tested too often this week—Aston Villa managed just three shots, none of which were on target—but the Argentinian prowled the halfway line in aggressor mode, nullifying Jordan Ayew as an out-ball for the home side superbly.
After his goalscoring display against Norwich City and his man-of-the-match performance the week before in the Manchester derby, Otamendi deserves to enter the ranking.
14. Chris Smalling, Manchester United
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Last Week: 19
Differential: +5
Chris Smalling put in another accomplished, steely performance this weekend, quelling the hulking figure of Salomon Rondon.
Very few defenders relish the physical tussle the Venezuelan offers, but the Red Devils' star defender lapped up every second, putting his own combative style of defending to the test.
Manchester United haven't conceded a league goal in over a month, give up very few chances and tend to win games by establishing a clean sheet first and foremost. Smalling, 25, is key to that approach.
13. Mousa Dembele, Tottenham Hotspur
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Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Four excellent performances in a row for Mousa Dembele see him take his rightful place among the Premier League's top 20 form players. What a transformation it has been.
Pushed into a holding role against Liverpool for Jurgen Klopp's league debut, he excelled in shutting everything down in midfield, seizing his chance. Since then, he's played further forward and been a real threat; he can link, shoot, dribble and out-muscle anyone who tries to dispossess him.
Dembele, 28, can be monstrous when he can be bothered. Whatever Mauricio Pochettino's feeding him for breakfast at the moment is working wonders.
12. Yaya Toure, Manchester City
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Last Week: 8
Differential: -4
Yaya Toure had an afternoon to forget on Sunday. Manchester City's 0-0 draw with Aston Villa was made even more frustrating by the Ivorian's complete non-performance. He landed in B/R's losers column after the game.
Cutting an upset figure in the middle of the park, Toure never got going, gave the ball away quite frequently and was eventually withdrawn for Fabian Delph with 12 minutes to go.
11. Francis Coquelin, Arsenal
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Last Week: 11
Differential: None
The north London derby is exactly the type of game Francis Coquelin should relish: physical, gritty and aggressive in all the right ways.
But the truth is the Frenchman was over-run in midfield. With Santi Cazorla struggling alongside him and the Arsenal midfield outnumbered two versus three, Coquelin looked aghast as Tottenham ran riot for 70-plus minutes.
There was very little the 24-year-old could do to stem the tide on his own.
10. Virgil Van Dijk, Southampton
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Last Week: 16
Differential: +6
It's difficult to be anything other than thoroughly impressed with Virgil van Dijk; he's adjusted quickly to Premier League life and shines on a weekly basis.
Against Sunderland, he was predictably monstrous, making two excellent tracking runs to prevent chances and dominating aerially when required.
Every ball the hosts slung forward found his forehead—he's like a magnet to the ball—and the Saints closed out the win over their opponents thanks to his good work in the final five minutes.
9. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City
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Last Week: 12
Differential: +3
A truly mixed bag for Kevin De Bruyne this week: For long stretches, he looked the most threatening player on the pitch for Manchester City against Aston Villa, but he also missed a gilt-edged chance.
He was pushed into a false-nine role after Wilfried Bony's injury and drifted superbly, delivering excellent crosses that were squandered and breaching in behind the line. Sadly, he also managed to kick his own standing foot when attempting to sweep home a finish from just a few yards.
In short, he was brilliant—a true livewire—but fluffed his lines at one key moment. We won't punish him for that.
8. Bacary Sagna, Manchester City
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Last Week: 13
Differential: +5
Bacary Sagna had a tidy, solid game against Aston Villa, helping his Manchester City side to a clean sheet and further cementing his place as the club's No. 1 right-back.
Defensively, the 32-year-old wasn't troubled—Villa rarely attacked, and when they did, Scott Sinclair was bottled up fairly easily—and he was typically economical with the ball moving forward.
It wasn't a superstar showing, but Sagna moves into the top 10 anyway, due to the sheer amount of players around him dropping out or performing poorly.
7. Fernandinho, Manchester City
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Last Week: 7
Differential: None
For once, it was Fernando, not Fernandinho, who shone in the heart of Manchester City's midfield.
B/R's Rob Pollard waxed lyrical about the "other F" in midfield in his reaction piece, writing, "[He] sat deep, broke up play, made vital blocks and interceptions and, but for the crossbar, could have scored the winner in the closing minutes with a close-range header."
That all left Fernandinho a little left out. He wasn't poor like Yaya Toure, but the game sort of passed him by a little. He had no major influence in any third of the pitch.
6. Graziano Pelle, Southampton
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Last Week: 9
Differential: +3
Graziano Pelle was quietly excellent this week, making the bench for our Premier League Team of the Week thanks to a performance that included everything except a goal.
He linked played brilliantly from the front as we've come to expect, flicked a few dangerous passes into the path of team-mates for chances—one, in particular, set Dusan Tadic up for a close-range one-on-one—and held the ball up brilliantly at the end, eating the clock and grinding out the victory.
5. Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City
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Last Week: 2
Differential: -3
Riyad Mahrez had an uncharacteristically quiet game during Leicester City's win over Watford this weekend.
There were a few mazy dribbles on show, and he did make good headway down the right side on a couple of occasions. However, it was his wing-mate Marc Albrighton who saw much more of the ball and enjoyed free rein in midfield.
The 24-year-old moves down as a result.
4. Anthony Martial, Manchester United
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Last Week: 3
Differential: -1
Anthony Martial had a decent game on Saturday. Not brilliant, not bad. Just decent.
His trickery, directness and pace were again a big threat, and West Bromwich Albion struggled to keep a lid on him, gifting him one big chance that he fired straight at Boaz Myhill.
A jinking run late on from the Frenchman forced the penalty that Juan Mata converted to seal the points.
3. Eric Dier, Tottenham Hotspur
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Last Week: 6
Differential: +3
Once again, Eric Dier locked down the centre of the park and provided Tottenham Hotspur a platform to dominate. The fact that he did it against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, makes it all the more impressive.
He was far from the flashiest player on the pitch—that award goes to one of Mesut Ozil or Dele Alli—but he was one of the more effective. Arsenal found their feet late in the second half and bombarded the Spurs box with crosses, but those came from the wide areas, particularly Danny Rose's patch.
Dier's physical, commanding influence in the middle was once again felt. And to think the 21-year-old was viewed as a deputy midfielder at the start of the campaign.
2. Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
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Last Week: 4
Differential: +2
Mesut Ozil spearheaded our Premier League Team of the Week this week after a stunning display against Tottenham Hotspur.
At times, it felt like he was the only Gunners midfielder striving to come from behind and win the game; his energy, ability to find space and remarkably accurate crosses and passes were pretty much the only source of creation Arsene Wenger could rely upon.
His assist for Kieran Gibbs takes him to 10 for the season, and the 27-year-old has now managed to directly create a goal in six consecutive league showings. That's a record.
1. Jamie Vardy, Leicester City
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Last Week: 1
Differential: None
For the fourth week running, Jamie Vardy places No. 1 in the Premier League player form charts. It's the longest anyone has held top spot this season (David Silva managed three weeks prior to injury).
The 28-year-old scored in his ninth consecutive game as Leicester City ground out a 2-1 victory over a stubborn Watford outfit, stabbing home a penalty after his good run and great first touch duped Heurelho Gomes into conceding a foul.
If he scores in his next game, he'll equal Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of consecutive games with a goal, per Will Magee of the Mirror.
