EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 8
The Premier League's return from the latest international break brought the excitement and drama we all crave.
Centre-backs suffered as attackers reigned supreme, and shock results—such as Crystal Palace's victory over Chelsea, and Watford's win over Arsenal—jostled for headline space with Manchester City's seven-goal demolition of Stoke City.
We have updated our lists to take into account the latest weekend of action. They are divided into seven position groups and based solely on performances in the Premier League in 2017-18.
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To be eligible, a player must have taken part in at least half the games his team has played.
Goalkeepers
The gap between first (David De Gea) and the rest is now a chasm. The Spaniard's brilliant performance at Anfield in the 0-0 draw, inclusive of one unbelievable save from Joel Matip, widens the distance between himself and the chasing pack.
Jonas Lossl's latest error sees him tumble again, while Hugo Lloris' brilliance against AFC Bournemouth is rewarded with a spot in the top 10.
Biggest rise: Lukasz Fabianski (+1)
Biggest fall: Jonas Lossl (-5)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | David De Gea (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 2 | Nick Pope (Stay) | Burnley |
| 3 | Ederson Moraes (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Thibaut Courtois (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 5 | Hugo Lloris (New!) | Tottenham |
| 6 | Rob Elliot (Stay) | Newcastle United |
| 7 | Jordan Pickford (Stay) | Everton |
| 8 | Asmir Begovic (New!) | AFC Bournemouth |
| 9 | Lukasz Fabianski (+1) | Swansea City |
| 10 | Jonas Lossl (-5) | Huddersfield Town |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
Last round's top four right-backs all performed well this week, so no changes there, but Joe Gomez's man-of-the-match performance against Manchester United sees him move up into fifth.
Kieran Trippier continues his steady climb following another...well, steady performance on Saturday. Tommy Smith was the best of a bad bunch as Huddersfield Town lost again, but that's not saying a lot, and he's clinging on down there.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+3)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kyle Walker (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Antonio Valencia (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 3 | Matthew Lowton (Stay) | Burnley |
| 4 | Kiko Femenia (Stay) | Watford |
| 5 | Joe Gomez (+3) | Liverpool |
| 6 | Cedric Soares (-1) | Southampton |
| 7 | Kieran Trippier (+3) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 8 | Hector Bellerin (-2) | Arsenal |
| 9 | Victor Moses (-2) | Chelsea |
| 10 | Tommy Smith (-1) | Huddersfield Town |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
Apologies, but the left-back section's a bit boring this week.
Ben Davies was ill, Sead Kolasinac didn't look fit and Stephen Ward put in a below-par showing. None are overtaken, though, as Marcos Alonso's Chelsea lost to Palace and Ryan Bertrand of Southampton looked average against Newcastle.
That Javi Manquillo comes in at sixth speaks to the troubles we're having in finding quality for this position at the moment.
Biggest rise: None
Biggest fall: Danilo (-2)
Centre-Backs
Eric Bailly's absence from Manchester United's matchday squad on Saturday means two things: First, Phil Jones took centre stage, shone again and moves up three; and second, James Tarkowski's latest good performance lifts him to the top of the rankings, replacing the Ivorian.
Ben Mee made a rare mistake and moves down as a result, while John Stones' superb form continues and he moves into second. Tottenham's collective all move up after securing a clean sheet, while Nicolas Otamendi's surprising error-free run is rewarded, too.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+3)
Biggest fall: Zanka (-9)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | James Tarkowski (+1) | Burnley |
| 2 | John Stones (+2) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Eric Bailly (-2) | Manchester United |
| 4 | Phil Jones (+3) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Ben Mee (-2) | Burnley |
| 6 | Cesar Azpilicueta (-1) | Chelsea |
| 7 | Jan Vertonghen (+2) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 8 | Jamaal Lascelles (+2) | Newcastle United |
| 9 | Toby Alderweireld (+3) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 10 | Nicolas Otamendi (+3) | Manchester City |
| 11 | Davinson Sanchez (+3) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 12 | Christopher Schindler (-6) | Huddersfield Town |
| 13 | Kurt Zouma (-5) | Stoke City |
| 14 | Maya Yoshida (-3) | Southampton |
| 15 | Ciaran Clark (Stay) | Newcastle United |
| 16 | Lewis Dunk (+1) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 17 | Federico Fernandez (New!) | Swansea City |
| 18 | Christian Kabasele (New!) | Watford |
| 19 | Harry Maguire (New!) | Leicester City |
| 20 | Zanka (-9) | Huddersfield Town |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
Unsurprisingly, Kevin De Bruyne retains his No. 1 ranking after blowing Stoke City to smithereens. He has been the best player in the Premier League through eight gameweeks, and no one else is close.
