EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 12
We were welcomed back to Premier League action in style!
A north London derby, a four-goal display from Chelsea, a standout showing from Mohamed Salah and much, much more was all crammed into a hectic three-day period. Gameweek 12, take a bow.
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
We have a new entry this week in the form of Heurelho Gomes. The Brazilian returned from injury to put on a goalkeeping clinic against West Ham United, making three fine saves to deny the likes of Cheikhou Kouyate an equaliser.
Aside from that, there are no major storylines. Jonas Lossl and Rob Elliot both conceded four but can't really be held at fault for any of the goals, so they only move down one each, and that means Thibaut Courtois—essentially a spectator against West Bromwich Albion—shifts up to fourth.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+1)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | David De Gea (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 2 | Ederson Moraes (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Nick Pope (Stay) | Burnley |
| 4 | Thibaut Courtois (+1) | Chelsea |
| 5 | Jonas Lossl (-1) | Huddersfield Town |
| 6 | Hugo Lloris (Stay) | Tottenham |
| 7 | Kasper Schmeichel (+1) | Leicester City |
| 8 | Rob Elliot (-1) | Newcastle United |
| 9 | Heurelho Gomes (New!) | Watford |
| 10 | Asmir Begovic (Stay) | AFC Bournemouth |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
Kyle Walker's wise showing against West Brom widened the gap between himself and the rest of the pack once again, while Matthew Lowton's impressive performance against Swansea City closed the space between himself and second.
Kieran Trippier and Cedric Soares both endured rough weekends and move down a spot as a result, while Kiko Femenia and Mame Diouf both fared much better, so move up. Hector Bellerin's start to the season was slow, but he's improved of late and excelled in the north London derby, so he enters the top 10.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+1)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kyle Walker (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Antonio Valencia (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 3 | Matthew Lowton (Stay) | Burnley |
| 4 | Kiko Femenia (+1) | Watford |
| 5 | Joe Gomez (-1) | Liverpool |
| 6 | Kieran Trippier (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 7 | Mame Diouf (+1) | Stoke City |
| 8 | Cedric Soares (-1) | Southampton |
| 9 | Danny Simpson (+1) | Leicester City |
| 10 | Hector Bellerin (New!) | Arsenal |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
Sead Kolasinac's steady and assured performance in the north London derby keeps him snugly in first, but there's a change just below him, as Fabian Delph leapfrogs Ben Davies.
Delph initially struggled against the speed of Riyad Mahrez on Saturday so took on a firmer approach, clearing and smashing his way through the game to good effect.
Ashley Young is on the rise again after another peachy cross was converted for a back-post headed goal.
Biggest rise: Ashley Young (+3)
Biggest fall: Ryan Bertrand (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Sead Kolasinac (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 2 | Fabian Delph (+1) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Ben Davies (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 4 | Stephen Ward (Stay) | Burnley |
| 5 | Marcos Alonso (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 6 | Alberto Moreno (+1) | Liverpool |
| 7 | Ashley Young (+3) | Manchester United |
| 8 | Ryan Bertrand (-2) | Southampton |
| 9 | Christian Fuchs (+1) | Leicester City |
| 10 | Javi Manquillo (-1) | Newcastle United |
Centre-Backs
Another Burnley clean sheet means James Tarkowski stays at No. 1 in the centre-back section. He wasn't at his remarkable best against Swansea City but impressed alongside Ben Mee nonetheless.
The biggest mover this week is Nacho Monreal, whose recent form has generally been excellent, and he's up four spots (and into the top 10) following Saturday's performance.
Davinson Sanchez was arguably the only Spurs starter to impress in the derby, so his stock remains intact, while Christian Kabasele (goal-line clearance) and Kurt Zouma (headed strike) both had a big say in their respective games.
Biggest rise: Nacho Monreal (+4)
Biggest fall: Harry Maguire (-4)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | James Tarkowski (Stay) | Burnley |
| 2 | John Stones (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Cesar Azpilicueta (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Eric Bailly (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Ben Mee (+1) | Burnley |
| 6 | Jan Vertonghen (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 7 | Phil Jones (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 8 | Davinson Sanchez (+1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 9 | Nacho Monreal (+4) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Jamaal Lascelles (Stay) | Newcastle United |
| 11 | Nicolas Otamendi (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 12 | Lewis Dunk (Stay) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 13 | Toby Alderweireld (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 14 | Kurt Zouma (+3) | Stoke City |
| 15 | Christopher Schindler (Stay) | Huddersfield Town |
| 16 | Christian Kabasele (+3) | Watford |
| 17 | Harry Maguire (-3) | Leicester City |
| 18 | Shane Duffy (Stay) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 19 | Laurent Koscielny (New!) | Arsenal |
| 20 | Maya Yoshida (Stay) | Southampton |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
Paul Pogba's return to the pitch was a whirlwind of skill, but he's going to have to play a few more games before he can re-enter these rankings. His presence helped Nemanja Matic re-find a higher level, though, and he moves up one after a strong display against Newcastle United.
