EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 18
We are on the cusp of the halfway stage of this exciting Premier League season, and there are still so many unknowns—title destination aside, of course. Seven teams are in play for the top-four spots, and everyone else could still feasibly be dragged into a relegation scrap.
This past weekend was yet another example of how unpredictable things can be. Who had Huddersfield Town smashing Watford, Crystal Palace destroying Leicester City and West Ham obliterating Stoke City...all away from home?
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
It's a clear top two, and then the rest. Ederson Moraes once again impressed, extending the gap between himself and third place, with his dagger-like passing from the back catching the eye against Tottenham.
Nick Pope, Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois all collected clean sheets so receive a boost to their stock, while Asmir Begovic and Kasper Schmeichel fall after letting in seven between them.
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 | Kasper Schmeichel (-1) | Leicester City |
| 6 | Lukasz Fabianski (Stay) | Swansea City |
| 7 | Jordan Pickford (Stay) | Everton |
| 8 | Petr Cech (+1) | Arsenal |
| 9 | Asmir Begovic (-1) | AFC Bournemouth |
| 10 | Mat Ryan (New!) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
A Kyle Walker with a point to prove is a rather menacing prospect, it seems. Coming up against his old club at the weekend, he excelled for Manchester City on the right.
Antonio Valencia's hamstring went ping against West Brom, and perhaps that's been coming given the number of minutes he's played of late. Another solid Joe Gomez performance next week might just pave the way for him to leapfrog the Manchester United man.
Jonjoe Kenny's breakthrough campaign with Everton has been a good storyline, but not only is he playing, he's playing well.
Biggest rise: Hector Bellerin (+3)
Biggest fall: Kieran Trippier (-3)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kyle Walker (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Antonio Valencia (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 3 | Joe Gomez (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 4 | Kiko Femenia (Stay) | Watford |
| 5 | Victor Moses (+1) | Chelsea |
| 6 | Matthew Lowton (-1) | Burnley |
| 7 | Hector Bellerin (+3) | Arsenal |
| 8 | Cedric Soares (Stay) | Southampton |
| 9 | Jonjoe Kenny (New!) | Everton |
| 10 | Kieran Trippier (-3) | Tottenham Hotspur |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
The most notable left-sided performance across the league this past weekend was Marcos Alonso's, who scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea beat Southampton at Stamford Bridge. Combining a goal with a clean sheet is a sure-fire way to move you up the rankings.
Outside of he and Fabian Delph, though, we were left scratching for strong showings. Alberto Moreno, Stephen Ward, Sead Kolasinac and Christian Fuchs were either dropped or left out due to injury, and Ben Davies only managed a bit of stoppage time off the bench.
Biggest rise: Marcos Alonso (+2)
Biggest fall: Ben Davies (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Fabian Delph (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Ashley Young (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 3 | Sead Kolasinac (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 4 | Ryan Bertrand (Stay) | Southampton |
| 5 | Marcos Alonso (+2) | Chelsea |
| 6 | Stephen Ward (+1) | Burnley |
| 7 | Ben Davies (-2) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 8 | Alberto Moreno (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 9 | Chris Lowe (New!) | Huddersfield Town |
| 10 | Christian Fuchs (-1) | Leicester City |
Centre-Backs
Burnley kept yet another clean sheet this weekend, but the performance looked a little shaky in parts. James Tarkowski's poor challenge conceded a penalty that was blazed over, and he moves down in the rankings as a result.
Chelsea's clean sheet means Cesar Azpilicueta remains at the summit, while Andreas Christensen moves up one to enter the top three. Other notably stronger performers were Christopher Schindler and Chris Smalling.
Biggest rise: Christopher Schindler (+5)
Biggest fall: Christian Kabasele (-6)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Cesar Azpilicueta (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 2 | John Stones (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Andreas Christensen (+1) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Ben Mee (+1) | Burnley |
| 5 | James Tarkowski (-2) | Burnley |
| 6 | Phil Jones (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 7 | Nicolas Otamendi (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 8 | Nacho Monreal (+3) | Arsenal |
| 9 | Jamaal Lascelles (Stay) | Newcastle United |
| 10 | Chris Smalling (+4) | Manchester United |
| 11 | Jan Vertonghen (-3) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 12 | Antonio Rudiger (-2) | Chelsea |
| 13 | Christopher Schindler (+5) | Huddersfield Town |
| 14 | Harry Maguire (-2) | Leicester City |
| 15 | Toby Alderweireld (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 16 | Davinson Sanchez (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 17 | Kurt Zouma (Stay) | Stoke City |
| 18 | Lewis Dunk (+1) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 19 | Christian Kabasele (-6) | Watford |
| 20 | Zanka (New!) | Huddersfield Town |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
Deciding which of N'Golo Kante or Fernandinho should be ranked second, just behind David Silva, is a difficult task from week to week. This time it's the Brazilian who edges the contest—but don't believe that's because Kante didn't play well.