Paul Pogba will drop out of the rankings next week if he doesn't return to the Manchester United XI, and as he's gradually fallen, Mario Lemina of Southampton has taken advantage. He's now up to third.
Philippe Coutinho has now played enough games to feature in the rankings, and he enters in the central-midfield section, as he's played the majority of his Premier League minutes there.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+3)
Biggest fall: Aaron Mooy (-3)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kevin De Bruyne (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | David Silva (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Mario Lemina (+3) | Southampton |
| 4 | N'Golo Kante (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 5 | Nemanja Matic (-2) | Manchester United |
| 6 | Fernandinho (+1) | Manchester City |
| 7 | Paul Pogba (-2) | Manchester United |
| 8 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (Stay) | Watford |
| 9 | Steven Defour (Stay) | Burnley |
| 10 | Jack Cork (Stay) | Burnley |
| 11 | Philippe Coutinho (New!) | Liverpool |
| 12 | Grzegorz Krychowiak (+1) | West Bromwich Albion |
| 13 | Tiemoue Bakayoko (+3) | Chelsea |
| 14 | Mikel Merino (-3) | Newcastle United |
| 15 | Aaron Mooy (-3) | Huddersfield Town |
| 16 | Nathaniel Chalobah (-1) | Watford |
| 17 | Eric Dier (New!) | Tottenham |
| 18 | Marouane Fellaini (-1) | Manchester United |
| 19 | Dale Stephens (+1) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 20 | Aaron Ramsey (-1) | Arsenal |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
Christian Eriksen was the difference in Tottenham's match against AFC Bournemouth, continuing his strong recent run of goalscoring or assisting. He staves off a serious challenge from Manchester City's rapid wing duo and keeps his spot at the top.
Richarlison drew some ire over the weekend, but there's no doubt he's been effective for Watford, and he's been a pivotal factor in their rise to fourth.
Some names to watch here: Matt Ritchie, Michail Antonio and Tom Cleverley. They're all playing well and impacting positively for their teams.
Biggest rise: Tom Cleverley (+5)
Biggest fall: Andre Carrillo (-5)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Christian Eriksen (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2 | Raheem Sterling (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Leroy Sane (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Richarlison (+2) | Watford |
| 5 | Marcus Rashford (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 6 | Henrikh Mkhitaryan (-2) | Manchester United |
| 7 | Mohamed Salah (+1) | Liverpool |
| 8 | Sadio Mane (-1) | Liverpool |
| 9 | Anthony Martial (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 10 | Michail Antonio (+4) | West Ham United |
| 11 | Juan Mata (-1) | Manchester United |
| 12 | Robbie Brady (-1) | Burnley |
| 13 | Danny Welbeck (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 14 | Matt Ritchie (+4) | Newcastle United |
| 15 | Tom Cleverley (+5) | Watford |
| 16 | Dele Alli (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 17 | Andre Carrillo (-5) | Watford |
| 18 | Alexis Sanchez (-2) | Arsenal |
| 19 | Riyad Mahrez (New!) | Leicester City |
| 20 | Jeff Hendrick (New!) | Burnley |
Strikers
It's getting quite tough to order the top five. Largely, we just base it off how they played in their last performance, as they're all so close in goal tallies.
That means Gabriel Jesus' excellent performance against Stoke City is rewarded with a rise of four, while Romelu Lukaku's poor showing at Anfield sees him move down the same number of spots.
Chris Wood's back in after netting an equaliser for Burnley against West Ham, and Tammy Abraham makes his first appearance in the top 10 after notching his third and fourth goals of the campaign.
Biggest rise: Gabriel Jesus (+4)
Biggest fall: Romelu Lukaku (-4)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Gabriel Jesus (+4) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Harry Kane (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 3 | Alvaro Morata (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Sergio Aguero (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 5 | Romelu Lukaku (-4) | Manchester United |
| 6 | Jamie Vardy (+1) | Leicester City |
| 7 | Alexandre Lacazette (-1) | Arsenal |
| 8 | Chris Wood (New!) | Burnley |
| 9 | Roberto Firmino (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 10 | Tammy Abraham (New!) | Swansea City |
All statistics via WhoScored.com