Jack Cork's heroics see him move into the top five, Abdoulaye Doucoure has been a bit patchy of late but re-found dominant form against West Ham, Antonio Conte is using Cesc Fabregas wel—and the results are tellin—and Davy Propper shone on Monday Night Football with his surging runs from midfield.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+3)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | David Silva (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Fernandinho (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | N'Golo Kante (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Nemanja Matic (+1) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Jack Cork (+1) | Burnley |
| 6 | Mario Lemina (-2) | Southampton |
| 7 | Steven Defour (Stay) | Burnley |
| 8 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (+3) | Watford |
| 9 | Tiemoue Bakayoko (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 10 | Aaron Ramsey (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 11 | Cesc Fabregas (+3) | Chelsea |
| 12 | Mikel Merino (-1) | Newcastle United |
| 13 | Aaron Mooy (-1) | Huddersfield Town |
| 14 | Davy Propper (+2) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 15 | Eric Dier (-2) | Tottenham |
| 16 | Tom Cleverley (New!) | Watford |
| 17 | Georginio Wijnaldum (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 18 | Andrew Surman (New!) | AFC Bournemouth |
| 19 | Jonathan Hogg (-1) | Huddersfield Town |
| 20 | Jordan Henderson (New!) | Liverpool |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
By far the most interesting section this week is this one, where star players performed out of their skins, causing some strange moves elsewhere.
For example, Riyad Mahrez, Pascal Gross, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Marcus Rashford all played well this weekend, but they all move down. Why? Because the likes of Eden Hazard, Mohamed Salah and Alexis Sanchez come storming upward after destroying their respective opponents.
Further down, Mesut Ozil enters the top 20 for the first time this season, Robbie Brady re-joins it, and Xherdan Shaqiri has put together back-to-back strong showings.
Biggest rise: Eden Hazard (+4)
Biggest fall: Matt Ritchie (-5)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kevin De Bruyne (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Mohamed Salah (+3) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Raheem Sterling (-1) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Leroy Sane (-1) | Manchester City |
| 5 | Sadio Mane (+1) | Liverpool |
| 6 | Eden Hazard (+4) | Chelsea |
| 7 | Christian Eriksen (-2) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 8 | Richarlison (+1) | Watford |
| 9 | Alexis Sanchez (+2) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Marcus Rashford (-3) | Manchester United |
| 11 | Riyad Mahrez (-3) | Leicester City |
| 12 | Anthony Martial (-1) | Manchester United |
| 13 | Pascal Gross (-1) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 14 | Anthony Knockaert (Stay) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 15 | Mesut Ozil (New!) | Arsenal |
| 16 | Robbie Brady (New!) | Burnley |
| 17 | JB Gudmundsson (Stay) | Burnley |
| 18 | Xherdan Shaqiri (+2) | Stoke City |
| 19 | Dele Alli (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 20 | Matt Ritchie (-5) | Newcastle United |
Strikers
Not only does Harry Kane drop from the top this week, but he moves down two. His performance in the north London derby wasn't great; he didn't look fit or sharp.
Alvaro Morata takes his place after another impressive all-round showing. His combination play with Hazard is a sight to behold at times.
We scrabbled around for a 10th striker and landed on Tammy Abraham despite him being stretchered off against Burnley. Glenn Murray is on the radar, though, and could step in once he plays one more game.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+2)
Biggest fall: Harry Kane (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Alvaro Morata (+1) | Chelsea |
| 2 | Gabriel Jesus (+1) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Harry Kane (-2) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 4 | Romelu Lukaku (+1) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Sergio Aguero (-1) | Manchester City |
| 6 | Alexandre Lacazette (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 7 | Roberto Firmino (+2) | Liverpool |
| 8 | Jamie Vardy (-1) | Leicester City |
| 9 | Shinji Okazaki (-1) | Leicester City |
| 10 | Tammy Abraham (New!) | Swansea City |
All statistics via WhoScored.com
