EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 5
After five gameweeks, the Premier League table shows the Manchester clubs neck and neck at the summit—level on points, goal difference and even goals scored. That fierce battle for supremacy also filters into our EPL 100, as the two clubs boast many of the top-performing players in each position.
We have updated our lists to take into account the latest weekend of action. They are divided into seven different position groups and are based solely on performances in the Premier League in 2017-18.
To be eligible, a player must have taken part in at least half the games his team has played.
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Goalkeepers
David De Gea retains the No. 1 spot and this week put significant distance between himself and the rest of the pack.
He has four clean sheets from five games, but even in the relatively easy wins, he's still required to pull off a few impressive stops. Twice he denied Everton with the score at 1-0, ensuring the game did not swing against the Red Devils.
Lukasz Fabianski's form looks like it's going to be crucial to Swansea City's relegation battle this year. He played well against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on Sunday and collected his third clean sheet of the campaign.
He will need to keep doing that and hope his team-mates can figure out how to find the back of the opposition net at the same time.
Biggest rise: Lukasz Fabianski (+4)
Biggest fall: Jordan Pickford (-3)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | David De Gea (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 2 | Jonas Lossl (Stay) | Huddersfield Town |
| 3 | Jack Butland (Stay) | Stoke City |
| 4 | Lukasz Fabianski (+4) | Swansea City |
| 5 | Rob Elliot (Stay) | Newcastle United |
| 6 | Ben Foster (Stay) | West Bromwich Albion |
| 7 | Jordan Pickford (-3) | Everton |
| 8 | Thibaut Courtois (+1) | Chelsea |
| 9 | Kasper Schmeichel (-2) | Leicester City |
| 10 | Ederson Moraes (New!) | Manchester City |
Right-Backs/Right-Wing-Backs
The emphatic combination of a rocket strike and a clean sheet ensures Antonio Valencia keeps his throne this week.
Just below him, Cedric Soares and Kyle Walker continue to impress, steadily creeping upward, while the fact Kiko Femenia was injured and missed Watford's 6-0 defeat to Manchester City keeps his stock intact.
Quality right-back performances have been in short supply across the league. You're reaching for names after the top seven here.
Biggest rise: Kyle Walker (+2)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Antonio Valencia (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 2 | Cedric Soares (+1) | Southampton |
| 3 | Kiko Femenia (-1) | Watford |
| 4 | Kyle Walker (+2) | Manchester City |
| 5 | Danilo (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 6 | Tommy Smith (+1) | Huddersfield Town |
| 7 | Allan Nyom (-1) | West Bromwich Albion |
| 8 | Matthew Lowton (+1) | Burnley |
| 9 | Victor Moses (-1) | Chelsea |
| 10 | Adam Smith (New!) | Bournemouth |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
Sead Kolasinac has now played more minutes at left wing-back than he has at centre-back, so he's able to switch categories. He comes in at No. 1 having put in another strong showing at the weekend, leapfrogging the subdued Marcos Alonso and the rested Ben Davies.
Chris Lowe's brilliant start to the campaign has begun to falter, and his giving away of a penalty in rash circumstances against Leicester City sees him fall to eighth.
On the whole, the performance levels in this position have been far stronger than at right-back.
Biggest rise: Sead Kolasinac (+5)
Biggest fall: Chris Lowe (-4)
Centre-Backs
The biggest risers this week can be found here, where certain individuals are starting to heat up.
John Stones put in a stunning performance at Watford on Saturday, killing the home side with accurate passing and wrapping up their attacking runners well. Jamaal Lascelles was similarly impactful, netting his second goal of the season to give Newcastle United another valuable three-point haul.
Burnley duo Ben Mee and James Tarkowski continue to play out of their skins. How much longer will they keep this up?
Biggest rise: John Stones (+12), Jamaal Lascelles (+9)
Biggest fall: Zanka (-5)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Eric Bailly (+1) | Manchester United |
| 2 | Christopher Schindler (-1) | Huddersfield Town |
| 3 | Ben Mee (Stay) | Burnley |
| 4 | James Tarkowski (+3) | Burnley |
| 5 | Kurt Zouma (+2) | Stoke City |
| 6 | John Stones (+12) | Manchester City |
| 7 | Jamaal Lascelles (+9) | Newcastle United |
| 8 | Jan Vertonghen (+1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 9 | Ciaran Clark (+2) | Newcastle United |
| 10 | Phil Jones (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 11 | Cesar Azpilicueta (-3) | Chelsea |
| 12 | Zanka (-5) | Huddersfield Town |
| 13 | Toby Alderweireld (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 14 | Ahmed Hegazi (+6) | West Bromwich Albion |
| 15 | Maya Yoshida (New!) | Southampton |
| 16 | Federico Fernandez (New!) | Swansea City |
| 17 | Shkodran Mustafi (New!) | Arsenal |
| 18 | Harry Maguire (-1) | Leicester City |
| 19 | Alfie Mawson (New!) | Swansea City |
| 20 | Lewis Dunk (New!) | Brighton |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
There's change at the top in this section, with Manchester City duo Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva rising to the top two spots after more scintillating showings against Watford.
