Premier League Player Rankings: Chelsea and Tottenham Stars Move Up En Masse
Diego Costa's absence from Chelsea's matchday squad against Leicester City sent the fear of God through Blues fans and fantasy football players alike, but Antonio Conte's men got on just fine without him. Pedro, Eden Hazard and Marcos Alonso stepped up in his absence.
Does the Spain international striker lose his spot atop our Premier League player rankings as a result? You'll have to flick through and see.
Ranking Criteria
- It's a season-long ranking based on performances over the entire campaign—no longer does it take into account a four-to-six-week period of form (like previous editions did). Therefore, whoever is No. 1 is effectively our choice for Player of the Season should the campaign finish this week.
- Only Premier League form is considered—no Champions League, no domestic cups and no international football.
- We pore over hours of film to accurately grade the players on a weekly basis. All teams are covered properly, and experts are sought out for advice as and when required.
- Performing well on a consistent basis is key. Players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Dele Alli, who have endured poor patches spanning months this season, have a lot of work to do in order to set the record straight.
- A player must have meaningfully participated (started or played in excess of 20 minutes) in more than 50 per cent of his team's games to be eligible for the ranking. You wouldn't christen anyone Player of the Season having played less than half the games.
36-40
1 of 20
40. Michael Keane, Burnley (Previously unranked)
Marshalled Southampton's speedy attack well on Saturday, particularly when it came to dealing with Shane Long's channel runs and cutbacks.
39. Georginio Wijnaldum, Liverpool (Previously unranked)
Wijnaldum missed a couple of gilt-edged chances to win Liverpool the game against Manchester United, but he did play extremely well in all other areas.
38. Tom Heaton, Burnley (Previously unranked)
Man-mountain Heaton had to be at his best to deny Southampton a goal on Saturday, making a couple of superb saves at crucial moments.
37. Juan Mata, Manchester United (-4)
Came off the bench to good effect against Liverpool, bringing a calm to his side's passing game in the final third.
36. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City (Stay)
To his credit, he did everything he could to create a goal in the first half against Everton, sending in some brilliant low crosses. He disappeared in the second period, though.
31-35
2 of 20
35. Nathaniel Clyne, Liverpool (-1)
Clyne did not feature against Manchester United, succumbing to a late injury that ruled him out.
34. Ben Foster, West Bromwich Albion (+5)
Goodness knows what score Tottenham Hotspur would have beaten West Brom by on Saturday had it not been for the heroics of Foster.
33. Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea (-2)
Azpilicueta put in yet another solid and steady performance on Saturday, but he wasn't given too much to do against a reactive Leicester side.
32. James Milner, Liverpool (-4)
Scored the penalty that put Liverpool ahead at Old Trafford, but he struggled defensively at times. A mixed performance.
31. David Silva, Manchester City (-7)
Silva took the captain's armband late in the game and seemed the only City player still willing to try to create an opening against Everton late on.
26-30
3 of 20
30. Marcos Alonso, Chelsea (Previously unranked)
Alonso's two-goal blitz covered the loss of Diego Costa this weekend. He does find himself in some excellent shooting positions, doesn't he?
29. Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal (+3)
A dependable performance from a dependable player. Koscielny celebrated his new Arsenal contract with a clean sheet against Swansea City.
28. Nordin Amrabat, Watford (-2)
Amrabat is supposed to be in Gabon representing Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations, but injury has ruled him out, and he's stayed at home to recover.
27. Adam Forshaw, Middlesbrough (-4)
Middlesbrough's 0-0 draw with Watford wasn't the most entertaining encounter, but it featured some solid midfield play. Forshaw, as ever, was at the heart of it.
26. Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace (-5)
On duty at the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, Zaha impressed in his first competitive outing for his new nation.
21-25
4 of 20
25. Oriol Romeu, Southampton (-3)
Romeu played pretty well against Burnley. He helped control midfield and put himself about a little, preventing service to the Clarets' two strikers.
24. Idrissa Gueye, Everton (-4)
Gueye is on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal. He played 90 minutes as they won their first match 2-0 against Tunisia on Sunday.
23. Victor Moses, Chelsea (-6)
Moses came up against the impressive young Ben Chilwell on Saturday, and the two largely cancelled each other out. Neither was excellent; neither was poor.
22. Raheem Sterling, Manchester City (-11)
Even Manchester City's brightest star this season, Sterling, succumbed to the rot at Goodison Park. He did have a great shout for a penalty in the first half but generally failed to impact the game.
21. Jan Vertonghen, Tottenham Hotspur (+9)
Vertonghen has enjoyed playing on the left side of a back three, but injury might just have curtailed his season.