Philippe Coutinho moves up into fourth after slaying AFC Bournemouth, while Jack Cork and Steven Defour move up again as Burnley kept it tight and compact away from home.
Outside of the big names, Aaron Mooy put in a stellar, two-goal performance as Huddersfield Town put four past Watford.
Biggest rise: Aaron Mooy (+7)
Biggest fall: Eric Dier (-6)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | David Silva (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Fernandinho (+1) | Manchester City |
| 3 | N'Golo Kante (-1) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Philippe Coutinho (+2) | Liverpool |
| 5 | Nemanja Matic (-1) | Manchester United |
| 6 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (-1) | Watford |
| 7 | Jack Cork (+2) | Burnley |
| 8 | Steven Defour (+2) | Burnley |
| 9 | Aaron Ramsey (-2) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Cesc Fabregas (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 11 | Mikel Merino (+1) | Newcastle United |
| 12 | Vicente Iborra (-1) | Leicester City |
| 13 | Aaron Mooy (+7) | Huddersfield Town |
| 14 | Tiemoue Bakayoko (+4) | Chelsea |
| 15 | Georginio Wijnaldum (+3) | Liverpool |
| 16 | Mario Lemina (-1) | Southampton |
| 17 | Harry Winks (-4) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 18 | Tom Cleverley (-1) | Watford |
| 19 | Wilfred Ndidi (-3) | Leicester City |
| 20 | Eric Dier (-6) | Tottenham Hotspur |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
Manchester City faced Tottenham without David Silva this weekend, but any concerns about how they'd get on were waylaid when Kevin De Bruyne turned on the style. There's stiff competition for this No. 1 spot in the form of Mohamed Salah, but KDB is just relentless in his brilliance.
Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane also enjoyed themselves in that game, bagging two goals and two assists, respectively, while Christian Eriksen's late goal allows him to move above Richarlison and Riyad Mahrez.
Biggest rise: Mesut Ozil (+4)
Biggest fall: Anthony Knockaert (-5)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kevin De Bruyne (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Mohamed Salah (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Raheem Sterling (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Eden Hazard (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 5 | Leroy Sane (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 6 | Christian Eriksen (+2) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 7 | Riyad Mahrez (-1) | Leicester City |
| 8 | Marcus Rashford (+1) | Manchester United |
| 9 | Richarlison (-2) | Watford |
| 10 | Sadio Mane (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 11 | Anthony Martial (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 12 | Mesut Ozil (+4) | Arsenal |
| 13 | JB Gudmundsson (Stay) | Burnley |
| 14 | Jesse Lingard (New!) | Manchester United |
| 15 | Heung-Min Son (-3) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 16 | Willian (New!) | Chelsea |
| 17 | Demarai Gray (-3) | Leicester City |
| 18 | Juan Mata (New!) | Manchester United |
| 19 | Pascal Gross (-2) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 20 | Anthony Knockaert (-5) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
Strikers
The only striker in our top five who scored this weekend was Romelu Lukaku, who netted a header from a good Marcus Rashford cross.
Given that's not enough to lift him above any of the top four, it means that for the first time, there are no changes in that region. The positive stories are further toward the bottom, with Wilfried Zaha impressing and Wayne Rooney reaching double figures for the season.
Biggest rise: Wilfried Zaha (+1)
Biggest fall: None
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Harry Kane (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2 | Sergio Aguero (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Gabriel Jesus (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Alvaro Morata (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 5 | Romelu Lukaku (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 6 | Jamie Vardy (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 7 | Alexandre Lacazette (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 8 | Wilfried Zaha (+1) | Crystal Palace |
| 9 | Roberto Firmino (New!) | Liverpool |
| 10 | Wayne Rooney (Stay) | Everton |
All statistics via WhoScored.com