Nemanja Matic's own excellent performance against Everton allows him to stay in third, while the injured Paul Pogba drops just below him. Fernandinho's complex role stabilising this brilliant City attack is rewarded with the fifth spot.
Abdoulaye Doucoure and Nathaniel Chalobah take big hits to their stock for their part in the 6-0 drubbing they received.
Biggest rise: Kevin De Bruyne (+6), Fernandinho (+6)
Biggest fall: Abdoulaye Doucoure (-6)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | David Silva (+3) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Kevin De Bruyne (+6) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Nemanja Matic (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 4 | Paul Pogba (-3) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Fernandinho (+6) | Manchester City |
| 6 | Aaron Mooy (-1) | Huddersfield Town |
| 7 | N'Golo Kante (-1) | Chelsea |
| 8 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (-6) | Watford |
| 9 | Mario Lemina (+6) | Southampton |
| 10 | Steven Defour (-1) | Burnley |
| 11 | Jack Cork (-1) | Burnley |
| 12 | Nathaniel Chalobah (-3) | Watford |
| 13 | Mikel Merino (+1) | Newcastle United |
| 14 | Mousa Dembele (-2) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 15 | Gareth Barry (+2) | West Bromwich Albion |
| 16 | Sam Clucas (New!) | Swansea City |
| 17 | Philip Billing (-5) | Huddersfield Town |
| 18 | Oriol Romeu (+2) | Southampton |
| 19 | Darren Fletcher (-3) | Stoke City |
| 20 | Idrissa Gueye (-2) | Everton |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
Only two players retained their previous position from last week in this section: fifth-placed Sadio Mane, who is serving a suspension, and leader Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who netted a neat strike against Everton—his first of the campaign.
Danny Welbeck's been on a nice run of form and continued that into Arsenal's bout with Chelsea, but he left the pitch with an injury, which is a huge shame for him. At least he'll have the international break to recover.
Raheem Sterling continues to sneak his way up the rankings and deserves his high position, having now scored in three successive Premier League matches.
Biggest rise: Danny Welbeck (+4)
Biggest fall: Richarlison (-6)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 2 | Mohamed Salah (+1) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Christian Eriksen (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 4 | Raheem Sterling (+3) | Manchester City |
| 5 | Sadio Mane (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 6 | Marcus Rashford (-2) | Manchester United |
| 7 | Juan Mata (+2) | Manchester United |
| 8 | Anthony Martial (+2) | Manchester United |
| 9 | Danny Welbeck (+4) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Michail Antonio (+2) | West Ham United |
| 11 | Dele Alli (-3) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 12 | Richarlison (-6) | Watford |
| 13 | Elias Kachunga (+3) | Huddersfield Town |
| 14 | Robbie Brady (New!) | Burnley |
| 15 | Tom Cleverley (-4) | Watford |
| 16 | Ruben Loftus-Cheek (+2) | Crystal Palace |
| 17 | Riyad Mahrez (-3) | Leicester City |
| 18 | Pascal Gross (New!) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 19 | Nathan Redmond (-4) | Southampton |
| 20 | Tom Ince (New!) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
Strikers
Unsurprisingly, Sergio Aguero shoots to the top of this section, having netted a hat-trick (and added an assist) against Watford, displacing his colleague Gabriel Jesus, who also impressed in that game.
Alvaro Morata, Roberto Firmino, Harry Kane and Alexandre Lacazette all drop two spots, though all flashed a few positives in their performances. In the case of Firmino, it is again necessary to question why Jurgen Klopp pushes him out wide to fit Daniel Sturridge into the XI. He doesn't generally play that well from the flank, just rotate them!
We were so short for strikers to make up the 10 that Wayne Rooney comes in to prop them up. He's been fine, but he did miss a brilliant chance at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Biggest rise: Sergio Aguero (+5)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Sergio Aguero (+5) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Gabriel Jesus (-1) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Romelu Lukaku (+1) | Manchester United |
| 4 | Alvaro Morata (-2) | Chelsea |
| 5 | Roberto Firmino (-2) | Liverpool |
| 6 | Jamie Vardy (+2) | Leicester City |
| 7 | Harry Kane (-2) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 8 | Chris Wood (+1) | Burnley |
| 9 | Alexandre Lacazette (-2) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Wayne Rooney (New!) | Everton |
All statistics via WhoScored.com