16-20
5 of 20
20. Jonny Evans, West Bromwich Albion (-5)
Evans' absence was felt at White Hart Lane on Saturday. As impressive as Gareth McAuley's goalscoring record is, it's the Northern Ireland international who commands and leads this defence.
19. Roberto Firmino, Liverpool (+6)
Firmino's performances dipped in December, but he's been much better of late. He worked hard (as usual) against Manchester United and used the ball far more effectively than he did against Southampton.
18. Victor Wanyama, Tottenham Hotspur (+1)
Once again a powerful presence in Tottenham's midfield. His passing is getting better and better, too, and that's been his only real weakness in the past.
17. Adam Lallana, Liverpool (-4)
Lallana's performances have eased off a touch following his relocation back to the wing for Liverpool. He played well against United but didn't stand out.
16. Antonio Valencia, Manchester United (+2)
Another excellent showing from Valencia, who continues to rise in our rankings. He forcibly created the equalising goal with some great work on the flank.
15. Mousa Dembele, Tottenham Hotspur
6 of 20
Last Week: Unranked
Movement: New!
Mousa Dembele has finally played enough games to qualify for the Premier League player rankings—you must have participated meaningfully in more than 50 per cent of the total games played to enter—and the Belgian zips straight in at No. 15.
He's only played anything close to poorly in one game this season (away to Manchester United, where Paul Pogba dominated the midfield), and in the rest, he's been excellent.
Against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, he built on the stunning performance against Chelsea to put in another assured, commanding showing.
Mazy, strong dribbles and good use of the ball in the final third kept his side in possession and in dominant mode.
14. Joe Allen, Stoke City
7 of 20
Last Week: 6th
Movement: -8
For once, Stoke City didn't rely on Joe Allen to win a game of football on Saturday. His drop of eight places may seem pretty harsh, but he picked the wrong weekend to tail off a little.
The Potters beat Sunderland thanks to the double act of Marko Arnautovic and Peter Crouch, with the former's rasping finishes and the latter's outright aerial dominance the difference-makers.
Allen was neat and useful in midfield, but he wasn't asked to win the game for Stoke as he so often has been this season.
13. Virgil van Dijk, Southampton
8 of 20
Last Week: 16th
Movement: +3
It was another disappointing weekend for Southampton as they lost their fourth Premier League game in a row. They played well but missed their chances, and they were punished by a Joey Barton free-kick.
But as usual, a ray of light emanating from the game could be found in the performance of Virgil van Dijk, who put in a monstrous showing at the back for Saints. He was everywhere, cutting out through balls, winning aerial challenges and calmly playing out from the back.
It was just another performance that will make the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City wince. His price tag goes up with every passing game.
12. Pedro, Chelsea
9 of 20
Last Week: 14th
Movement: +2
The ball that Pedro played in the buildup to his own headed goal seconds later against Leicester was sublime. A pirouette-flick pass into the path of Willian was returned for a headed effort, and the Spaniard duly nodded it past the covering Wes Morgan.
Pedro has been a revelation this season, and—bar Eden Hazard—he is the Chelsea player who has improved the most from 2015-16's debacle under Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink. His five goals and five assists from 13 starts this season represents great output.
11. Sadio Mane, Liverpool
10 of 20
Last Week: 5th
Movement: -6
Sadio Mane is on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal and scored in the team's opening win on Sunday.
He moves down to 11th in the rankings, but that's not because he's absent, it's due to a raft of players just below him last week playing well.
10. Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal
11 of 20
Last Week: 12th
Movement: +2
Alexis Sanchez stole the headlines this weekend, with his tantrum after being substituted late in the game against Swansea City the major talking point emanating from Arsenal's victory.
As has been well-documented, the Chilean doesn't like to rest, doesn't like taking time out and won't ease off in games when his team are 4-0 up—he'll keep running and running, like some kind of South American cyborg that was charged up overnight.
At the Liberty Stadium, he scored his 14th league goal of the season, drawing level with Diego Costa at the top of the scoring charts.
9. Joel Matip, Liverpool
12 of 20
Last Week: 8th
Movement: -1
The Joel Matip situation is strange.
He's returned from injury and was set to be a part of Liverpool's squad against Manchester United, but the club did not receive clearance from FIFA so that he could participate. This is all because he was called up to Cameroon's Africa Cup of Nations squad.
The thing is, Matip has retired from international duty. Jurgen Klopp said his and Liverpool's understanding is that Matip did nothing wrong by refusing to attend the tournament, per BBC Sport.
8. N'Golo Kante, Chelsea
13 of 20
Last Week: 9th
Movement: +1
N'Golo Kante's "homecoming" (if you can call it that) at the King Power Stadium went about as smoothly as it could possibly go. A 3-0 win for his new team, Chelsea, further hammered home the turning tide on who the Premier League's best and worst teams are.
The Frenchman didn't have to get too involved, simply keeping things neat and tidy in midfield and pushing the ball wide and forward to more dangerous attackers.
He was a lot more dependable than Nemanja Matic on Saturday, and he was called in to clear up his colleague's errors at times.
7. Kyle Walker, Tottenham Hotspur
14 of 20
Last Week: 10th
Movement: +3
Kyle Walker was arguably England's best player at Euro 2016 (not the most difficult crown to earn, granted), and he's carried that form into the 2016-17 season and sustained it—impressive work.
The ground he gets through on the right flank is remarkable, and the new three-man defensive shape Tottenham are using suits Walker nicely, as he's able to tear forward with the security blanket of Eric Dier in the channel.
His pinpoint cross for Harry Kane's second goal was such a tough one to pull off that you couldn't help but applaud.
6. Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham Hotspur
15 of 20
Last Week: 7th
Movement: +1
Toby Alderweireld has had to remain patient this past month, returning from injury only to suffer several setbacks, but he's now finding his groove.
To be truthful, he was rarely troubled against West Bromwich Albion, as the visitors played Salomon Rondon alone up top against Tottenham's hulking back three.
Alderweireld, at the centre of the line and of the communications, marshalled the Venezuela international brilliantly.
5. Danny Rose, Tottenham Hotspur
16 of 20
Last Week: 4th
Movement: -1
Danny Rose moves down one spot this week, but that's only due to the return of one previously injured star ahead of him. He's unlucky to drop, but the natural order must be restored.
The England international was part of a machine-like performance from Tottenham at the weekend, taking West Brom apart at the seams. A one-man wrecking ball, Rose moved forward from left-back constantly and attracted two markers (Nacer Chadli and Craig Dawson) at all times.
His speed, strength, game-stretching ability and incisive movements caused the Baggies fits all afternoon.
4. Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool
17 of 20
Last Week: Unranked
Movement: New!
Welcome back, Philippe Coutinho.
The Liverpool midfielder spent almost the entirety of the first three months of the season in the top five of our Premier League player rankings, trading time with Chelsea's stars in the No. 1 slot. But an ankle injury sustained against Sunderland on Nov. 26 forced him to miss the whole of December and some of January.
We took him out temporarily but now restore him to his rightful slot high in the charts. He came off the bench to great effect against Manchester United on Sunday, making good decisions on counter-attacks and setting up chances with clever passes.
3. Ander Herrera, Manchester United
18 of 20
Last Week: 3rd
Movement: Stay
Even when Manchester United don't play so well as a team, Ander Herrera always shines. He's been consistently excellent this season no matter the occasion, and he bailed Paul Pogba out big time on Sunday.
Herrera was his usual all-action self, but he had to put in a double shift to cover his ailing French partner, who endured one of the most miserable games of his career.
Herrera's tenacity and commitment to the cause have endeared him to the Old Trafford crowd, and when he pulled Roberto Firmino down by any means necessary late on, he endeared himself even further.
2. Eden Hazard, Chelsea
19 of 20
Last Week: 2nd
Movement: Stay
Eden Hazard put in a good performance as Chelsea beat Leicester 3-0—and his status as Diego Costa's fill-in will be retained as a result.
Summoning the spirit of compatriot Dries Mertens, he performed well in the lone striker's role despite traditionally playing as a winger or a No. 10. It's the same transition Mertens has made at Napoli this season, and both have the speed and agility to be a real handful against slower centre-backs.
Hazard created Marcos Alonso's first goal with a brilliant, aware piece of play, and although the Belgium international totalled zero shots on goal, Michy Batshuayi won't feel any closer to getting a start.
1. Diego Costa, Chelsea
20 of 20
Last Week: 1
Movement: Stay
Diego Costa was left out of Chelsea's squad for the victory over Leicester, and while Hazard didn't set the world alight up front in his absence, they got by just fine.
Was it a back injury that kept him out of the 18, or has he had his head turned by Chinese Super League interest? There are conflicting reports everywhere, with the Guardian's Dominic Fifield summing things up quite nicely while also intimating the Blues will keep him for now and sell him in the summer.
In any case, he retains the No. 1 spot despite missing the game. The only player who had enough stock to overtake him was Hazard, and he didn't play well enough.
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